I had never read Breakfast at Tiffany’s or anything else by Truman Capote. Lovely, sad, and in many ways, quite a bit different than the movie.

The novella, in part, details a struggle between a desire for freedom and a desire for a place to belong. Holly Golightly is a self-defined traveler and wild thing, defending the right of both human and animal to live outside the cage. Yet she also desires to live as a family again with her brother, Fred, and hopes for a child and marriage with her South American boyfriend. The narrator exists adrift in the text, nameless and without job security yet he craves home and literary success.

Derogatory slang of the time aside, the text offers a subtle and interesting view into how sexuality can be both freeing and limiting as well. Holly practices a measure of self-deception in not equating the money she receives from men she has “banged” with prostitution. She views it rather as given with at least the illusion of love, and as a means to an end – her continued freedom to exist as she chooses outside the rules and expectations of others. Capote’s depictions of the gay men within the work are also defining moments as they reflect both the social constrictions of the time and Capote's suggested possibility that asexual unions, freed from the burden and unpredictability of desire, can yield a purer form of love or devotion.

Fragile and lovely. Sad and empowering. Thoughtful rhythmical read for those interested in a struggle to live outside the box where the unattainable - breakfast at Tiffany’s - exists as the ideal. ( )

What a charming story! I have yet to see the more famous film based on this book, but I will definitely be looking it up after reading this. I would recommend this as a rainy day read to anyone, especially since it requires so little commitment to read, as short as it is (37 pages, according to my ebook reader, so it is probably actually in the 50-70 range). I finished it in an evening. ( )

Wonderful tart, fastidious prose to tell a neat story, at once sharp, sour, and sweet. Too bad for all the jarring racism and homophobia that unexpectedly pop out to STAB YOU IN THE HEART. But, Christ, Capote can turn a mean phrase. ( )

Most people probably think of Audrey Hepburn and the movie adaption when “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” is mentioned, even when knowing that it was based on the story by Truman Capote. I recently read this story before watching the movie.

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by Truman Capote is actually a novella, rather than a book. My edition (by Vintage International) has three short stories included as well: “House of Flowers”, “A Diamond Guitar”, and ”A Christmas Memory”. These short stories are worth reading, but of course it is “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” that stands out.

The original story is narrated in the first person by a neighbor of Holly Golightly. Soon after they meet each other, Holly calls him “Fred”, although that is not his real name. Fred’s first impression of Holly is partly quoted here:

“It was a face beyond childhood, yet this side of belonging to a woman. I thought her anywhere between sixteen and thirty; as it turned out, she was shy two months of her nineteenth birthday”.

Holly makes a living by having “dates” with wealthy men. She is very blunt with Fred on how she makes her money. She is also paid to pass along secret messages between a mobster in prison and the mobster’s lawyer. Holly also schemes to find and marry a rich man, any rich man.

The narrator “Fred” (if he ever mentions his real name in the novella, I do not recall and I could not find any reference to it after looking through it again today) and Holly maintain a friendship that is based on “Fred” being her confidant and helpmate. In the movie, they develop a romantic relationship that is happily-ever-after. In the novella, the friendship seems to be platonic, and the ending is more open-ended.

In the novella, “Fred” describes his friendship with Holly here:

“….our understanding of each other had reached that sweet depth where two people communicate more often in silence than in words: an affectionate quietness replaces the tensions, the unrelaxed chatter and chasing about that produce a friendship’s more showy, more in the surface sense, dramatic moments”.

The novella is a much edgier version than the movie, definitely; and I preferred the novella version. In the movie, the true meaning of Holly and Fred's lives are glossed over (not surprising, since it was filmed in 1961). Audrey Hepburn’s Holly is more of an innocent, fun-loving, and somewhat naive woman who mixes with not so innocent people.

I've always loved the movie with Audrey Hepburn and I've read Capote's In Cold Blood and really like it. So I thought I'd give it a whirl.

I loved it!

Holly Golightly. What a character.

The narrator is a young writer who is recalling the memory of when he lived in the same apartment building as Holly Golightly in the Upper East side of New York City. They meet one early early morning because Holly is locked out (a common occurance). Holly dubs the narrator Fred, the name of her older brother, and they become friends.

Holly is eccentric to say the least. She's young...nineteen or twenty...and lives pretty much as call girl. She goes out partying all night and men usually give fifty bucks to go to the ladies, fifty for a cab ride, etc. And the image of Audrey Hepburn fits it perfectly (except Audrey was a bit older than the novel's portrayal...but still). So the novel just outlines this eccentric character who sits on her fire escape and plays the guitar and sings, has a cat with no name, has sketchy dealings with a mob boss who she visits in prison, and a number of other things.

The "breakfast at Tiffany's" part comes from her habit of dressing up, going to Tiffany's and having breakfast whenever she gets the "mean reds"...not the blues mind you.

Here's what Holly said:

"What I've found does the most good is just to get into a taxi and go to Tiffany's. It calms me down right away, the quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there, not with those kind men in their nice suits, and that lovely smell of silver and alligator wallets."

I absolutely loved it. ( )