Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote, Random House Inc, 1958, 111 pp
One of the coolest aspects of My Big Fat Reading Project is finally reading so many books I've always heard about, maybe even planned to read "someday" but have not gotten to. If not for the project, I might have never read them at all.
Such is the way it was with Breakfast at Tiffanny's. Years ago I saw the movie and was an Audrey Hepburn fan ever after. Then there was the 1995 song by that title, performed by one-hit wonders Deep Blue Something. The horrendous wonder of the modern world is that pop cultural references can give the illusion that you know something when in reality you only know the most insignificant facts about it.
This novella could not have been written by anyone but Truman Capote. Who else could have created Holly Golightly and her tragicomic past? As I read through my list of books from 1958, I recognized her as truly a representative character from the time period. She is a composite of Auntie Mame, Styron's Sophie and a Carson McCullers heroine; damaged but unsinkable with a dream of happiness (eating breakfast at Tiffany's) without illusions about its transitory nature.
I also watched the movie again, which has that sappy happy ending with the kitten. Even so, I will never be able to picture Holly Golightly without seeing Audrey Hepburn. I think Capote would be OK with that.
(Breakfast at Tiffany's is available in paperback by order from Once Upon A Time Bookstore.)
Hi Judy:
ReplyDeleteI love the movie(happy ending and all) and I just read the book not too long ago and love it. Capote is so talented. He did so much in a novella. You're right about Audrey Hepburn. And even in Sex and the City when Big played Carrie, Moon River, I couldn't help but think of the movie.
I listened to the audio version of Breakfast At Tiffany's in 2014 (https://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2014/08/breakfast-at-tiffanys-by-truman-capote.html)
ReplyDeleteI wasn't too overly wowed by this novella!! I think I liked the movie version better!!
I liked them both. I think the ending of the book is more true to what Capote was portraying.
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