Breakfast at Tiffany's

The famed novella that constitutes the bulk of this collection is everything you might have guessed it would be and more. It is everything in that it is liberally populated by the extreme and outré characters that appear in the equally famous film based on it. They are simply more extreme, almost other-worldly, and more wise and venomous. Holly Golightly is both vapid and insightful. But also terribly, terribly young. And yet so sadly worldly wise. The environment positively reeks of sex and desire, but also a pervading hopelessness, except for those whose dreams remain (somewhat) pure. And there is no doubt that a St Christopher’s pendant from Tiffany’s represents the most that any of them can hope for. Thoroughly impressive show more writing that will stay with you a very long time.

The three short stories that bulk out this collection are less well-rounded though probably still highly outré. One is set on the island of Haiti, one is set is a southern prison camp, and the last is set in an extremely poor household during the depression. Each is fine in its way, but set against the brilliance of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, they pale by comparison.

Recommended. show less

3,5/5
in questo racconto breve c'è molto che non dovrebbe funzionare: il razzismo, l'omofobia, la struttura tanto confusionaria e dispersiva, la backtory così assurda e improbabile, i personaggi che sembrano esistere in uno spazio e in un tempo appena abbozzati e imprecisi. eppure tutto funziona molto meglio di quanto dovrebbe. forse dipende dallo stile di capote, oppure dalla vivacità e stravaganza delle personalità dei protagonisti; oppure da lei, protagonista indiscussa di questa trama così densa e fitta, tanto viva, complessa e affascinante da bucare la pagina. certo, lo scorrere degli eventi è caotico e disorganico, come i pezzi di un puzzle che, riordinati alla rinfusa, creano un'immagine indistinta; eppure in questo romanzo show more c'è tanto colore, tanto estro, che non può non lasciare il segno. show less

It at first seems unpromisingly light, but Breakfast at Tiffany's proves to be an excellent novella. The story of a New York socialite doing New York socialite things doesn't sound like the most gripping of stories, but the fully-realised nature of Holly Golightly's character quietly works on the reader throughout. When combined with Truman Capote's rich but robust prose style and the cool glamour of the Big Apple in the Forties, you're taken in.

I never would've thought I'd be entertained by a character like Holly, the sort of girl-woman where "you can beat your brains out for her, and she'll hand you horseshit on a platter" (pg. 28), but Capote manages it. Nowadays, in the influencer/e-thot era of vain young women, Holly's show more self-regarding personality is much more common (though Holly they ain't) and has morphed into something fundamentally dislikeable. But something about the glamour, the innocence and the whispers of sincerity attending Holly's story win you over, perhaps because it comes from an earlier age when women like this were mercurial, a delight, a change of pace. Their own mind rather than a likes-chasing hive mind. It's writing like this which helped give New York its reputation as a writer's arena, and, by the end, you are completely settled and comfortable in the story's setting and cadences. It's writing almost as comfort food.

The other three stories in this collection ('House of Flowers', 'A Diamond Guitar' and 'A Christmas Memory') pale in comparison to 'Tiffany's'. The writing is good but they all progress and end much as you would expect them too, and none come close to the headline story for engagement. In fact, their greatest use is as a reinforcement to the conclusion one must reach about the book as a whole: it is frivolous, but in the best possible sense, and shows great writing craft. Ultimately, this is a worthwhile read and short enough to be given a chance even if it doesn't sound like your thing. It might surprise you. show less

Holly Golightly is a complete vulgar character—yet Truman Capote paints the portrait of such a sympathetic character. The movie and book don’t share the same plot, but are equal in terms of emotional impact.

This is is quite a superb book for the length that is. The plot was paced brilliantly with a conclusion that will only make the reader sob. The cat represents Holly and this fact alone gives absolute depth to her personality—she is unable to give the cat a name as she does not keep her own. We watch Holly crumble from the point of view of the unnamed narrator up to the point of breakdown. Audrey Hepburn’s character was able to realize her own self-destructive behaviors in the end of the movie, but Truman Capote’s Holly show more Golightly still roams the world changing her name, refusing any sort of commitment, and is inevitably unable to see her own unhappiness. show less

I cannot and probably should not judge this according to the time it was written. To do so may or may not deepen the impact of it. If I wanted a slightly lighter tone, I could always watch the old movie.

As it is here and now, I feel like I should only judge it by my own sensibilities of this day and time.

The novella is breathless and anxiety-ridden, full of self-aware sexuality and hypocrisy, and it's also a purely whimsical fantasy. That is to say, I fell in love with these flawed characters and my heart broke for them.

Everyone loves Holly. She gives of herself so freely. She's so energetic and playful and outgoing.

And that is her tragedy. She gives away everything. Even her cat. And yet, according to one postcard, she will always be show more okay. It's really fascinating and heartbreaking because she will never have anything of her own. She lives on the largess of everyone around her and they all love her to death.

I can't give a crap about the fact she sleeps around. She is what she is, and that's what we're meant to see clearly. I love it.

She's very bright. Even her gift of a birdcage to the writer-narrator is astute as hell. She could be talking entirely about him or about his love for her. The point is... there is no bird.

So pretty. So understated. So heartbreaking. show less

5/5

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a title that most associate with Audrey Hepburn. Its influence is so ingrained in pop culture that we can not seem to get the image of Hepburn walking down 5th Avenue and eating her pastry in front of Tiffany’s out of our minds. Capote’s novella feels similar, but also greatly differs from the film. Reading the novella provides a majestically elusive experience that I have been yearning for in other novels ever since my first read. I have reviewed Breakfast at Tiffany’s before, but I now feel that it deserves more attention than what I initially gave.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is narrated by an unnamed character and follows his experience being acquainted with the socialite Holly Golightly. Holly show more Golightly earns her living as a chaperone to wealthy men and by asking them for fifty dollars to go to the powder room; in other words, Holly is a call girl. Holly’s character represents the fear of attachment, and she is always “traveling”; as stated on her mailbox tag. The novella has a strong plot, but where it most succeeds is as a psychological study of Holly’s character. It becomes clear that Holly fears attachment and copes with this by abandoning people, places, and objects to which she develops an attachment. The idea of a name becomes very important in the novella. Holly has an unnamed cat who she claims doesn’t belong to her; they just met by the river one day and she brought him home; her real name isn’t Holly, it is Lulamae. Holly is just a pseudonym she took when she moved to New York. Lastly, Capote brilliantly refuses to name the narrator the same way Holly refuses to name the cat. The only thing that Holly admits she is attached to is her brother Fred, who she says the narrator reminds her of, so much so that she asks to call him by her brother’s name.

The major turning point in the novella is when Holly’s brother Fred is killed in an accident. Holly becomes unhinged and destroys everything in her apartment. She has lost the one thing that she admitted belonged to her. This moment reinforces her habit of refusing to get attached to things and sparing herself from the pain.

The ending is the real tragedy of Holly’s story. On her way to catch her plane to Brazil, Holly pushes the cat out of the cab and abandons him. A few moments after this, she regrets her decision, stops the cab, and goes back to look for the cat but with no luck. It is at this point that she realizes and tells the narrator that they did belong to each other. You can only initially despise what Holly has done before feeling sorry for her. It is because we discover that we all go through moments where we believe it would be easier to not get attached than to get hurt by something. That is the trick because Holly’s character only hurts herself by not allowing or acknowledging the things she loves most in her life. Holly flies and moves to Brazil regardless. The narrator only hopes that one day she will be able to stop fighting the natural inclination to care. show less

The edition I read has Breakfast at Tiffany's and three short stories. I loved one of the short stories far more than I enjoyed the other three.

Breakfast at Tiffany's has, at it's heart, Holly Golightly. She's a captivating character, bedazzling & bewitching all the men she comes across - but I'd strongly suspect I'd not like her at all and would wonder if many women did. I couldn't decide if she was hopelessly naieve, or actually coldblooded & heartless. She seems to live off the gifts and presents of the many men who buzz round her, but I wouldn't say she was a prostitute as such. Escort maybe nearer the truth. She has dealings with the Mafia, acting (potentially unknowingly) as a messenger service between a jailed underworld boss and show more his cohorts. For delivering a "weather report" each week she earns herself some easy money, but it also lands her in Police custody.
Capote writes her in a very ambiguous way, such that you can't make up your mind how much of this seeming innocence is real and how much is just front. All of the men she comes into contact with are captivated by her, but not necessarily in a possessive manner, more the admiration of a beautiful object they can never posses.

Of the other stories, the one that really caught me was the last one - A Christmas Memory. In the way that all the Christmasses of childhood are more sparkly, more magic, more snowy, somehow just more "Christmassy" this tells of a particular Christmas shared by a small boy and an old woman. They collect pecans from the tree, buy whiskey from the illegal cafe and ingredients for 31 Christmas cakes, before collecting a tree and decorating it with bits & bobs found, rescued and collected. In one sense, nothing much happenes, but it holds the reader in a magic spell conjured up be memories of Christmas past. This I'd give 5 stars, and a box of tissues, to. show less