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Breakfast at Tiffany's and Three Stories
An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here.
It's New York in the 1940s, where the martinis flow from cocktail hour till breakfast at Tiffany's. And nice girls don't, except, of course, Holly Golightly. Pursued by Mafia gangsters and playboy millionaires, Holly is a fragile eyeful of tawny hair and turned-up nose, a heart-breaker, a perplexer, a traveller, a tease. She is irrepressibly 'top banana in the shock department', and one of the shining flowers of American fiction.
This edition also contains three stories: 'House of Flowers', 'A Diamond Guitar' and 'A Christmas Memory'.
It's New York in the 1940s, where the martinis flow from cocktail hour till breakfast at Tiffany's. And nice girls don't, except, of course, Holly Golightly. Pursued by Mafia gangsters and playboy millionaires, Holly is a fragile eyeful of tawny hair and turned-up nose, a heart-breaker, a perplexer, a traveller, a tease. She is irrepressibly 'top banana in the shock department', and one of the shining flowers of American fiction.
This edition also contains three stories: 'House of Flowers', 'A Diamond Guitar' and 'A Christmas Memory'.
157 pages, Paperback
First published October 28, 1958
5,794 people are currently reading
214k people want to read
About the author
Truman Capote
333听books6,995听followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the 欧宝娱乐 database.
Truman Capote was an American writer whose non-fiction, stories, novels and plays are recognised literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) and In Cold Blood (1965), which he labeled a "non-fiction novel." At least 20 films and TV dramas have been produced from Capote novels, stories and screenplays.
He was born as Truman Streckfus Persons to a salesman Archulus Persons and young Lillie Mae. His parents divorced when he was four and he went to live with his mother's relatives in Monroeville, Alabama. He was a lonely child who learned to read and write by himself before entering school. In 1933, he moved to New York City to live with his mother and her new husband, Joseph Capote, a Cuban-born businessman. Mr. Capote adopted Truman, legally changing his last name to Capote and enrolling him in private school. After graduating from high school in 1942, Truman Capote began his regular job as a copy boy at The New Yorker. During this time, he also began his career as a writer, publishing many short stories which introduced him into a circle of literary critics. His first novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms, published in 1948, stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for nine weeks and became controversial because of the photograph of Capote used to promote the novel, posing seductively and gazing into the camera.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Capote remained prolific producing both fiction and non-fiction. His masterpiece, In Cold Blood, a story about the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, was published in 1966 in book form by Random House, became a worldwide success and brought Capote much praise from the literary community. After this success he published rarely and suffered from alcohol addiction. He died in 1984 at age 59.
Truman Capote was an American writer whose non-fiction, stories, novels and plays are recognised literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) and In Cold Blood (1965), which he labeled a "non-fiction novel." At least 20 films and TV dramas have been produced from Capote novels, stories and screenplays.
He was born as Truman Streckfus Persons to a salesman Archulus Persons and young Lillie Mae. His parents divorced when he was four and he went to live with his mother's relatives in Monroeville, Alabama. He was a lonely child who learned to read and write by himself before entering school. In 1933, he moved to New York City to live with his mother and her new husband, Joseph Capote, a Cuban-born businessman. Mr. Capote adopted Truman, legally changing his last name to Capote and enrolling him in private school. After graduating from high school in 1942, Truman Capote began his regular job as a copy boy at The New Yorker. During this time, he also began his career as a writer, publishing many short stories which introduced him into a circle of literary critics. His first novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms, published in 1948, stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for nine weeks and became controversial because of the photograph of Capote used to promote the novel, posing seductively and gazing into the camera.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Capote remained prolific producing both fiction and non-fiction. His masterpiece, In Cold Blood, a story about the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, was published in 1966 in book form by Random House, became a worldwide success and brought Capote much praise from the literary community. After this success he published rarely and suffered from alcohol addiction. He died in 1984 at age 59.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 17,696 reviews
May 29, 2007
Holiday Golightly. She鈥檚 quirky, comical, and glamorous. She鈥檚 fashionable, in-the-know, and in-the-now. She鈥檚 lonely, lost, and waiting to be rescued. You couldn鈥檛 resist her charm if you tried, and you can鈥檛 help but fall in love with her.
Well, at least in the Hollywood film version. Capote鈥檚 original novella paints a darker portrait of Miss Golightly. Unlike Audrey Hepburn鈥檚 adorable Holly, who needs a knight in slightly-rusted armor to save her, Capote鈥檚 girl is a 鈥渨ild thing鈥� who cannot be caged, trained, or rescued.
I can鈥檛 deny that the film is a classic and is one of my favorites. Audrey Hepburn may be the epitome of glamour and beauty, and Hollywood鈥檚 Holly can鈥檛 help but absorb Audrey鈥檚 charm. By the end of the film you find yourself rooting for 鈥淔red鈥� to save her from the nonsense of high society, reunite her with the cat, and wipe away her case of 鈥渢he mean reds鈥� forever. That is Hollywood, after all, and we would expect nothing less.
But the real Holly, Capote鈥檚 Holly, can never be caged by convention. It would be hard to imagine her ever settling down and being content with Fred (regardless of the fact that he is an implied homosexual in the book. Hollywood seemed to have 鈥渙verlooked鈥� that).
Don鈥檛 get me wrong, it鈥檚 not that the book鈥檚 Holly is a Bad Person; she鈥檚 just more layered and real. Think about it 鈥� how many people have you come across who create a new persona for themselves, based on what they perceive others to desire? People who feign interest in the popular styles/entertainment/notable people of the day, just to seem like a Very Important Person and garner adoration, fame, and possibly fortune. I could name a few.
But we get to go deeper than Holly鈥檚 exterior and see the scared and lonely girl at the core. She is terrified of being a caged animal, but also tired of being alone. She wants to seem as though she鈥檚 making a holiday out of life, but struggles with the need for stability and the desire for freedom.
The book I read also included three of Capote鈥檚 most famous stories, and I鈥檇 be remiss not to mention them as well: House of Flowers, A Diamond Guitar, and A Christmas Memory. The three short stories are amazingly intimate and touching, illuminating different sides of human emotion. I have not read Capote鈥檚 magnum opus, In Cold Blood, but after witnessing his detailed descriptions and haunting perceptions of human nature in these shorter forms, I have added his novel to my 鈥渢o-read鈥� list.
Well, at least in the Hollywood film version. Capote鈥檚 original novella paints a darker portrait of Miss Golightly. Unlike Audrey Hepburn鈥檚 adorable Holly, who needs a knight in slightly-rusted armor to save her, Capote鈥檚 girl is a 鈥渨ild thing鈥� who cannot be caged, trained, or rescued.
I can鈥檛 deny that the film is a classic and is one of my favorites. Audrey Hepburn may be the epitome of glamour and beauty, and Hollywood鈥檚 Holly can鈥檛 help but absorb Audrey鈥檚 charm. By the end of the film you find yourself rooting for 鈥淔red鈥� to save her from the nonsense of high society, reunite her with the cat, and wipe away her case of 鈥渢he mean reds鈥� forever. That is Hollywood, after all, and we would expect nothing less.
But the real Holly, Capote鈥檚 Holly, can never be caged by convention. It would be hard to imagine her ever settling down and being content with Fred (regardless of the fact that he is an implied homosexual in the book. Hollywood seemed to have 鈥渙verlooked鈥� that).
Don鈥檛 get me wrong, it鈥檚 not that the book鈥檚 Holly is a Bad Person; she鈥檚 just more layered and real. Think about it 鈥� how many people have you come across who create a new persona for themselves, based on what they perceive others to desire? People who feign interest in the popular styles/entertainment/notable people of the day, just to seem like a Very Important Person and garner adoration, fame, and possibly fortune. I could name a few.
But we get to go deeper than Holly鈥檚 exterior and see the scared and lonely girl at the core. She is terrified of being a caged animal, but also tired of being alone. She wants to seem as though she鈥檚 making a holiday out of life, but struggles with the need for stability and the desire for freedom.
The book I read also included three of Capote鈥檚 most famous stories, and I鈥檇 be remiss not to mention them as well: House of Flowers, A Diamond Guitar, and A Christmas Memory. The three short stories are amazingly intimate and touching, illuminating different sides of human emotion. I have not read Capote鈥檚 magnum opus, In Cold Blood, but after witnessing his detailed descriptions and haunting perceptions of human nature in these shorter forms, I have added his novel to my 鈥渢o-read鈥� list.
July 29, 2020
As someone who grew up in the 90s, this was in my head the whole time I read this:
I have never seen the movie (update: I finally did see the movie shortly after reading the book), so the only idea I had in my mind is this iconic image of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly:
But, what I actually got was this:
Holly is crass and obnoxious with really no redeeming qualities. She is rude to her enemies, and even worse to her friends. She smokes to excess, drinks to excess, is promiscuous to excess - she is just wild, crazy, and destructive.
Reading this was like watching a train wreck - but I kind of liked it. I couldn't look away!
I have never seen the movie (update: I finally did see the movie shortly after reading the book), so the only idea I had in my mind is this iconic image of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly:
But, what I actually got was this:
Holly is crass and obnoxious with really no redeeming qualities. She is rude to her enemies, and even worse to her friends. She smokes to excess, drinks to excess, is promiscuous to excess - she is just wild, crazy, and destructive.
Reading this was like watching a train wreck - but I kind of liked it. I couldn't look away!
August 15, 2017
3 delicious hours of audio read by Mr. Michael C. Hall aka Dexter!!! What a wonderful performance of Truman Capote's novella! I saw the movie years ago but I've never read the book! I'm so happy to have listened to this edition of the audio!
5+++++Stars for the narrator!
5 Stars for the story!
Highly highly recommended!!!
5+++++Stars for the narrator!
5 Stars for the story!
Highly highly recommended!!!
March 21, 2021
Some persons live their life as if they鈥檙e just playing a game. And such is Holly Golightly 鈥� she doesn鈥檛 live, she鈥檚 travelling light鈥� Exactly like her name may suggest.
She doesn鈥檛 want to exist in reality, she doesn鈥檛 want to grow up, and her life goes on as though she lives in a dollhouse.
She dreams her great American dream and in this way Breakfast at Tiffany's echoes by .
Holly Golightly believes that there is a crock of gold hidden at the end of the rainbow鈥�
Dreams of a beautiful life have been the ruins of many a poor girl鈥� And the story keeps repeating.
Her bedroom was consistent with her parlor: it perpetuated the same camping-out atmosphere; crates and suitcases, everything packed and ready to go, like the belongings of a criminal who feels the law not far behind.
She doesn鈥檛 want to exist in reality, she doesn鈥檛 want to grow up, and her life goes on as though she lives in a dollhouse.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e wrong. She is a phony. But on the other hand you鈥檙e right. She isn鈥檛 a phony because she鈥檚 a real phony. She believes all this crap she believes. You can鈥檛 talk her out of it. I鈥檝e tried with tears running down my cheeks.鈥�
She dreams her great American dream and in this way Breakfast at Tiffany's echoes by .
Holly Golightly believes that there is a crock of gold hidden at the end of the rainbow鈥�
I don鈥檛 mean I鈥檇 mind being rich and famous. That鈥檚 very much on my schedule, and someday I鈥檒l try to get around to it; but if it happens, I鈥檇 like to have my ego tagging along. I want to still be me when I wake up one fine morning and have breakfast at Tiffany鈥檚.
Dreams of a beautiful life have been the ruins of many a poor girl鈥� And the story keeps repeating.
August 5, 2008
This is getting shelved under "The Movie is Better" but honestly, I can't decide which version I prefer. Because I am indecisive, let's make lists.
Reasons The Movie Is Better:
-Audrey Hepburn plays a considerably less racist and foul-mouthed Holly, which is nice. But let's be honest: Holly could spend the entire movie snorting crack off a sidewalk and Audrey Hepburn would make it the most elegant and classy crack-snorting anyone had ever seen.
-Holly actually sets foot inside Tiffany's, instead of just talking about it. Also she is actually seen eating breakfast outside the store, instead of just mentioning it offhandedly.
-The lines, "It's useful being top banana in the shock department" and "I don't want you to take me home until I'm very drunk. Very drunk indeed."
-A happy, schmoopy, formulaic romantic ending in the rain that never fails to win me over. And they come back for Cat.
-George Peppard.
Reasons The Book Is Better:
-Mag Wildwood, a mere caricature in the movie, gets more lines, personality, and scenes in the book.
-Holly is eighteen at the beginning of the story, which makes her instantly more of a badass teen slut, which I admired her for.
-Mr. Yunioshi actually has a sizable shred of dignity and is vital to the plot. This did wonders to undo the damage caused by the sight of a sweaty, overtanned, bucktoothed Mickey Rooney leaning over a banister and screeching, "Missa Gorightry! I musta plotest!"
*shudder* Is Mickey Rooney dead? If not, could someone please find him and kill him for thinking he could successfully imitate a Japanese man without turning into a walking stereotype? Thank you.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Bottom line: the book made me sad, and the movie does not.
Reasons The Movie Is Better:
-Audrey Hepburn plays a considerably less racist and foul-mouthed Holly, which is nice. But let's be honest: Holly could spend the entire movie snorting crack off a sidewalk and Audrey Hepburn would make it the most elegant and classy crack-snorting anyone had ever seen.
-Holly actually sets foot inside Tiffany's, instead of just talking about it. Also she is actually seen eating breakfast outside the store, instead of just mentioning it offhandedly.
-The lines, "It's useful being top banana in the shock department" and "I don't want you to take me home until I'm very drunk. Very drunk indeed."
-A happy, schmoopy, formulaic romantic ending in the rain that never fails to win me over. And they come back for Cat.
-George Peppard.
Reasons The Book Is Better:
-Mag Wildwood, a mere caricature in the movie, gets more lines, personality, and scenes in the book.
-Holly is eighteen at the beginning of the story, which makes her instantly more of a badass teen slut, which I admired her for.
-Mr. Yunioshi actually has a sizable shred of dignity and is vital to the plot. This did wonders to undo the damage caused by the sight of a sweaty, overtanned, bucktoothed Mickey Rooney leaning over a banister and screeching, "Missa Gorightry! I musta plotest!"
*shudder* Is Mickey Rooney dead? If not, could someone please find him and kill him for thinking he could successfully imitate a Japanese man without turning into a walking stereotype? Thank you.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Bottom line: the book made me sad, and the movie does not.
June 15, 2015
I鈥檓 struggling to figure out what makes this quite so great, it could be Truman鈥檚 beautiful limpid style which winds its sentences through your inner ear so that you might think that language itself had been melted and turned into vanilla frosting or it could be that this is the sweet sad little tale of a guy who met this creature and got stuck permanently in the friend zone, and kind of almost didn鈥檛 really mind because at least the friend zone was something and not nothing, that鈥檚 how entranced he was, or it could be that one of the major characters is a cat. It could be that it鈥檚 funny, and kind, and that Holly says some really surprising things (just to mention one, that she thinks people of the same sex should be allowed to get married 鈥� in 1958!). But this novelette is a small 100 page thing, a drifting fragrance, a single chord, a glint, a hello then goodbye too soon, too soon 鈥� ah yes, itself therefore being the perfect embodiment of the Holly Golightly experience. So, of course 鈥� that鈥檚 why.
June 28, 2012
Breakfast at Tiffany's: Truman Capote's Novella of Love or Something Like It
So it is we know that Holly Golightly is gone, that she's been gone for years. And she had her effect on Joe Bell, the bartender at that little place down on Lexington Avenue in the Big Apple.
Yeah, there's Joe's place. Look hard enough, it's one of those little places tucked away. You probably can't see it. One of those Yellow Cabs is hiding it. Yeah, Joe had it bad. Most men who knew her did, unless they just wanted to use her. There's always that niggling little thought on the nature of what love really is. That it is pure and natural or that it can be purchased. Anything is possible, after all, because everything is negotiable.
first published in the November, 1958 issue of Esquire Magazine.
It was considered too obscene for Capote's usual sources for periodical publication, Harper's Baazar and Mademoiselle. After all, it's open to question as to whether Holly is a prostitute. And being a woman who speaks her mind, she wishes she could have a bull dyke for a roommate because they make such excellent housekeepers. Such language would never do, so it was off to Esquire. Random house followed suit, publishing "Tiffany's" as a novella.
What man hasn't known and loved a Holly Golightly. I have. I lost her. She was hit and killed by a drunk driver--hit her on the wrong side of the road. It was head on. She never had a chance. She was driving home on a Sunday evening, after dinner with her parents, her adopted parents.
She shared several characteristics with Holly Golightly. She didn't know her real parents. She enjoyed men. Her hair was that shining perfect blond with bands of white that made her always look as though the sun shone directly on her head and hers alone. She liked her men older, too, like Holly. Maybe it was being adopted, not knowing where she came from, not knowing where she truly belonged.
But Holly Golightly had taken a new identity, running away from Tulip, Texas, married at the age of fourteen to Doc Barnes, a veterinarian. Her real name is Lula Mae Barnes, just as Capote's mother's name had been Lillie Mae Faulk before she took a more sophisticated name, Nina, after she married Cuban business man Joe Capote.
I attended her funeral, one of so many, her male coterie. But it was when the minister pulled out a copy of and began to read from it that I was stunned. For I gave her that book, in the hope, the dream that she would realize if you love anything enough it will become alive. She kept that book all the many years we were apart. Perhaps on some days she thought of me. I know that I still think of her and on some days, like Joe Bell, the bartender, I see bits and pieces of her as I walk the city streets, especially when the sun illuminates the gold, the white, the platinum of a feminine head of hair as if it showed on no other person on boulevard, no matter how bright the sun.
Oh, you say Holly Golightly was a brunette--like Audrey Hepburn. Well, that was Blake Edwards' idea of what Holly Golightly looked like. But it wasn't Capote's idea who should play her. It was Marilyn Monroe. No question. It was that blonde hair, almost platinum. But Capote only sold the film rights. He maintained no control over the direction or production of the film.
Capote was such a wonderful dancer. I can still remember photographs of him swirling Marilyn across the dance floor.
But Lee Strausberg told Marilyn playing Holly Golightly, a prostitute, wouldn't be good for her career. Monroe turned down the role for "The Misfits." It would be her last film. But that's another story.
History took its course. Henry Mancini composed "Moon River" for the score. George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn had chemistry. Following its release in 1961, Edwards' work became one of the iconic American films. However, it bears little resemblance to Capote's work, although Audrey Hepburn is stunning in that little black dress.
It was not uncommon that movies made from Faulkner's books premiered in Oxford, Mississippi. One, to Faulkner's chagrin, bore so little comparison to his original work, when called to the stage to make opening remarks, Faulkner said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the film you're about to see bears absolutely no resemblance to the book I wrote from which the title of this film was taken." He walked off stage and out of the theatre. I can't imagine Capote taking that approach, he was still connected to a famous film that led to further sales of his work. Perhaps it was that desire for fame that ultimately destroyed Capote.
Of course, in the novella, the young writer is unpublished. Holly takes it upon herself to make him famous by introducing him to her Hollywood agent. In the movie, Peppard is a kept man, whose, shall we say, sponsor, is played by Patricia Neal, who is known to Holly as 2E, the lady's apartment number. And, of course, the movie ends happily ever after with George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn embracing in the rain and having found "Cat" whom Holly had kicked out of the taxi cab.
But Capote tells Holly's view regarding love, or whatever feeling she is capable of describing as love.
Truman Capote considered Holly Golightly his favorite character. I think he was right in his feelings. Of course, Capote, has said that the narrator of Breakfast at Tiffany's was gay. In fact, it has been repeatedly surmised that Holly Golightly is the literary embodiment of Christopher Isherwood's Sally Bowles. What divine decadence. The movie would never have ended the way it did, had Capote maintained creative control.
Let's just say this one will always touch a nerve in me. This one is for all the Holly Golightlys in the world and the Joe Bells who have the sense to listen to them, and I offer it with all the heartfelt sympathy I can muster for those who can't understand what it means to love a wild thing.
"If she was in this city I'd have seen her. You take a man that likes to walk, a man like me, a man's been walking in the streets going on ten or twelve years, and all those years he's got his eye out for one person, and nobody's ever her, don't it stand to reason she's not there? I see pieces of her all the time, a flat litle bottom, any skinny girl that walks fast and straight--...
It's just that I didn't know you'd been in love with her. Not like that."
So it is we know that Holly Golightly is gone, that she's been gone for years. And she had her effect on Joe Bell, the bartender at that little place down on Lexington Avenue in the Big Apple.
Yeah, there's Joe's place. Look hard enough, it's one of those little places tucked away. You probably can't see it. One of those Yellow Cabs is hiding it. Yeah, Joe had it bad. Most men who knew her did, unless they just wanted to use her. There's always that niggling little thought on the nature of what love really is. That it is pure and natural or that it can be purchased. Anything is possible, after all, because everything is negotiable.
first published in the November, 1958 issue of Esquire Magazine.
It was considered too obscene for Capote's usual sources for periodical publication, Harper's Baazar and Mademoiselle. After all, it's open to question as to whether Holly is a prostitute. And being a woman who speaks her mind, she wishes she could have a bull dyke for a roommate because they make such excellent housekeepers. Such language would never do, so it was off to Esquire. Random house followed suit, publishing "Tiffany's" as a novella.
What man hasn't known and loved a Holly Golightly. I have. I lost her. She was hit and killed by a drunk driver--hit her on the wrong side of the road. It was head on. She never had a chance. She was driving home on a Sunday evening, after dinner with her parents, her adopted parents.
She shared several characteristics with Holly Golightly. She didn't know her real parents. She enjoyed men. Her hair was that shining perfect blond with bands of white that made her always look as though the sun shone directly on her head and hers alone. She liked her men older, too, like Holly. Maybe it was being adopted, not knowing where she came from, not knowing where she truly belonged.
But Holly Golightly had taken a new identity, running away from Tulip, Texas, married at the age of fourteen to Doc Barnes, a veterinarian. Her real name is Lula Mae Barnes, just as Capote's mother's name had been Lillie Mae Faulk before she took a more sophisticated name, Nina, after she married Cuban business man Joe Capote.
I attended her funeral, one of so many, her male coterie. But it was when the minister pulled out a copy of and began to read from it that I was stunned. For I gave her that book, in the hope, the dream that she would realize if you love anything enough it will become alive. She kept that book all the many years we were apart. Perhaps on some days she thought of me. I know that I still think of her and on some days, like Joe Bell, the bartender, I see bits and pieces of her as I walk the city streets, especially when the sun illuminates the gold, the white, the platinum of a feminine head of hair as if it showed on no other person on boulevard, no matter how bright the sun.
Oh, you say Holly Golightly was a brunette--like Audrey Hepburn. Well, that was Blake Edwards' idea of what Holly Golightly looked like. But it wasn't Capote's idea who should play her. It was Marilyn Monroe. No question. It was that blonde hair, almost platinum. But Capote only sold the film rights. He maintained no control over the direction or production of the film.
Capote was such a wonderful dancer. I can still remember photographs of him swirling Marilyn across the dance floor.
But Lee Strausberg told Marilyn playing Holly Golightly, a prostitute, wouldn't be good for her career. Monroe turned down the role for "The Misfits." It would be her last film. But that's another story.
History took its course. Henry Mancini composed "Moon River" for the score. George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn had chemistry. Following its release in 1961, Edwards' work became one of the iconic American films. However, it bears little resemblance to Capote's work, although Audrey Hepburn is stunning in that little black dress.
It was not uncommon that movies made from Faulkner's books premiered in Oxford, Mississippi. One, to Faulkner's chagrin, bore so little comparison to his original work, when called to the stage to make opening remarks, Faulkner said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the film you're about to see bears absolutely no resemblance to the book I wrote from which the title of this film was taken." He walked off stage and out of the theatre. I can't imagine Capote taking that approach, he was still connected to a famous film that led to further sales of his work. Perhaps it was that desire for fame that ultimately destroyed Capote.
Of course, in the novella, the young writer is unpublished. Holly takes it upon herself to make him famous by introducing him to her Hollywood agent. In the movie, Peppard is a kept man, whose, shall we say, sponsor, is played by Patricia Neal, who is known to Holly as 2E, the lady's apartment number. And, of course, the movie ends happily ever after with George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn embracing in the rain and having found "Cat" whom Holly had kicked out of the taxi cab.
But Capote tells Holly's view regarding love, or whatever feeling she is capable of describing as love.
"Never love a wild thing, Mr. Bell," Holly advised him. "That was Doc's mistake. He was always lugging home wild things. A hawk with a hurt wing. One time it was a full-grown bobcat with a broken leg. But you can't give your heart to a wild thing: the more you do, the stronger they get. Until they're strong enough to run into the woods. Or fly into a tree. Then a taller tree. Then the sky. That's how you'll end up, Mr. Bell. If you let yourself love a wild thing. You'll end up looking at the sky."
Truman Capote considered Holly Golightly his favorite character. I think he was right in his feelings. Of course, Capote, has said that the narrator of Breakfast at Tiffany's was gay. In fact, it has been repeatedly surmised that Holly Golightly is the literary embodiment of Christopher Isherwood's Sally Bowles. What divine decadence. The movie would never have ended the way it did, had Capote maintained creative control.
Let's just say this one will always touch a nerve in me. This one is for all the Holly Golightlys in the world and the Joe Bells who have the sense to listen to them, and I offer it with all the heartfelt sympathy I can muster for those who can't understand what it means to love a wild thing.
July 5, 2021
Holly Golightly鈥� making women feel inadequate since 1958.
At least the iconic Audrey Hepburn film version of her anyway, which technically debuted in 1961. It's probably best to set aside any notion you have of Hepburn鈥檚 portrayal in order to immerse yourself in the original Breakfast at Tiffany's text by Truman Capote though.
The film is set in the 鈥�60s, the book in the 鈥�40s. Hepburn鈥檚 Holly is a polished brunette, Capote鈥檚 is a Marilyn Monroe-like blonde. On the screen Ms. Golightly is a caf茅 society girl, on the page she is, essentially, a call girl. (To be accurate, she鈥檚 referred to as an "American geisha.鈥�)
She鈥檚 also fairly crass, and unfortunately quite racist (as is the language in the book). Still, she鈥檚 presented as the quintessential object of the male gaze. Even the seemingly brother-like unnamed narrator can鈥檛 help but idolize her as the manic pixie dream girl men perceive (want? need?) her to be.
What makes the book so successful is that it鈥檚 a master class in character development. By its conclusion readers have a very vivid portrait of Holly Golightly, which is a remarkable feat given she doesn鈥檛 really want anyone to know who she truly is. Capote shrouds her in an opaque cloak of mystery but also gives us magical glasses to see right through it.
Blog:
At least the iconic Audrey Hepburn film version of her anyway, which technically debuted in 1961. It's probably best to set aside any notion you have of Hepburn鈥檚 portrayal in order to immerse yourself in the original Breakfast at Tiffany's text by Truman Capote though.
The film is set in the 鈥�60s, the book in the 鈥�40s. Hepburn鈥檚 Holly is a polished brunette, Capote鈥檚 is a Marilyn Monroe-like blonde. On the screen Ms. Golightly is a caf茅 society girl, on the page she is, essentially, a call girl. (To be accurate, she鈥檚 referred to as an "American geisha.鈥�)
She鈥檚 also fairly crass, and unfortunately quite racist (as is the language in the book). Still, she鈥檚 presented as the quintessential object of the male gaze. Even the seemingly brother-like unnamed narrator can鈥檛 help but idolize her as the manic pixie dream girl men perceive (want? need?) her to be.
What makes the book so successful is that it鈥檚 a master class in character development. By its conclusion readers have a very vivid portrait of Holly Golightly, which is a remarkable feat given she doesn鈥檛 really want anyone to know who she truly is. Capote shrouds her in an opaque cloak of mystery but also gives us magical glasses to see right through it.
Blog:
May 11, 2018
Capote has a mesmerizing way with words. His description of the aptly named Holly Golightly is splendid and the character herself is a sort of blend of Daisy Buchanon and Madame Bovary. The friendship of the narrator Paul/"Fred" with Holly is beautifully and painfully described as are the parties and lovers that she entertains. I must see the film now...(see below)
The atmosphere of the book is a sort of bohemian yet preppy post-Beat decadence but with a tragic sexism that poisons Holly's relationships with everyone except the narrator. She is both an actor and a victim of her status as a sex object - this is what transports this story from something banal to something more complex and enduring.
The Diamond Guitar is a tender story of unrequited love as well, albeit homosexual love and longing and disappearance.
House of Flowers is a vivid depiction of a Haitian whorehouse, the Champs-Elys茅es and the sadomasochistic love of Ollite for Royal that leads her to an indifferent fate at the House of Flowers.
A Christmas Memory is a heartbreaking tale of camaraderie between a young boy and an older woman and their dreams of surpassing their humble existence.
Each of these stories of love, loss, and hope against hope that avoid sentimentalism in their cold rendering of events. It is more the external elements (the weather in New York, the changing seasons at the farm, the bee prophecy and the wind respectively) that color the psychology of the characters and their ambiguous fates.
I loved these stories and will read more of Truman Capote's work.
I started watching the movie with the amazing Audrey Hepburn as Golightly and George Peppard as "Fred" and find it captures the essence of the relationship between these two characters. However, why did they have Mickey Rooney do that ridiculous (and perhaps racist) imitation of Yunioshi, why not just have a Japanese actor. The other annoying thing about the movie is the comic spin that it puts to the book which while at times somewhat humorous was for the most part darker and more layered than depicted by Blake Edwards.
The atmosphere of the book is a sort of bohemian yet preppy post-Beat decadence but with a tragic sexism that poisons Holly's relationships with everyone except the narrator. She is both an actor and a victim of her status as a sex object - this is what transports this story from something banal to something more complex and enduring.
The Diamond Guitar is a tender story of unrequited love as well, albeit homosexual love and longing and disappearance.
House of Flowers is a vivid depiction of a Haitian whorehouse, the Champs-Elys茅es and the sadomasochistic love of Ollite for Royal that leads her to an indifferent fate at the House of Flowers.
A Christmas Memory is a heartbreaking tale of camaraderie between a young boy and an older woman and their dreams of surpassing their humble existence.
Each of these stories of love, loss, and hope against hope that avoid sentimentalism in their cold rendering of events. It is more the external elements (the weather in New York, the changing seasons at the farm, the bee prophecy and the wind respectively) that color the psychology of the characters and their ambiguous fates.
I loved these stories and will read more of Truman Capote's work.
I started watching the movie with the amazing Audrey Hepburn as Golightly and George Peppard as "Fred" and find it captures the essence of the relationship between these two characters. However, why did they have Mickey Rooney do that ridiculous (and perhaps racist) imitation of Yunioshi, why not just have a Japanese actor. The other annoying thing about the movie is the comic spin that it puts to the book which while at times somewhat humorous was for the most part darker and more layered than depicted by Blake Edwards.
November 6, 2021
Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote
Breakfast at Tiffany's is a novella by Truman Capote published in 1958. In it, a contemporary writer recalls his early days in New York City, when he makes the acquaintance of his remarkable neighbor, Holly Golightly, who is one of Capote's best-known creations.
Towards the end of World War II, a young, happy, and free girl named Holly Golightly moves to an apartment in New York. Holly easily communicates with various people, including neighbors and tenants, but does not want anyone to know the secrets of her life. But very soon some of the residents of this building complain about the noisy traffic to Holly's apartment.
One of Holly's neighbors, who tells the story, confronts him after a while and becomes interested in Holly and his behavior. But Holly is a strange girl and she does not like anyone to be curious in her life, she makes many surprises until the end of the story.
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毓賳賵丕賳: 氐亘丨丕賳賴 丿乇 鬲蹖賮丕賳蹖貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 鬲乇賵賲賳 讴丕倬賵鬲蹖貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 丕蹖乇噩 睾乇蹖亘貨 丕氐賮賴丕賳貙 賮乇丿丕貙 爻丕賱1390貨 丿乇156氐貨 卮丕亘讴9789648757002貨 賲賵囟賵毓 丿丕爻鬲丕賳賴丕蹖 讴賵鬲丕賴 丕夭 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 丕蹖丕賱丕鬲 賲鬲丨丿賴 丌賲乇蹖讴丕 - 爻丿賴 20賲
毓賳賵丕賳: 氐亘丨丕賳賴 丿乇 鬲蹖賮丕賳蹖貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 鬲乇賵賲賳 讴丕倬賵鬲蹖貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 乇丕賲蹖賳 丌匕乇亘賴乇丕賲貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 賲乇賵丕乇蹖丿貨 爻丕賱1395貨 丿乇116氐貨 卮丕亘讴9789641914594貨
毓賳賵丕賳: 氐亘丨丕賳賴 丿乇 鬲蹖賮丕賳蹖貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 鬲乇賵賲賳 讴丕倬賵鬲蹖貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 亘賴賲賳 丿丕乇丕賱卮賮丕卅蹖貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 賲丕賴蹖貨 爻丕賱1395貨 丿乇142氐貨 卮丕亘讴9789642092758貨 趩丕倬 丿賵賲 爻丕賱1396貨
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賳賯賱 丕夭 賲鬲賳: (賲賳 賴賲蹖卮賴 讴卮卮 毓噩蹖亘蹖 亘賴 禺丕賳賴 賴丕 賵 賲丨賱賴 賴丕蹖蹖 丿丕乇賲貙 讴賴 賯亘賱丕 丿乇 丌賳賴丕 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴乇丿賴 丕賲貨 賲孬賱丕 爻丕禺鬲賲丕賳蹖 爻賳诏蹖 丿乇 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賴賮鬲丕丿 賵 趩賳丿賲 卮乇賯蹖 賴爻鬲貙 讴賴 丿乇 爻丕賱賴丕蹖 丕賵賱 噩賳诏 噩賴丕賳蹖 丿賵賲貙 丕賵賱蹖賳 丌倬丕乇鬲賲丕賳賲 丿乇 芦賳蹖賵蹖賵乇讴禄 乇丕 丌賳噩丕 诏乇賮鬲賲貨 讴賱丕 蹖讴 丕鬲丕賯 亘賵丿 倬乇 丕夭 丕爻亘丕亘 賵 丕孬丕孬賴 蹖 賲毓賲賵賱 丕鬲丕賯賴丕蹖 夭蹖乇 卮蹖乇賵丕賳蹖貙 蹖讴 讴丕賳丕倬賴貙 賵 氐賳丿賱蹖 賴丕蹖 倬鬲 賵 倬賴賳蹖 讴賴 乇賵讴卮 賲禺賲賱 夭亘乇蹖貙 亘賴 乇賳诏 賯乇賲夭 鬲賳丿 丿丕卮鬲賳丿貙 賵 丌丿賲 乇丕 蹖丕丿 乇賵夭賴丕蹖 丿丕睾貙 丿乇 鬲乇丕賲賵丕 賲蹖丕賳丿丕禺鬲賳丿貨 丿蹖賵丕乇賴丕 诏趩蹖 亘賵丿賳丿貙 賵 亘賴 乇賳诏蹖 卮亘蹖賴 鬲賮丕賱賴 蹖 鬲賵鬲賵賳貨 賴賲賴 蹖 丿蹖賵丕乇賴丕蹖 禺丕賳賴貙 丨鬲蹖 丿蹖賵丕乇 丿爻鬲卮賵蹖蹖貙 倬乇 亘賵丿 丕夭 毓讴爻賴丕蹖 賵蹖乇丕賳賴 賴丕蹖 芦乇賵賲 亘丕爻鬲丕賳禄 讴賴 诏匕乇 夭賲丕賳 亘乇 诏賵卮賴 诏賵卮賴 卮丕賳貙 賱讴賴 賴丕蹖 賯賴賵賴 丕蹖貙 亘賴 噩丕 诏匕丕卮鬲賴 亘賵丿貨 鬲賳賴丕 倬賳噩乇賴 蹖 禺丕賳賴 亘賴 乇丕賴 倬賱賴 蹖 丕囟胤乇丕乇蹖 亘丕夭 賲蹖卮丿
亘丕 丕蹖賳賴賲賴貙 賴乇 賵賯鬲 讴賱蹖丿 丕蹖賳 丌倬丕乇鬲賲丕賳 乇丕貙 丿乇 噩蹖亘賲 賱賲爻 賲蹖讴乇丿賲貙 丨爻 禺賵亘蹖 亘賴賲 丿爻鬲 賲蹖丿丕丿貨 亘丕 賵噩賵丿 鬲丕乇蹖讴蹖 賵 賲賱丕賱卮貙 賲讴丕賳蹖 亘賵丿 丕夭 丌賳 禺賵丿賲貙 丕賵賱蹖賳 賲讴丕賳 丕夭 丌賳 禺賵丿賲貨 讴鬲丕亘賴丕蹖賲 賴賲 丌賳噩丕 亘賵丿賳丿貙 賵 卮蹖卮賴 賴丕蹖蹖 倬乇 丕夭 賲丿丕丿貙 丿乇 丕賳鬲馗丕乇 鬲乇丕卮蹖丿賴 卮丿賳貨 禺賱丕氐賴 丌賳噩丕 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 賮乇丕賴賲 亘賵丿貙 賴乇趩賴 丌賳 夭賲丕賳 亘賴 禺蹖丕賱賲 賱丕夭賲 丿丕卮鬲賲 鬲丕 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 丕蹖 卮賵賲 讴賴 丿賱賲 賲蹖禺賵丕爻鬲
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丕賱亘鬲賴 讴賴 賴賲賴 蹖 丕蹖賳賴丕 賲丕賱 賲丿鬲賴丕 倬蹖卮 丕爻鬲貙 賵 賲賳 鬲丕 賴賲蹖賳 賴賮鬲賴 蹖 倬蹖卮貙 爻丕賱賴丕 賲蹖卮丿 讴賴 芦噩賵 亘賱禄 乇丕 賳丿蹖丿賴 亘賵丿賲)貨 倬丕蹖丕賳 賳賯賱
鬲丕乇蹖禺 亘賴賳诏丕賲 乇爻丕賳蹖 03/11/1399賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 14/08/1400賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
Breakfast at Tiffany's is a novella by Truman Capote published in 1958. In it, a contemporary writer recalls his early days in New York City, when he makes the acquaintance of his remarkable neighbor, Holly Golightly, who is one of Capote's best-known creations.
Towards the end of World War II, a young, happy, and free girl named Holly Golightly moves to an apartment in New York. Holly easily communicates with various people, including neighbors and tenants, but does not want anyone to know the secrets of her life. But very soon some of the residents of this building complain about the noisy traffic to Holly's apartment.
One of Holly's neighbors, who tells the story, confronts him after a while and becomes interested in Holly and his behavior. But Holly is a strange girl and she does not like anyone to be curious in her life, she makes many surprises until the end of the story.
鬲丕乇蹖禺 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 禺賵丕賳卮: 爻丕賱2012賲蹖賱丕丿蹖
毓賳賵丕賳: 氐亘丨丕賳賴 丿乇 鬲蹖賮丕賳蹖貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 鬲乇賵賲賳 讴丕倬賵鬲蹖貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 丕蹖乇噩 睾乇蹖亘貨 丕氐賮賴丕賳貙 賮乇丿丕貙 爻丕賱1390貨 丿乇156氐貨 卮丕亘讴9789648757002貨 賲賵囟賵毓 丿丕爻鬲丕賳賴丕蹖 讴賵鬲丕賴 丕夭 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 丕蹖丕賱丕鬲 賲鬲丨丿賴 丌賲乇蹖讴丕 - 爻丿賴 20賲
毓賳賵丕賳: 氐亘丨丕賳賴 丿乇 鬲蹖賮丕賳蹖貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 鬲乇賵賲賳 讴丕倬賵鬲蹖貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 乇丕賲蹖賳 丌匕乇亘賴乇丕賲貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 賲乇賵丕乇蹖丿貨 爻丕賱1395貨 丿乇116氐貨 卮丕亘讴9789641914594貨
毓賳賵丕賳: 氐亘丨丕賳賴 丿乇 鬲蹖賮丕賳蹖貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 鬲乇賵賲賳 讴丕倬賵鬲蹖貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 亘賴賲賳 丿丕乇丕賱卮賮丕卅蹖貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 賲丕賴蹖貨 爻丕賱1395貨 丿乇142氐貨 卮丕亘讴9789642092758貨 趩丕倬 丿賵賲 爻丕賱1396貨
氐亘丨丕賳賴 丿乇 鬲蹖賮丕賳蹖貙 賲丕噩乇丕蹖 丿禺鬲乇 噩賵丕賳蹖貙 丿乇 芦賳蹖賵蹖賵乇讴禄 丕爻鬲貙 讴賴 夭賳丿诏蹖鈥屫ж� 乇丕貙 丿乇 讴丕賮賴鈥� 賴丕 賵 亘丕乇賴丕 賵 乇爻鬲賵乇丕賳鈥屬囏ж� 賵 亘丕 賲乇丿賴丕 賲蹖鈥屭柏必з嗀� 賵 亘賴 賳馗乇 賲蹖鈥屫必池�: 賳賴 卮睾賱蹖 丿丕乇丿貙 賵 賳賴 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴鈥� 丕蹖貨 芦鬲乇賵賲賳 讴丕倬賵鬲蹖禄 乇賲丕賳 讴賵鬲丕賴 芦氐亘丨丕賳賴 丿乇 鬲蹖賮丕賳蹖禄 乇丕貙 丿乇 爻丕賱1958賲蹖賱丕丿蹖 賲賳鬲卮乇 讴乇丿賳丿貨 芦賴丕賱蹖 诏賵賱丕蹖鬲賱蹖禄貙 卮禺氐蹖鬲 丕氐賱蹖 乇賲丕賳貙 賲卮賴賵乇鬲乇蹖賳 卮禺氐蹖鬲蹖 卮丿貙 讴賴 芦讴丕倬賵鬲蹖禄 丌賮乇蹖丿賴貙 賵 賴賲趩賳蹖賳 賴賳賵夭 賴賲 蹖讴蹖 丕夭 賲卮賴賵乇鬲乇蹖賳 卮禺氐蹖鬲鈥屬囏й� 鬲丕乇蹖禺 丕丿亘蹖丕鬲 芦丕賲乇蹖讴丕禄 賳蹖夭 賴爻鬲貨 賳孬乇 芦讴丕倬賵鬲蹖禄 丿乇 丕蹖賳 乇賲丕賳 乇丕 賴賲貙 賲蹖鈥屫堌з� 丕賵噩 倬禺鬲诏蹖 賳孬乇 丕蹖卮丕賳 丿丕賳爻鬲貙 鬲丕 噩丕蹖蹖讴賴貙 賴賲蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘丕毓孬 卮丿 芦賳賵乇賲賳 賲蹖賱乇禄貙 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴鈥� 蹖 賴賲鈥屫堌辟団€� 蹖 芦讴丕倬賵鬲蹖禄貙 丕蹖卮丕賳 乇丕 芦讴丕賲賱鈥屫臂屬� 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴鈥� 蹖 賳爻賱 賲賳禄 亘賳丕賲賳丿貨 芦亘賱蹖讴 丕丿賵丕乇丿夭禄貙 讴丕乇诏乇丿丕賳 芦丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖禄貙 賮蹖賱賲蹖 丕夭 乇賵蹖 丕蹖賳 乇賲丕賳 爻丕禺鬲賳丿貙 讴賴 亘丕 丌賳鈥屭┵� 賲孬賱 蹖亘卮鈥屫� 丕賯鬲亘丕爻鈥屬囏й� 爻蹖賳賲丕蹖蹖貙 丕夭 乇賲丕賳 囟毓蹖賮鈥屫� 丕爻鬲貙 亘丕毓孬 卮賴乇鬲 亘蹖卮 丕夭 倬蹖卮 乇賲丕賳 卮丿貨 賳賯卮 賴丕賱蹖 芦诏賵賱丕蹖鬲賱蹖禄 丿乇 丕蹖賳 賮蹖賱賲 乇丕 芦丕丿乇蹖 賴倬亘賵乇賳禄貙 亘丕夭蹖 讴乇丿賴 讴賴 丌賳 卮禺氐蹖鬲 賴賲 蹖讴蹖 丕夭 亘蹖丕丿 賲丕賳丿賳蹖鈥屫臂屬� 卮禺氐蹖鬲鈥屬囏й� 爻蹖賳賲丕蹖蹖 鬲丕乇蹖禺 丕爻鬲
賳賯賱 丕夭 賲鬲賳: (賲賳 賴賲蹖卮賴 讴卮卮 毓噩蹖亘蹖 亘賴 禺丕賳賴 賴丕 賵 賲丨賱賴 賴丕蹖蹖 丿丕乇賲貙 讴賴 賯亘賱丕 丿乇 丌賳賴丕 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴乇丿賴 丕賲貨 賲孬賱丕 爻丕禺鬲賲丕賳蹖 爻賳诏蹖 丿乇 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賴賮鬲丕丿 賵 趩賳丿賲 卮乇賯蹖 賴爻鬲貙 讴賴 丿乇 爻丕賱賴丕蹖 丕賵賱 噩賳诏 噩賴丕賳蹖 丿賵賲貙 丕賵賱蹖賳 丌倬丕乇鬲賲丕賳賲 丿乇 芦賳蹖賵蹖賵乇讴禄 乇丕 丌賳噩丕 诏乇賮鬲賲貨 讴賱丕 蹖讴 丕鬲丕賯 亘賵丿 倬乇 丕夭 丕爻亘丕亘 賵 丕孬丕孬賴 蹖 賲毓賲賵賱 丕鬲丕賯賴丕蹖 夭蹖乇 卮蹖乇賵丕賳蹖貙 蹖讴 讴丕賳丕倬賴貙 賵 氐賳丿賱蹖 賴丕蹖 倬鬲 賵 倬賴賳蹖 讴賴 乇賵讴卮 賲禺賲賱 夭亘乇蹖貙 亘賴 乇賳诏 賯乇賲夭 鬲賳丿 丿丕卮鬲賳丿貙 賵 丌丿賲 乇丕 蹖丕丿 乇賵夭賴丕蹖 丿丕睾貙 丿乇 鬲乇丕賲賵丕 賲蹖丕賳丿丕禺鬲賳丿貨 丿蹖賵丕乇賴丕 诏趩蹖 亘賵丿賳丿貙 賵 亘賴 乇賳诏蹖 卮亘蹖賴 鬲賮丕賱賴 蹖 鬲賵鬲賵賳貨 賴賲賴 蹖 丿蹖賵丕乇賴丕蹖 禺丕賳賴貙 丨鬲蹖 丿蹖賵丕乇 丿爻鬲卮賵蹖蹖貙 倬乇 亘賵丿 丕夭 毓讴爻賴丕蹖 賵蹖乇丕賳賴 賴丕蹖 芦乇賵賲 亘丕爻鬲丕賳禄 讴賴 诏匕乇 夭賲丕賳 亘乇 诏賵卮賴 诏賵卮賴 卮丕賳貙 賱讴賴 賴丕蹖 賯賴賵賴 丕蹖貙 亘賴 噩丕 诏匕丕卮鬲賴 亘賵丿貨 鬲賳賴丕 倬賳噩乇賴 蹖 禺丕賳賴 亘賴 乇丕賴 倬賱賴 蹖 丕囟胤乇丕乇蹖 亘丕夭 賲蹖卮丿
亘丕 丕蹖賳賴賲賴貙 賴乇 賵賯鬲 讴賱蹖丿 丕蹖賳 丌倬丕乇鬲賲丕賳 乇丕貙 丿乇 噩蹖亘賲 賱賲爻 賲蹖讴乇丿賲貙 丨爻 禺賵亘蹖 亘賴賲 丿爻鬲 賲蹖丿丕丿貨 亘丕 賵噩賵丿 鬲丕乇蹖讴蹖 賵 賲賱丕賱卮貙 賲讴丕賳蹖 亘賵丿 丕夭 丌賳 禺賵丿賲貙 丕賵賱蹖賳 賲讴丕賳 丕夭 丌賳 禺賵丿賲貨 讴鬲丕亘賴丕蹖賲 賴賲 丌賳噩丕 亘賵丿賳丿貙 賵 卮蹖卮賴 賴丕蹖蹖 倬乇 丕夭 賲丿丕丿貙 丿乇 丕賳鬲馗丕乇 鬲乇丕卮蹖丿賴 卮丿賳貨 禺賱丕氐賴 丌賳噩丕 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 賮乇丕賴賲 亘賵丿貙 賴乇趩賴 丌賳 夭賲丕賳 亘賴 禺蹖丕賱賲 賱丕夭賲 丿丕卮鬲賲 鬲丕 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 丕蹖 卮賵賲 讴賴 丿賱賲 賲蹖禺賵丕爻鬲
丌賳 乇賵夭賴丕 賴蹖趩 亘賴 匕賴賳賲 賳乇爻蹖丿賴 亘賵丿貙 讴賴 丿乇亘丕乇賴 蹖 芦賴丕賱蹖 诏賵賱丕蹖鬲賱蹖禄 亘賳賵蹖爻賲貨 卮丕蹖丿 丕诏乇 丌賳 诏賮鬲诏賵 亘丕 芦噩賵 亘賱禄 倬蹖卮 賳賲蹖丌賲丿貙 賵 賴賲賴 蹖 禺丕胤乇賴 賴丕蹖賲 丕夭 賳賵 夭賳丿賴 賳賲蹖卮丿貙 丨丕賱丕 賴賲 亘賴 氐乇丕賮鬲卮 賳賲蹖丕賮鬲丕丿賲
賴丕賱蹖 诏賵賱丕蹖鬲賱蹖貙 賲爻鬲兀噩乇 蹖讴蹖 丕夭 賵丕丨丿賴丕蹖 爻丕禺鬲賲丕賳 爻賳诏蹖 賯丿蹖賲蹖 亘賵丿貙 丿乇爻鬲 夭蹖乇 賵丕丨丿 賲賳貨 芦噩賵 亘賱禄貙 氐丕丨亘 亘丕乇蹖 賳亘卮 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 芦賱讴夭蹖賳诏鬲賵賳禄 亘賵丿貙 賵 賴賳賵夭 賴賲 賴爻鬲貨 賴賲 賲賳 賵 賴賲 芦賴丕賱蹖禄 乇賵夭蹖 卮卮 賴賮鬲 賲乇鬲亘賴 賲蹖乇賮鬲蹖賲 丌賳噩丕貨 丕賱亘鬲賴 賴賲蹖卮賴 亘賴 賯氐丿 賳賵卮蹖丿賳 賳賲蹖乇賮鬲蹖賲貙 亘賱讴賴 诏丕賴蹖 賲蹖禺賵丕爻鬲蹖賲 鬲賱賮賳蹖 亘夭賳蹖賲貨 夭賲丕賳 噩賳诏貙 讴賲鬲乇 讴爻蹖 鬲賱賮賳 禺氐賵氐蹖 丿丕卮鬲貨 亘賴 毓賱丕賵蹃貙 芦噩賵 亘賱禄貙 倬蹖睾丕賲诏蹖乇 禺賵亘蹖 亘賵丿貙 賵 丕蹖賳 亘乇丕蹖 芦賴丕賱蹖禄貙 賲賵賴亘鬲 亘夭乇诏蹖 亘賴 丨爻丕亘 賲蹖丌賲丿貙 趩賵賳 賴乇 乇賵夭 讴賱蹖 倬蹖睾丕賲 丿丕卮鬲
丕賱亘鬲賴 讴賴 賴賲賴 蹖 丕蹖賳賴丕 賲丕賱 賲丿鬲賴丕 倬蹖卮 丕爻鬲貙 賵 賲賳 鬲丕 賴賲蹖賳 賴賮鬲賴 蹖 倬蹖卮貙 爻丕賱賴丕 賲蹖卮丿 讴賴 芦噩賵 亘賱禄 乇丕 賳丿蹖丿賴 亘賵丿賲)貨 倬丕蹖丕賳 賳賯賱
鬲丕乇蹖禺 亘賴賳诏丕賲 乇爻丕賳蹖 03/11/1399賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 14/08/1400賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
July 27, 2021
鈥淚f I could find a real-life place that made me feel like Tiffany鈥檚, then I鈥檇 buy some furniture and give the cat a name.鈥�
Only Truman Capote could make me feel so nostalgic for a place and time I鈥檝e never inhabited. He鈥檚 done this remarkably well with all of the pieces I鈥檝e read thus far. This particular collection includes the iconic Breakfast at Tiffany鈥檚 as well as three shorter pieces, one of which I鈥檝e reviewed elsewhere 鈥� A Christmas Memory (loved it!). I鈥檝e never seen the film. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that Holly Golightly was not at all like the angel I imagined Audrey Hepburn to have portrayed! That鈥檚 not a complaint by any means. I was entirely beguiled by the original version of Holly that Capote dreamed up before Hollywood stepped in. Capote鈥檚 Holly is charming, for sure, but also much more enigmatic than I would have envisioned. She鈥檚 deliciously darker. There鈥檚 something about Holly that I could relate to 鈥� a restlessness of spirit, perhaps. Unlike yours truly, however, Holly is a bit of a fleeting vision. One gets the sense that she鈥檒l be here one second and the next鈥� poof!. Even the name slot affixed to her mailbox gives us a clue straightaway.
鈥淧rinted, rather Cartier-formal, it read: Miss Holiday Golightly; and, underneath, in the corner, Traveling. It nagged me like a tune: Miss Holiday Golightly, Traveling.鈥�
Just who is this woman? That鈥檚 what our narrator, an aspiring writer, intends to find out. I was fascinated by the dynamics and the dialogue between Holly and those with whom she interacted. I鈥檓 always perplexed by the fact that some people seem so closed off from one another these days. Yet these charming creatures in literature suddenly materialize on the fire escapes of neighbors they know nary a lick! I fell a little in love with Holly Golightly along with the rest of the crowd from that moment on. What more can I say? Bravo, Mr. Capote!
鈥溾€� you can鈥檛 give your heart to a wild thing: the more you do, the stronger they get. Until they鈥檙e strong enough to run into the woods. Or fly into a tree. Then a taller tree. Then the sky.鈥�
Only Truman Capote could make me feel so nostalgic for a place and time I鈥檝e never inhabited. He鈥檚 done this remarkably well with all of the pieces I鈥檝e read thus far. This particular collection includes the iconic Breakfast at Tiffany鈥檚 as well as three shorter pieces, one of which I鈥檝e reviewed elsewhere 鈥� A Christmas Memory (loved it!). I鈥檝e never seen the film. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that Holly Golightly was not at all like the angel I imagined Audrey Hepburn to have portrayed! That鈥檚 not a complaint by any means. I was entirely beguiled by the original version of Holly that Capote dreamed up before Hollywood stepped in. Capote鈥檚 Holly is charming, for sure, but also much more enigmatic than I would have envisioned. She鈥檚 deliciously darker. There鈥檚 something about Holly that I could relate to 鈥� a restlessness of spirit, perhaps. Unlike yours truly, however, Holly is a bit of a fleeting vision. One gets the sense that she鈥檒l be here one second and the next鈥� poof!. Even the name slot affixed to her mailbox gives us a clue straightaway.
鈥淧rinted, rather Cartier-formal, it read: Miss Holiday Golightly; and, underneath, in the corner, Traveling. It nagged me like a tune: Miss Holiday Golightly, Traveling.鈥�
Just who is this woman? That鈥檚 what our narrator, an aspiring writer, intends to find out. I was fascinated by the dynamics and the dialogue between Holly and those with whom she interacted. I鈥檓 always perplexed by the fact that some people seem so closed off from one another these days. Yet these charming creatures in literature suddenly materialize on the fire escapes of neighbors they know nary a lick! I fell a little in love with Holly Golightly along with the rest of the crowd from that moment on. What more can I say? Bravo, Mr. Capote!
鈥溾€� you can鈥檛 give your heart to a wild thing: the more you do, the stronger they get. Until they鈥檙e strong enough to run into the woods. Or fly into a tree. Then a taller tree. Then the sky.鈥�
May 4, 2021
鈥淥h darling, this is the most perfect little story, my idea of the absolute finito! Not a comma out of place, not a iota of clumsiness blurring the flawless tone. The most proper words pushing all the right buttons, stirring up emotions one didn鈥檛 even know were there.
And quel dialogue; not un peu bit phony. Or perhaps it is so, but it is real phony and that makes it genuine. Same as everyone inhabiting this story. Bless you, darling, for having done such a marvellous job with the whole merde of an affair; you managed to make it shine, positively glow. Not that those other people in Hollywood didn鈥檛, by God, it had the most spectacular sugarcoating, their film did, tr猫s charming, they even changed the time from the early 1940s to the 1960s so that they could have Mr Givenchy鈥檚 divine gowns, them being infinitely more chic than those war-time frocks. But quel rat that they had to add the romance and the happy end and take out all the hard edges. Oh well, it did turn out beautifully, no complaints, but still鈥�
鈥�this is the real thing, and yes, I got what you did, even though, I鈥檓 no 鈥榮erious鈥� reader, my reading consisting of tabloids and travel folders and astrological charts, not that this ever stopped you from sharing your stories with me. But I must simply insist that those know-it-all book lovers give it a try, if only to get an idea of what the mean reds were really all about, why I鈥檇 rather have cancer than a dishonest heart and why it鈥檚 better to look at the sky than live there. Such an empty place; so vague.
I can鈥檛 haul myself to Tiffany鈥檚 these days, but your heavenly little story serves as that kind of place I want to lose myself in. The place where nothing very bad could happen. Not while those perfectly constructed sentences unfold, anyway.
I鈥檓 very scared, Buster. Yes, at last. Because it could go on forever. Not knowing what鈥檚 yours until you鈥檝e thrown it away. Happy endings are for the screen. Books afford to show that it鈥檚 the everlasting journey that matters鈥�
Lulamae Barnes, aka Holly Golightly, (still) Travelling."
Fourth reading. All in one sitting. Getting even better with time.
And quel dialogue; not un peu bit phony. Or perhaps it is so, but it is real phony and that makes it genuine. Same as everyone inhabiting this story. Bless you, darling, for having done such a marvellous job with the whole merde of an affair; you managed to make it shine, positively glow. Not that those other people in Hollywood didn鈥檛, by God, it had the most spectacular sugarcoating, their film did, tr猫s charming, they even changed the time from the early 1940s to the 1960s so that they could have Mr Givenchy鈥檚 divine gowns, them being infinitely more chic than those war-time frocks. But quel rat that they had to add the romance and the happy end and take out all the hard edges. Oh well, it did turn out beautifully, no complaints, but still鈥�
鈥�this is the real thing, and yes, I got what you did, even though, I鈥檓 no 鈥榮erious鈥� reader, my reading consisting of tabloids and travel folders and astrological charts, not that this ever stopped you from sharing your stories with me. But I must simply insist that those know-it-all book lovers give it a try, if only to get an idea of what the mean reds were really all about, why I鈥檇 rather have cancer than a dishonest heart and why it鈥檚 better to look at the sky than live there. Such an empty place; so vague.
I can鈥檛 haul myself to Tiffany鈥檚 these days, but your heavenly little story serves as that kind of place I want to lose myself in. The place where nothing very bad could happen. Not while those perfectly constructed sentences unfold, anyway.
I鈥檓 very scared, Buster. Yes, at last. Because it could go on forever. Not knowing what鈥檚 yours until you鈥檝e thrown it away. Happy endings are for the screen. Books afford to show that it鈥檚 the everlasting journey that matters鈥�
Lulamae Barnes, aka Holly Golightly, (still) Travelling."
Fourth reading. All in one sitting. Getting even better with time.
January 16, 2019
A charming little anecdote about some ruby-rare bright young thing & ensuing crew--delightly-ful! To be read in a complete sitting in some secret well-lit garden with a basket of tea and crumpets. Necessary as stress relief and sweet as a caramel. Another plus for the already egotistical NYC, Holly Golightly is heavily embossed onto the overall structure, asphalt jungle, itself.
December 18, 2024
Am citit at卯tea povestiri nereu葯ite despre fete nebunatice, nes膬buite, z膬p膬cite, rele, r膬ut膬cioase, meschine etc., 卯nc卯t am deschis cartea lui Capote f膬r膬 s膬-mi fac nici o iluzie. Am urm膬rit ac葲iunea (c卯t膬 este!) cu mult scepticism. Am fost vigilent la fiecare f(r)az膬 a povestirii, am m膬surat gesturile lui Holly Golightly (adev膬ratul ei nume e, 卯n realitate, Lulamae Barnes) cu asprimea unui judec膬tor de moravuri, am 卯ncercat s-o privesc nu prin ochii naratorului fascinat de exuberanta femeie, ci prin ochii mei ne卯ncrez膬tori, exigen葲i, acri, r膬i...
Povestirea (c膬 doar n-o fi roman...) m-a constr卯ns s膬 las la o parte scepticismul. Mi-a pl膬cut. O fat膬, un soi de 鈥瀏hei葯膬 american膬鈥� (zice Capote), 卯i z膬p膬ce葯te pe b膬rba葲i 葯i, 卯n urma unui incident bizar (e acuzat膬 de leg膬turi cu mafia drogurilor), ia avionul spre Rio 葯i dispare 卯n neant. A葯a, pur 葯i simplu. Peste 15 ani, neconsolatul narator anonim 葯i Joe Bell, proprietarul unei cr卯葯me de pe Lexington Avenue, 卯葯i amintesc de Holly 葯i de fulger膬toarea ei prezen葲膬 卯n New York-ul anilor 40. A葯 卯ndr膬zni s膬 spun c膬 Holly e o perfect膬 卯ntrupare a t卯rfei neprih膬nite. 葮i mai are 葯i umor...
P. S. Am v膬zut filmul cu Audrey Hepburn cu prea mult timp 卯n urm膬 葯i nu mai p膬strez nici o amintire legat膬 de el.
Povestirea (c膬 doar n-o fi roman...) m-a constr卯ns s膬 las la o parte scepticismul. Mi-a pl膬cut. O fat膬, un soi de 鈥瀏hei葯膬 american膬鈥� (zice Capote), 卯i z膬p膬ce葯te pe b膬rba葲i 葯i, 卯n urma unui incident bizar (e acuzat膬 de leg膬turi cu mafia drogurilor), ia avionul spre Rio 葯i dispare 卯n neant. A葯a, pur 葯i simplu. Peste 15 ani, neconsolatul narator anonim 葯i Joe Bell, proprietarul unei cr卯葯me de pe Lexington Avenue, 卯葯i amintesc de Holly 葯i de fulger膬toarea ei prezen葲膬 卯n New York-ul anilor 40. A葯 卯ndr膬zni s膬 spun c膬 Holly e o perfect膬 卯ntrupare a t卯rfei neprih膬nite. 葮i mai are 葯i umor...
P. S. Am v膬zut filmul cu Audrey Hepburn cu prea mult timp 卯n urm膬 葯i nu mai p膬strez nici o amintire legat膬 de el.
May 20, 2017
Delicious.
Upon finishing Truman Capote鈥檚 1958 brilliant short novel Breakfast at Tiffany鈥檚 my first thought was that Capote had been influenced heavily by F. Scott Fitzgerald鈥檚 1925 Jazz Age masterpiece . I was intrigued further to find that several other reviewers had noticed the same similarities. Both involve and are centrally concerned with a charismatic and alluring socialite with humble beginnings and sketchy personal details and with a subtle naivet茅 hidden under a mask of societal cunning bordering on the streetwise.
I would also draw a comparison between Holly and Vladimir Nabokov鈥檚 Dolores from his 1955 work . Both heroines exhibit a frank and earthy, almost playful sexuality that is intoxicating to the male characters, who pine and lust with barely contained libido.
Finally, I see similarities between Capote鈥檚 themes and settings and Hemingway鈥檚 1926 novel , especially between the tense platonic relationship concerning Holly and the narrator and Hemingway鈥檚 Lady Brett and Jake. Both male narrators are sad caricatures of voyeuristic and doomed love, both pale also-rans to the Latin rivals.
In Holly Golightly, Capote has created an archetypal American woman of the twentieth century, at once sexual and material, yet in a playful, teasing and fun way. He could have written another hundred pages of scenes with her and I would have been as captivated as the unnamed (except casually by Holly) narrator. Of course, Audrey Hepburn鈥檚 1961 portrayal was so intoxicating as to become one with Capote鈥檚 vision.
Capote has penned a dandy and, like the best chocolate, it is a guilty delight.
Upon finishing Truman Capote鈥檚 1958 brilliant short novel Breakfast at Tiffany鈥檚 my first thought was that Capote had been influenced heavily by F. Scott Fitzgerald鈥檚 1925 Jazz Age masterpiece . I was intrigued further to find that several other reviewers had noticed the same similarities. Both involve and are centrally concerned with a charismatic and alluring socialite with humble beginnings and sketchy personal details and with a subtle naivet茅 hidden under a mask of societal cunning bordering on the streetwise.
I would also draw a comparison between Holly and Vladimir Nabokov鈥檚 Dolores from his 1955 work . Both heroines exhibit a frank and earthy, almost playful sexuality that is intoxicating to the male characters, who pine and lust with barely contained libido.
Finally, I see similarities between Capote鈥檚 themes and settings and Hemingway鈥檚 1926 novel , especially between the tense platonic relationship concerning Holly and the narrator and Hemingway鈥檚 Lady Brett and Jake. Both male narrators are sad caricatures of voyeuristic and doomed love, both pale also-rans to the Latin rivals.
In Holly Golightly, Capote has created an archetypal American woman of the twentieth century, at once sexual and material, yet in a playful, teasing and fun way. He could have written another hundred pages of scenes with her and I would have been as captivated as the unnamed (except casually by Holly) narrator. Of course, Audrey Hepburn鈥檚 1961 portrayal was so intoxicating as to become one with Capote鈥檚 vision.
Capote has penned a dandy and, like the best chocolate, it is a guilty delight.
April 15, 2018
The theme that unites Breakfast at Tiffany's with the three much shorter stories in this volume is the powerful bond of friendship between unexpected people or in unusual circumstances.
The title story is a male fantasy - so I wrote in 2010. Except that Capote was gay, so it's probably his idea of a typical straight man's fantasy. As Carmen says in a comment, she's what we'd now call a .
Holly
The story is of course about Holly Golightly, a charming but utterly self-absorbed, mysterious fantasist, full of intriguing contradictions. She has big ambitions and none at all, but she does want the security of having breakfast at Tiffany's. She is often flirtatious, but at other times she plays the total innocent (e.g. getting her neighbour to put sun oil on her). At times she is oblivious to what people around her know and think, but at others, she is remarkably perspicacious about the personality and motives of those around her.
Knowing more about Holly only makes one realise how unknowable she is. When talking about her childhood, "it was elusive, nameless, placeless, an impressionistic recital".
Fred
At times, the narrator acts like a stalker of his attractive and enigmatic neighbour (examining her rubbish and investigating what she read at the library), yet he didn't alienate me. Perhaps one reason is the way that Holly uses men. As the men are happy to be used by her, where's the harm?
Film
It's written in such a visual way, that I'm not surprised it was turned into a film. (I hadn't seen the film when I read and wrote this, though I had seen pictures of Audrey Hepburn as Holly.)
Quirky quote
"A group of nuns who were trying on masks" (in a department store).
Quirky "fact"
Holly has a problem with Thursdays, much like Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!
The other, shorter stories in this volume
House of Flowers
This starts in a brothel in Port au Prince and the dialogue did not ring at all true to me (but I'm hardly an expert on Haitian prostitution). It explores the friendship between the working girls, and how love is hard to discern in such an environment.
What is love like? "You feel as though pepper had been sprinkled on your heart, as though tiny fish are swimming in your veins".
A Diamond Guitar
About friendship in prison and the effect of long-term incarceration on the psyche.
A Christmas Memory
A beautiful story of the self-made traditions that form a loving bond between a young boy and an elderly relative.
Note: I updated this review in April 2018, picking up on comments below - without rereading the book!
The title story is a male fantasy - so I wrote in 2010. Except that Capote was gay, so it's probably his idea of a typical straight man's fantasy. As Carmen says in a comment, she's what we'd now call a .
Holly
The story is of course about Holly Golightly, a charming but utterly self-absorbed, mysterious fantasist, full of intriguing contradictions. She has big ambitions and none at all, but she does want the security of having breakfast at Tiffany's. She is often flirtatious, but at other times she plays the total innocent (e.g. getting her neighbour to put sun oil on her). At times she is oblivious to what people around her know and think, but at others, she is remarkably perspicacious about the personality and motives of those around her.
Knowing more about Holly only makes one realise how unknowable she is. When talking about her childhood, "it was elusive, nameless, placeless, an impressionistic recital".
Fred
At times, the narrator acts like a stalker of his attractive and enigmatic neighbour (examining her rubbish and investigating what she read at the library), yet he didn't alienate me. Perhaps one reason is the way that Holly uses men. As the men are happy to be used by her, where's the harm?
Film
It's written in such a visual way, that I'm not surprised it was turned into a film. (I hadn't seen the film when I read and wrote this, though I had seen pictures of Audrey Hepburn as Holly.)
Quirky quote
"A group of nuns who were trying on masks" (in a department store).
Quirky "fact"
Holly has a problem with Thursdays, much like Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!
The other, shorter stories in this volume
House of Flowers
This starts in a brothel in Port au Prince and the dialogue did not ring at all true to me (but I'm hardly an expert on Haitian prostitution). It explores the friendship between the working girls, and how love is hard to discern in such an environment.
What is love like? "You feel as though pepper had been sprinkled on your heart, as though tiny fish are swimming in your veins".
A Diamond Guitar
About friendship in prison and the effect of long-term incarceration on the psyche.
A Christmas Memory
A beautiful story of the self-made traditions that form a loving bond between a young boy and an elderly relative.
Note: I updated this review in April 2018, picking up on comments below - without rereading the book!
August 5, 2016
Fred, our story's narrator, has been called by Joe Bell the proprietor of Hamburg Heaven because he has heard about Holly. So begins Truman Capote's classic Breakfast at Tiffany's, the tale of New York society girl Holly Golightly. As soon as Fred hears about Holly, the story flashes back to 1943 and we begin our story of Holly.
Growing up I knew Aubrey Hepburn as Eliza Dolittle and Tiffany's as a diamond store, so I envisioned Breakfast at Tiffany's to be a tale of the upper crust of New York society dining at the Plaza Hotel. How wrong was in these thoughts. Our protagonists live in a brownstone apartment, not the Plaza. "Fred" named in honor of Holly's brother is a festering writer who seems to be Capote himself and his upstairs neighbor is a mysterious girl named Holly Golightly who adds traveling to her business cards. Until the two have any interactions, Holly remains an enigma, adding to her mystique.
Throughout the book, Holly still remains an enigma even after she and "Fred" build on their friendly, platonic relationship. Who is Holly? Is she a Hollywood starlet or Arkansas hillbilly? A New York society girl or prostitute or a member of the mafia? Because the novella is only 100 pages in length, Capote tackles all of these ideas while really building up Holly's character. Even though I prefer epic novels, I also enjoy a shorter story that flushes out a character's personality and has me captivated from the first pages. Capote's novella does this and then some, allowing me to quickly read to the conclusion.
Tiffany's does make an appearance in the novella although not the way I had thought it would. Holly in spite of all the glitz in her life, wants to be remembered the same when she has the money to eat breakfast at Tiffany's. Does this mean she will be down to earth or a multi-layered character? Will she keep the same company or dine with movie stars? Capote hints that Holly would prefer the former but never tells us, allowing for the reader to draw their own conclusions. Again, this device enabled me to read the novella in one sitting so I could find out whether or not Holly ever ate breakfast at Tiffany's.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the three other stories included in this novella. All of them bring out Capote's prose and show us why he is highly regarded as a classic American writer. The collection ends on a high note with A Christmas Memory, allowing is some insight into Capote's family life growing up. I look forward to seeing Breakfast at Tiffany's on screen to compare the movie to the book and also reading his masterpiece In Cold Blood. A 5-star classic.
Growing up I knew Aubrey Hepburn as Eliza Dolittle and Tiffany's as a diamond store, so I envisioned Breakfast at Tiffany's to be a tale of the upper crust of New York society dining at the Plaza Hotel. How wrong was in these thoughts. Our protagonists live in a brownstone apartment, not the Plaza. "Fred" named in honor of Holly's brother is a festering writer who seems to be Capote himself and his upstairs neighbor is a mysterious girl named Holly Golightly who adds traveling to her business cards. Until the two have any interactions, Holly remains an enigma, adding to her mystique.
Throughout the book, Holly still remains an enigma even after she and "Fred" build on their friendly, platonic relationship. Who is Holly? Is she a Hollywood starlet or Arkansas hillbilly? A New York society girl or prostitute or a member of the mafia? Because the novella is only 100 pages in length, Capote tackles all of these ideas while really building up Holly's character. Even though I prefer epic novels, I also enjoy a shorter story that flushes out a character's personality and has me captivated from the first pages. Capote's novella does this and then some, allowing me to quickly read to the conclusion.
Tiffany's does make an appearance in the novella although not the way I had thought it would. Holly in spite of all the glitz in her life, wants to be remembered the same when she has the money to eat breakfast at Tiffany's. Does this mean she will be down to earth or a multi-layered character? Will she keep the same company or dine with movie stars? Capote hints that Holly would prefer the former but never tells us, allowing for the reader to draw their own conclusions. Again, this device enabled me to read the novella in one sitting so I could find out whether or not Holly ever ate breakfast at Tiffany's.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the three other stories included in this novella. All of them bring out Capote's prose and show us why he is highly regarded as a classic American writer. The collection ends on a high note with A Christmas Memory, allowing is some insight into Capote's family life growing up. I look forward to seeing Breakfast at Tiffany's on screen to compare the movie to the book and also reading his masterpiece In Cold Blood. A 5-star classic.
April 3, 2025
It may be normal, darling; but I鈥檇 rather be natural.
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丕蹖賳 鬲氐賵蹖乇 夭賳 丕蹖丿賴鈥屫①� 丿賴賴鈥屰� 趩賴賱 丌賲乇蹖讴丕爻鬲. 鬲氐賵蹖乇蹖 讴賴 賴丕賱蹖 诏賵賱丕蹖鬲賱蹖 丿乇 丕賵賳 賳賲蹖 诏賳噩賴
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鬲乇賵賲賳 讴丕倬賵鬲蹖 乇賵 丕夭 讴鬲丕亘 賲毓乇賵賮卮 "丿乇 讴賲丕賱 禺賵賳爻乇丿蹖" 賲蹖鈥屫促嗀ж�. 賯賱賲卮 亘丕 賵噩賵丿 噩匕丕亘蹖鬲 賲禺氐賵氐 亘賴 禺賵丿卮 賵 丌賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖 亘賵丿賳貙 爻乇丿蹖 禺丕氐蹖 丿丕乇賴. 丕蹖賳 爻乇丿蹖 丕蹖賳噩丕 丿乇 賳诏丕賴 乇丕賵蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丨爻 賲蹖卮賴. 蹖讴 噩賵乇 亘蹖鈥屫佖з堌� 丿乇 毓蹖賳 鬲賵噩賴 夭蹖丕丿. 乇丕賵蹖鈥屫й� 讴賴 丕賵賱 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丕丨鬲賲丕賱 賲乇丿賳 蹖丕 亘爻鬲乇蹖 亘賵丿賳 賴丕賱蹖 丿乇 蹖讴 亘蹖賲丕乇爻鬲丕賳 乇賵丕賳蹖 乇賵 賲孬賱 蹖讴 丨賯蹖賯鬲 禺蹖賱蹖 賲毓賲賵賱蹖 賲蹖诏賴 賵賱蹖 賴賲賵賳 賮乇丿 爻丕毓鬲鈥屬囏� 丿賳亘丕賱 诏乇亘賴鈥屰� 賴丕賱蹖 賲蹖鈥屭必�
亘乇丕蹖 禺賵丕賳賳丿賴鈥屰� 賯乇賳 亘蹖爻鬲 賵 蹖讴 賲夭賴鈥屬矩必з嗃屸€屬囏й� 賳跇丕丿倬乇爻鬲丕賳賴 賵 丿蹖丿 鬲丨賯蹖乇 丌賲蹖夭 賳爻亘鬲 亘賴 賴賲 噩賳爻鈥屭必й屫з� 亘賴 卮丿鬲 鬲賵蹖 趩卮賲 賲蹖鈥屫操嗁� 賵 賳賲蹖鈥屫堎嗁� 賮讴乇 賳讴賳賲 讴賴 卮丕蹖丿 诏丕賴蹖 丕夭 賯氐丿 丕蹖賳 讴丕乇 乇賵 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁�. 亘丕 鬲賵噩賴 亘賴 丕蹖賳讴賴 禺賵丿 讴丕倬賵鬲蹖 丌卮讴丕乇丕 賴賲噩賳爻鈥屭必� 亘賵丿賴貙 丿乇 賲賵乇丿 诏乇丕蹖卮 噩賳爻蹖 乇丕賵蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 讴賴 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 賴賲 賴爻鬲貙 丨丿孬 賵 诏賲丕賳 賵 鬲丨賱蹖賱 夭蹖丕丿賴
賴丕賱蹖 诏賵賱丕蹖鬲賱蹖 鬲卮丕亘賴丕鬲 夭蹖丕丿蹖 亘丕 丕賱賴賴鈥屰� 賴丕賱蹖賵賵丿 賲乇賱蹖賳 賲賵賳乇賵 丿丕乇賴 賵 丕诏乇 亘丿賵賳蹖丿 讴賴 讴丕倬賵鬲蹖 賵 賲賵賳乇賵 丿賵爻鬲丕賳 賳夭丿蹖讴蹖 亘賵丿賳丿 丿賱蹖賱卮 乇賵 賲蹖鈥屬佡囐呟屫�.[讴丕倬賵鬲蹖 丨鬲蹖 蹖讴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丿乇亘丕乇賴鈥屰� 倬乇爻賴 夭丿賳鈥屬囏ж� 丿乇 賳蹖賵蹖賵乇讴 亘丕 賲賵賳乇賵 賳賵卮鬲賴] 賴乇 丿賵 夭賳貙 诏賲卮丿賴貙 鬲丨爻蹖賳鈥屫簇� 賵 鬲賳賴丕 賴爻鬲賳丿 賵 丿賳蹖丕 鬲氐賲蹖賲 诏乇賮鬲賴 賮賯胤 亘禺卮蹖 丕夭 賵噩賵丿卮賵賳 乇賵 亘亘蹖賳賴. 亘丕 丿賵賳爻鬲賳 丕蹖賳 賯囟蹖賴 卮丕蹖丿 亘賴鬲乇 亘卮賴 丿丕蹖賳丕賲蹖讴 毓噩蹖亘 亘蹖賳 賴丕賱蹖 賵 賴賲爻丕蹖賴鈥屰� 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴鈥屫ж� 乇賵 丿乇讴 讴乇丿. 卮蹖賮鬲诏蹖鈥屫й� 讴賴 噩賳爻蹖 賳蹖爻鬲貙 賵 亘蹖卮鬲乇 鬲賲丕蹖賱 亘賴 亘賵丿賳 丿乇 讴賳丕乇卮賴貙 賳賴 亘丕賴丕卮. 趩蹖夭蹖 卮亘蹖賴 亘賴 乇丕亘胤賴鈥屰� 讴丕倬賵鬲蹖 賵 賲賵賳乇賵.
賵 丿乇 賳賴丕蹖鬲 丕蹖賳 噩賲賱賴貙 讴賴 賴賲賴鈥屰� "賴丕賱蹖"賴丕 乇賵 禺賱丕氐賴 賲蹖 讴賳賴
Never love a wild thing 鈥� you can鈥檛 give your heart to a wild thing; the more you do, the stronger they get. Until they鈥檙e strong enough to run into the woods. Or fly into a tree. Then a taller tree. Then the sky.
讴鬲丕亘 賵 氐賵鬲蹖卮 乇賵 賲蹖鈥屫堎嗃屫� 丕夭 丕蹖賳噩丕 丿丕賳賱賵丿 讴賳蹖丿
郾鄢酃酃/鄞/鄹
March 24, 2022
I spent today in bed because I wasn't feeling well and spent part of that time just reading this from front to end and I have to say it was a nice set of short stories to read while feeling sick and sorry for myself. I feel like writing was comforting and all the stories had that undertone of loneliness or grief that tends to resonate with me. Of course I loved Holly Golightly, I tend to really like flawed/ridiculous/over the top characters. I really liked the last story as well, A Christmas Memory, or maybe it just made me cry so I'm feeling very tender about it. I didn't really like House of Flowers but I did like A Diamond Guitar as well. Overall a good read, hoping to read In Cold Blood sometime soon too since I really enjoyed Capote's writing style.
July 18, 2023
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote is an American Classic!
Did you know that Capote's 'Holiday Golightly' is somewhat different from Hollywood's 'Holly Golightly'? In fact, everything about Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's is truer, more realistic, and life-like than the elegant, gentile, and filtered version depicted on the Silver Screen.
What stands out to me the most in this novella is the author's writing style. Truman Capote can write.
Capote held my attention with enlightening spurts of dialogue and the wandering, yet contemplative thoughts of the nameless narrator. In case you don't already know, this story is about the relationship between Holly and her neighbor, who is our nameless narrator.
Told from the narrator's perspective, it's quite an adventure he takes on as he enters into the 'whirlwind of excitement" in the form of nineteen-year-old Holly. This young woman is fiercely social and although she has at least one female friends we know about, it's men Holly chooses to be surrounded by. Lots and lots of wealthy men who provide her with gifts and such...
Listening to the '2 hour 50 minute' audiobook narrated by Michael C. Hall isn't a half-bad way to spend an afternoon. His gender voicing, especially for Holly, is particularly entertaining. I'm usually a little put-off when a male narrator does female voicing but this is "Dexter", after all, and somehow it works. The voice he uses for the nameless narrator sounds unbelievably similar to George Peppard's voice, who plays this character in the movie, and I enjoyed that special nod to the past.
There's a lot to love here. When someone speaks of Breakfast at Tiffany's it seems to strike a pleasant memory and feeling by the look on their face and the smile in their eyes. It's the movie, I think, but the true credit of this common reaction needs to go where it all began, with Capote.
Breakfast at Tiffany's is an American Classic that was first published in the November 1958 issue of Esquire Magazine, almost 65 years ago. This is Truman Capote's story, his characters, it all began with him and I highly recommend this novella!
5猸�
Did you know that Capote's 'Holiday Golightly' is somewhat different from Hollywood's 'Holly Golightly'? In fact, everything about Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's is truer, more realistic, and life-like than the elegant, gentile, and filtered version depicted on the Silver Screen.
What stands out to me the most in this novella is the author's writing style. Truman Capote can write.
Capote held my attention with enlightening spurts of dialogue and the wandering, yet contemplative thoughts of the nameless narrator. In case you don't already know, this story is about the relationship between Holly and her neighbor, who is our nameless narrator.
Told from the narrator's perspective, it's quite an adventure he takes on as he enters into the 'whirlwind of excitement" in the form of nineteen-year-old Holly. This young woman is fiercely social and although she has at least one female friends we know about, it's men Holly chooses to be surrounded by. Lots and lots of wealthy men who provide her with gifts and such...
Listening to the '2 hour 50 minute' audiobook narrated by Michael C. Hall isn't a half-bad way to spend an afternoon. His gender voicing, especially for Holly, is particularly entertaining. I'm usually a little put-off when a male narrator does female voicing but this is "Dexter", after all, and somehow it works. The voice he uses for the nameless narrator sounds unbelievably similar to George Peppard's voice, who plays this character in the movie, and I enjoyed that special nod to the past.
There's a lot to love here. When someone speaks of Breakfast at Tiffany's it seems to strike a pleasant memory and feeling by the look on their face and the smile in their eyes. It's the movie, I think, but the true credit of this common reaction needs to go where it all began, with Capote.
Breakfast at Tiffany's is an American Classic that was first published in the November 1958 issue of Esquire Magazine, almost 65 years ago. This is Truman Capote's story, his characters, it all began with him and I highly recommend this novella!
5猸�
February 1, 2020
"It's better to look at the sky than live there; such an empty place, so vague, just a country where the thunder goes and things disappear"
[I'd forgotten how absolutely gorgeous Audrey Hepburn was]
Until a decade ago, I'd only seen the trailer for the film version. The phrase "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is iconic for that era. I'd not read the novel despite Truman Capote coming from the 2 states in which I've lived nearly all my life: Alabama and Mississippi, both of which have indisputably earned their places as regular punching bags of all outside the South, especially the cognoscenti and other snobbish bastards who would rather point fingers in a direction than look at all the bigotry around them.
I might be a little differently affected by this short novel than many others, especially those who grew up in a large metropolis. Before I explain what I mean, I'll say that I found Capote's short novel to masterfully display this young lady's complexities of character underlying the shallow facade of wealth. Capote shows how some of us are willing to do nearly anything to achieve a dream, no matter how grandiose or superficial others may find it. Holly Golightly was a dreamer extraordinaire or as Capote put it, a "lopsided romantic" whose trait of personality would never change.
A poignant line which I think best captures a major theme of the novel is Holly's observation late in the novel that:
Though I've lived all my life in the American South, I'm not a redneck. I recall the first time I went to New York City. I was in awe, which is more of a small town thing than Southern. I've been many times since and the sheer size of it never fails to amaze me.
City people, particularly those in NYC, are disgusted by such provincialism--a contempt they cannot hide. Even though I'm straight, I think I can imagine how it must have been for an outcast sissy-boy from Monroeville, AL and Meridian, MS, trying to make his dreams come true in the Big Apple. Certainly, he would have been very sensitive and keenly observant of his environment in New York City, having grown up ostracized by his classmates. The fact that he was a gay man from down South up in the big city (suffering prejudices in NYC against not only his sexuality but much moreso against his Southern upbringing and drawl) probably served to further enhance his remarkable attention to detail in that society, at that time.
These difficulties formed an integral part of the artist who so vividly painted one of the best ever outsiders looking in with longing.
[I'd forgotten how absolutely gorgeous Audrey Hepburn was]
Until a decade ago, I'd only seen the trailer for the film version. The phrase "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is iconic for that era. I'd not read the novel despite Truman Capote coming from the 2 states in which I've lived nearly all my life: Alabama and Mississippi, both of which have indisputably earned their places as regular punching bags of all outside the South, especially the cognoscenti and other snobbish bastards who would rather point fingers in a direction than look at all the bigotry around them.
I might be a little differently affected by this short novel than many others, especially those who grew up in a large metropolis. Before I explain what I mean, I'll say that I found Capote's short novel to masterfully display this young lady's complexities of character underlying the shallow facade of wealth. Capote shows how some of us are willing to do nearly anything to achieve a dream, no matter how grandiose or superficial others may find it. Holly Golightly was a dreamer extraordinaire or as Capote put it, a "lopsided romantic" whose trait of personality would never change.
A poignant line which I think best captures a major theme of the novel is Holly's observation late in the novel that:
"it's better to look at the sky than live there; such an empty place, so vague, just a country where the thunder goes and things disappear."
Though I've lived all my life in the American South, I'm not a redneck. I recall the first time I went to New York City. I was in awe, which is more of a small town thing than Southern. I've been many times since and the sheer size of it never fails to amaze me.
City people, particularly those in NYC, are disgusted by such provincialism--a contempt they cannot hide. Even though I'm straight, I think I can imagine how it must have been for an outcast sissy-boy from Monroeville, AL and Meridian, MS, trying to make his dreams come true in the Big Apple. Certainly, he would have been very sensitive and keenly observant of his environment in New York City, having grown up ostracized by his classmates. The fact that he was a gay man from down South up in the big city (suffering prejudices in NYC against not only his sexuality but much moreso against his Southern upbringing and drawl) probably served to further enhance his remarkable attention to detail in that society, at that time.
These difficulties formed an integral part of the artist who so vividly painted one of the best ever outsiders looking in with longing.
January 24, 2021
I鈥檓 probably one of the few people on this site who has never seen the film version of this book. I had formed an impression of the film from stills of Audrey Hepburn as she appears in it. My impression turns out to have been largely erroneous, at least as far as the book is concerned. I listened to the audiobook version, superbly narrated by Michael C. Hall.
For those unfamiliar with the story, as I was a week ago, an unnamed narrator relates his fascination with Holly Golightly, his downstairs neighbour in a 1940s NYC brownstone. Apart from Holly, the novel contains several characters with names that are almost Dickensian in their eccentricity. Some of the others include Rusty Trawler, Mag Wildwood and Sally Tomato.
The novel though, is really all about Holly. At the outset of the story she is 18, younger than I expected from seeing the movie stills, and is physically beautiful if somewhat waif-like. She is manipulative, although, in one strand of the plot, is herself manipulated. The only person she genuinely cares for is her brother Fred, who doesn鈥檛 directly make an appearance in the story. Despite her rather calculating nature, I can see how her enigmatic personality would reel men in, particularly if they were either a na茂ve young man or an old fool. The narrator鈥檚 own attraction to Holly is primarily non-sexual, since it is strongly implied in the book that he is gay, or predominantly so at least.
This is the first book I鈥檝e read by Truman Capote and I understand why he is so highly regarded as a writer. I shared the narrator鈥檚 fascination with Holly and enjoyed how more of her was gradually revealed as the novel progressed. She is a memorable creation.
I suppose I had better watch the film at some point.
For those unfamiliar with the story, as I was a week ago, an unnamed narrator relates his fascination with Holly Golightly, his downstairs neighbour in a 1940s NYC brownstone. Apart from Holly, the novel contains several characters with names that are almost Dickensian in their eccentricity. Some of the others include Rusty Trawler, Mag Wildwood and Sally Tomato.
The novel though, is really all about Holly. At the outset of the story she is 18, younger than I expected from seeing the movie stills, and is physically beautiful if somewhat waif-like. She is manipulative, although, in one strand of the plot, is herself manipulated. The only person she genuinely cares for is her brother Fred, who doesn鈥檛 directly make an appearance in the story. Despite her rather calculating nature, I can see how her enigmatic personality would reel men in, particularly if they were either a na茂ve young man or an old fool. The narrator鈥檚 own attraction to Holly is primarily non-sexual, since it is strongly implied in the book that he is gay, or predominantly so at least.
This is the first book I鈥檝e read by Truman Capote and I understand why he is so highly regarded as a writer. I shared the narrator鈥檚 fascination with Holly and enjoyed how more of her was gradually revealed as the novel progressed. She is a memorable creation.
I suppose I had better watch the film at some point.
February 28, 2016
"Buono? Non un'onest脿 di tipo legale - io non ci penserei due volte a profanare una tomba e a rubare gli occhi di un morto se pensassi che pu貌 contribuire al mio divertimento quotidiano - ma un'onest脿 nei confronti di se stessi. Sii quello che vuoi ma non un vigliacco, un fanfarone, un ladro di emozioni, una sgualdrina; preferirei avere il cancro piuttosto che un cuore disonesto. Il che non significa essere pii. Semplicemente pratici. Il cancro pu貌 stenderti, ma quell'altra cosa ti stende di sicuro. Oh, ma al diavolo...".
Leggere tutto Truman Capote.
Leggere tutto Truman Capote.
May 17, 2020
Attempted to read in my teens, didn't do anything for me. Twenty-five years later, and now more literary adept, gave it another go. With much better results. Boy oh boy, could he write!.
It's New York in the 1940s, where the martinis flow from cocktail hour till breakfast at Tiffany's. And nice girls don't, except, of course, Holly Golightly. Pursued by Mafia gangsters and playboy millionaires, Holly is a fragile eyeful of tawny hair and turned-up nose, a heart-breaker, a perplexer, a traveller, a tease. She is irrepressibly 'top banana in the shock department', and one of the shining flowers of American fiction.
Holly is a petite little bundle of scandal in World War II New York society. She works her way through various characters, and any other men who can pay her tab. The narrator, an aspiring Capote-like writer, is her neighbor in their trendy-ish NYC apartment building. He is witness to her parade of gentlemen callers, and as he befriends her and falls in and out of love with her, bears witness to her dramas and the slowly revealed facets of her character and history.
The dialog in Breakfast at Tiffany's is snappy and moves along nicely, very much of the era, but it still sounds almost contemporary in tone if not in verbiage. Holly loves easily and leaves easily. She is easily angered and quick to forgive. She buys expensive gifts on a whim, expects to be treated to expensive things regularly. Eventually we find out where she's really from and how she became Manhattan's Girl About Town. Then she gets in some legal trouble and goes on the lam, leaving the narrator to pine wistfully over her postcards from Brazil or wherever she's fled to.
It's a cute, almost whimsical novel, and was probably much more scandalous when it was written. Neither the author nor the narrator ever come out and say that Holly is a lady of the night, but it's heavily implied. At best, she lives a sugar daddy lifestyle. Today her behavior would barely raise an eyebrow in Manhattan, but in the 40s, when it was written, such a female protagonist was more shocking.
Capote clearly wrote of his central characters with a big heart, of which there is also an echoing bittersweet sadness. It took little time at all to get into the story, which is sizewise of the short novel/lengthy novella mold. Doable in one or two sittings. A worthy read for sure.
It's New York in the 1940s, where the martinis flow from cocktail hour till breakfast at Tiffany's. And nice girls don't, except, of course, Holly Golightly. Pursued by Mafia gangsters and playboy millionaires, Holly is a fragile eyeful of tawny hair and turned-up nose, a heart-breaker, a perplexer, a traveller, a tease. She is irrepressibly 'top banana in the shock department', and one of the shining flowers of American fiction.
Holly is a petite little bundle of scandal in World War II New York society. She works her way through various characters, and any other men who can pay her tab. The narrator, an aspiring Capote-like writer, is her neighbor in their trendy-ish NYC apartment building. He is witness to her parade of gentlemen callers, and as he befriends her and falls in and out of love with her, bears witness to her dramas and the slowly revealed facets of her character and history.
The dialog in Breakfast at Tiffany's is snappy and moves along nicely, very much of the era, but it still sounds almost contemporary in tone if not in verbiage. Holly loves easily and leaves easily. She is easily angered and quick to forgive. She buys expensive gifts on a whim, expects to be treated to expensive things regularly. Eventually we find out where she's really from and how she became Manhattan's Girl About Town. Then she gets in some legal trouble and goes on the lam, leaving the narrator to pine wistfully over her postcards from Brazil or wherever she's fled to.
It's a cute, almost whimsical novel, and was probably much more scandalous when it was written. Neither the author nor the narrator ever come out and say that Holly is a lady of the night, but it's heavily implied. At best, she lives a sugar daddy lifestyle. Today her behavior would barely raise an eyebrow in Manhattan, but in the 40s, when it was written, such a female protagonist was more shocking.
Capote clearly wrote of his central characters with a big heart, of which there is also an echoing bittersweet sadness. It took little time at all to get into the story, which is sizewise of the short novel/lengthy novella mold. Doable in one or two sittings. A worthy read for sure.
February 12, 2023
First Capote that I read and have absolutely no regrets about, the author brilliantly paints the complexity of feelings and the quest for freedom of youth. I loved this reading, presenting an impossible passionate love and how Capote offers the New York environment.
November 8, 2020
"Never love a wild thing, Mr. Bell", Holly advised him. "That was Doc's mistake. He was always lugging home wild things. A hawk with a hurt wing. One time it was a full-grown bobcat with a broken leg. But you can't give your heart to a wild thing: the more you do, the stronger they get. Until they're strong enough to run into the woods. Or fly into a tree. Then a taller tree. Then the sky. That's how you'll end up, Mr. Bell. If you let yourself love a wild thing. You'll end up looking at the sky"
"Good luck and believe me, dearest Doc - it's better to look at the sky than live there. Such an empty place; so vague. Just a country where the thunder goes and things disappear."
"Good luck and believe me, dearest Doc - it's better to look at the sky than live there. Such an empty place; so vague. Just a country where the thunder goes and things disappear."
April 28, 2017
鈥淚f you let yourself love a wild thing. You'll end up looking at the sky.鈥�
Told in a reflective and almost lyrical tone, this is the story of a writer, referred to as 'Fred', who reminisces about the neighbor he fell for back in 1943. The thing is, I鈥檓 not sure if we ever get a glimpse of the real Holly Golightly.
An enigma of sorts; Holly鈥檚 not one to get attached or share much of anything about her past. She avoids the truth by putting a fun and often ridiculous spin on things and she鈥檚 full of biting comments. It鈥檚 hard to say who she really is under that facetious facade. From all outward appearances, she鈥檚 a nineteen-year-old woman who enjoys the company of many men and pretty things. A woman making her way, amidst the excitement and wonder of New York City.
The few things she openly admits - the soft spot she has for her brother (the actual Fred) and her cure for the mean reds. She claims being surrounded by the quiet of Tiffany鈥檚, although we don鈥檛 actually see any of that in the book, is enough to calm her soul. You can鈥檛 think of the movie, read this book, or in my case listen to the audio without picturing Audrey Hepburn as Holly. She鈥檚 become synonymous with Breakfast at Tiffany鈥檚. So my question is - what happened to the trips to Tiffany鈥檚 and the ring? Having seen the movie several times before listening to the audio, it felt to me like a piece of the story was missing. With a very different ending, the book didn鈥檛 come across as the great love story the movie did. It almost makes me cringe to say this, but I actually enjoyed the movie a tad bit more than the book.
The crazy cat lady in me has to mention how heartbroken I was that Holly left her 鈥渃at鈥� behind, too. How could she? At least, he ended up with a home, I guess. And maybe even a name.
If you鈥檙e a Dexter fan, like me, you鈥檒l love this audio. Michael C. Hall is the narrator and his voice is pretty unique. There were a few times his voice for Holly made me laugh, but for the most part, his narration was heavenly. At just under three hours, I found this to be a quick but wholly enjoyable listen.
Told in a reflective and almost lyrical tone, this is the story of a writer, referred to as 'Fred', who reminisces about the neighbor he fell for back in 1943. The thing is, I鈥檓 not sure if we ever get a glimpse of the real Holly Golightly.
An enigma of sorts; Holly鈥檚 not one to get attached or share much of anything about her past. She avoids the truth by putting a fun and often ridiculous spin on things and she鈥檚 full of biting comments. It鈥檚 hard to say who she really is under that facetious facade. From all outward appearances, she鈥檚 a nineteen-year-old woman who enjoys the company of many men and pretty things. A woman making her way, amidst the excitement and wonder of New York City.
The few things she openly admits - the soft spot she has for her brother (the actual Fred) and her cure for the mean reds. She claims being surrounded by the quiet of Tiffany鈥檚, although we don鈥檛 actually see any of that in the book, is enough to calm her soul. You can鈥檛 think of the movie, read this book, or in my case listen to the audio without picturing Audrey Hepburn as Holly. She鈥檚 become synonymous with Breakfast at Tiffany鈥檚. So my question is - what happened to the trips to Tiffany鈥檚 and the ring? Having seen the movie several times before listening to the audio, it felt to me like a piece of the story was missing. With a very different ending, the book didn鈥檛 come across as the great love story the movie did. It almost makes me cringe to say this, but I actually enjoyed the movie a tad bit more than the book.
The crazy cat lady in me has to mention how heartbroken I was that Holly left her 鈥渃at鈥� behind, too. How could she? At least, he ended up with a home, I guess. And maybe even a name.
If you鈥檙e a Dexter fan, like me, you鈥檒l love this audio. Michael C. Hall is the narrator and his voice is pretty unique. There were a few times his voice for Holly made me laugh, but for the most part, his narration was heavenly. At just under three hours, I found this to be a quick but wholly enjoyable listen.
May 2, 2020
"Anyway, home is where you feel at home. I'm still looking."
Ok, I no longer believe in 'never Judge a book by its cover'. I read this one mainly because of it's cover. Have you ever feared being trapped by love and similar demons? It is basically about that fear.
"You've got to be sensitive to appreciate her: a streak of the poet. But I'll tell you the truth. You can beat your brains out for her, and she'll hand you horseshit on a platter."
There are some people who, in their easy-going and wanting-to-include-everyone-in-their-joy ways become highly likable to sensitive souls, the sensitive folks find themselves emotionally invested in them only getting indifference in return. The indifference is not always because of malice. Sometimes, these people, just as Holly was, are as sensitive as others but have decided that they won't let themselves caged down even by love.
"Never love a wild thing, Mr. Bell,"
It is a kind of life that most people are often tempted to lead. We look at the birds flying in the sky and are envious of their so-called 'freedom':
"Don't wanna sleep, don't wanna die, just wanna go a-travelin' through the pastures of the sky."
but:
"and believe me, dearest Doc -- it's better to look at the sky than live there. Such an empty place; so vague. Just a country where the thunder goes and things disappear."
And so, Holly learned her lesson - freedom,as we wish to see it, is an illusion. The only real freedom we can have is freedom to choose our own cage - and, what we need is to find a cage where we can feel at home. Unfortunately, it was too late.
February 8, 2022
鈥淚t鈥檚 better to look at the sky than live there. Such an empty place; so vague. Just a country where the thunder goes.鈥�
I didn't know what to expect from Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, but I thoroughly enjoyed how Capote told his story. This backwards (at times almost nostalgic) glance at a life which had all but vanished from anything but memory (the whimsically kind and cruel and slightly tragic Holly Golightly) reminded me more of Willa Cather's My Antonia than Capote's other seminal work, In Cold Blood. Of course, Antonia and Holly Golightly have virtually nothing in common except how they occupy the center of the narrator's imagination.
When Jim Burden explores Antonia's character, he discovers depth he didn't fully understand when he was a boy. The narrator of Breakfast at Tiffany's finds a disarmingly charming shallowness in Holly that hides complexity neither he (nor the reader) can fully understand. In the end, the Holly of Capote's novella doesn't match the charming portrayal of Audrey Hepburn in the movie, but Holly, I think, was meant to be a little darker, someone closer to tragedy than the stuff of dreams.
I didn't know what to expect from Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, but I thoroughly enjoyed how Capote told his story. This backwards (at times almost nostalgic) glance at a life which had all but vanished from anything but memory (the whimsically kind and cruel and slightly tragic Holly Golightly) reminded me more of Willa Cather's My Antonia than Capote's other seminal work, In Cold Blood. Of course, Antonia and Holly Golightly have virtually nothing in common except how they occupy the center of the narrator's imagination.
When Jim Burden explores Antonia's character, he discovers depth he didn't fully understand when he was a boy. The narrator of Breakfast at Tiffany's finds a disarmingly charming shallowness in Holly that hides complexity neither he (nor the reader) can fully understand. In the end, the Holly of Capote's novella doesn't match the charming portrayal of Audrey Hepburn in the movie, but Holly, I think, was meant to be a little darker, someone closer to tragedy than the stuff of dreams.
June 30, 2021
i am very sorry, truman capote, that the movie adaptation of your story is both way more famous and way better than the source material. you could not compete with audrey hepburn, and no one expects you to be able to.
even though the love interest in the movie is a snooze. even though holly golightly has touches of manic pixie dream girl in spite of predating that term by half a century. even though i honestly figure there should be a few more croissants eaten in front of jewelry stores considering the title.
there's just no fighting it! nobody's got the charm in the whole of their masterwork that audrey hepburn has in her ballet flats / little black dress / pixie cut / short pants / what have you.
in cold blood was good though. and as far as i know ms hepburn got nowhere near it.
part of a project i'm doing where i read books i read a long time ago, and yes this one was an out of character choice for high school me, what of it.
even though the love interest in the movie is a snooze. even though holly golightly has touches of manic pixie dream girl in spite of predating that term by half a century. even though i honestly figure there should be a few more croissants eaten in front of jewelry stores considering the title.
there's just no fighting it! nobody's got the charm in the whole of their masterwork that audrey hepburn has in her ballet flats / little black dress / pixie cut / short pants / what have you.
in cold blood was good though. and as far as i know ms hepburn got nowhere near it.
part of a project i'm doing where i read books i read a long time ago, and yes this one was an out of character choice for high school me, what of it.
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