I’m 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’t 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 naïve young man or an old fool. The narrator’s 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’ve read by Truman Capote and I understand why he is so highly regarded as a writer. I shared the narrator’s 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.

I wanted to read 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' to understand how the man who wrote 'In Cold Blood' could have authored the basis for the Audrey Hepburn movie.

Here's the short answer: the novella is nothing like the film. There are certain plot points in common, and the character of Holly Golightly, and even a few strands of dialogue. But the relationship between 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', the story, and 'Breakfast at Tiffany's,' the movie is roughly that between 'The Little Mermaid,' the Hans Christian Andersen tale and 'The Little Mermaid,' the Disney cartoon. Don't expect a happy ending or a nice moral to the story.

Even half a century after the Capote wrote the story, Holly Golightly is a bit shocking, if only because it's hard to imagine this golddigger and unknowing mob runner as a contemporary of my grandmother.

Yet I can relate to her feelings on buying some furniture and giving the cat a name.

Capote has fascinated me for several reasons: his ambivalent approach to truth in nonfiction, the remarkable way he structured 'In Cold Blood,' and his inspiration of a supporting character in 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' Add now his talent for description: fans beat like 'delirious moths,' a character's hair is as yellow as another's teeth. I wish I could see this way.

The three short stories included in this edition are quite good. My favorite was 'A Christmas Memory,' because I think it likely stemmed from Capote's own childhood experiences and because it is poignant and sad rather than just sad.

#MarchOfTheModerns

‘If I could find a real-life place that made me feel like Tiffany’s, then I’d buy some furniture and give the cat a name.’

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” é uma novela tão charmosa e triste como sempre julguei que fosse, sem ter visto ainda o filme. Holly Golightly, como o próprio nome parece indicar, encara a vida com leveza e até alguma leviandade, mas é a máscara que escolheu depois de uma infância miserável, aquilo que esconde por trás dos seus inseparáveis óculos escuros.

The instant she saw the letter she squinted her eyes and bent her lips in a tough tiny smile that advanced her age immeasurably. ‘Darling’, she instructed me, ‘would you reach in the drawer there and give me my purse. A girl doesn’t read this sort of thing without her lipstick.’

Holly é provocadora, divertida e desbocada, um pouco como o próprio Truman Capote, que é dos autores que mais dá de si às suas personagens, todas essencialmente solitárias e inadaptadas.

‘You’re wrong. She is a phony. But on the other hand you’re right. She isn’t phony because she’s a real phony. She believes all this crap she believes. You can’t talk her out of it.’

Tendo apenas 19 anos e morando num apartamento cheio de caixotes e malas, Holly é um espírito livre que vive de expedientes e por sair com homens ricos enquanto um deles não se decide a casar com ela. Holly é uma sedutora por quem todos se apaixonam, incluindo o vizinho escritor que conta a história da breve mas intensa amizade que surge entre eles.

‘Look in the bedroom. There’s a present for you.’
I had one for her, too: a small package in my pocket that felt even smaller when I saw, square on the bed and wrapped with a red ribbon, the beautiful bird cage.
‘But, Holly! It’s dreadful!’
‘I couldn’t agree more; but I thought you wanted it.’
‘The money! 350 dollars!’
She shrugged. ‘A few extra trips to the powder room. Promise me, though. Promise you’ll never put a living thing in it.’

This was such an engrossing and enjoyable reading experience. I hadn't seen the movie (or any Audrey Hepburn movies, if I'm being honest) and really didn't know what to expect. I still haven't seen the movie, but Holly Golightly is a character I won't soon forget. She had depth and a backstory that I wasn't expecting, and I found her to be utterly charming and awful at once. The scenes just jump off the page and into your mind, they are so vivid and believable-- a testament to the author's ability. I'm excited to revisit this book in the future and to read more by Capote.

When I started reading this book, because I haven't seen the movie, I thought Audrey Hepburn's name was Tiffany. Through college I saw so many posters with her face and "Breakfast at Tiffany's" somewhere on the image and that is what stuck in my head and I still have a tough time thinking anything different. When I found out the real reason the title is what it is, I was disappointed that this book was an early version of product placement, but even with all of that said - Breakfast at Tiffany's is a great book. I believe it is a take on the great American novel that focuses on feminine personality. I'll probably read it again, and I'm going to watch the movie as soon as possible.

Those final weeks, spanning end of summer and the beginning of another autumn, are blurred in memory, perhaps because 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.

So. This is going to be a hard one to review.

For one thing, the MC is not in love with Holly nor pining after her nor wanting her as his wife/girlfriend. In fact, he is (IMO) a stand-in for Capote, who certainly had no interest in fucking women. Holly seems to see MC as a safe-space, someone she can trust because he is gay, and he reminds her of her brother (safe, brother) who is off at war. MC is unnamed in the book, but Holly insists on calling him "Fred," her brother's name - another way of establishing he is no threat and that they are of no sexual interest to each other. It's not only canceling out his own autonomy but it is a way for Capote to insert himself into the novel. Nameless MCs were/are very in vogue and considered an exciting literary technique in some circles.

Very few authors, especially the unpublished, can resist an invitation to read aloud.

An author who lives upstairs and has no interest in fucking Holly. Capote stand-in.

Holiday Golightly is a woman who hangs around older, rich men and takes money from them to 'go to the powder room' and 'take a cab home.' She's 'trained herself' to 'only be excited by men over 42.'

So, she's a prostitute.

CARMEN: *sighs* *sips coffee*

I mean,... sure. I feel like slapping a label on this is just another way of tearing people down and shaming them, but sure. She has sex with older, rich men for money, she cashes in on her looks and sexuality, and these are men she is not physically attracted to. I personally wouldn't call her a prostitute, because I'm not about that female-hate life, and also because she's not in a situation where she has a pimp or takes on all comers or does stuff she doesn't want to do. Instead, she realizes that her looks and personality are her currency and uses them to her best advantage to get men to give her money. She's tricking.

I don't have a problem with this, just as I said in my review of Bunny Tales, I don't have a problem with women who are tricking nor do I have a problem with women who ruthlessly use their looks and sexuality to get what they want. Life is hard. *shrug* I am not pro-prostitution, I think being a prostitute is soul-crushing and soul-destroying, moreso when you have a pimp or madam to please, but even if you work for yourself. I'm a romantic. However, I'm a realist enough to know that life happens and it's absolutely against my nature to hate women or shame them for using their beauty or body to get ahead. I'm also not stupid enough to think that prostitution (in any of its forms) is going to magically disappear from society.

The good thing about Holly is that she has no pimp, she answers to no one, and she doesn't have to fuck anyone she doesn't want to fuck and she doesn't have to engage in any sexual acts she doesn't want to engage in. Occasionally she runs into trouble, like the time she takes a man home and he bites her while in bed with her, she flees to (safe) "Fred's" place and sleeps in his bed. Again, because he has no sexual interest in her and is one of the few men in the novel who don't feel like they can own her, claim her, and control her.

Holly has a deep, deep fear of and problem with being 'caged' - a running theme in the novel. She avoids the zoo. She gifts the MC with a beautiful birdcage he'd been lusting after but makes him promise he'll never put a living thing in it. She flees the country when faced with prison.  She'll never attach to one man or one place. She can't even commit to owning a cat, actually, the idea of pet ownership disgusts her. If an animal and a human choose to journey through life together, that's one thing, but she doesn't believe in owning animals.

This is so shocking and revolutionary in a 1958 book, it's amazing how Capote has captured Holly and all her feelings in this way. While you are reading it it becomes clear exactly who Holly is and why, and her worldview is so exquisitely crafted by Capote that it's frankly genius.

Holly's problem is that because she's so beautiful and charming, men want to possess her. Not just for one night, they want to marry her or claim her in some permanent way which would allow them to tell her what she can and cannot do and that is the anti-Holly. She'll go to great lengths to avoid this fate.

Capote really illustrates this with teasing glimpses of her past, and we get an idea of where Holly came from and where she's going and why. It's brilliant and subtle on Capote's part.

Another main highlight of the book and a reason to read it is the deep, philosophical conversations all the characters have with each other constantly and at the drop of a hat. Capote really unrealistically has people go on long, philosophical soliloquies which drop truth and explain feelings very well. He is unrealistic, as well, with his almost hilarious tendency to have everyone and their brother go up to the MC and start telling him their life stories. Unintentionally hilarious as everyone MC meets starts telling him long monologues about their lives. :D Cracked me up.

RACISM
I have to say something about the racism in this book. It's fucking disgusting and it was very disturbing to me. N-word this, n-word that. Latinos. Japanese. Slurs, slurs, slurs. And don't give me any of this "It was 1958!" shit. I don't give a fuck. It was really gross, mean-spirited, and not able to be ignored by this reader. Really damaged my enjoyment of the book and it was SO unnecessary. Fuck this shit. Ugh. Take this into account before you read this. Fair warning.

WRITING
Capote actually writes the shit out of this book. I had never read anything by Capote before, and I was surprised to find out he can actually write. Capote, the man, is such a figure, people talk about him all the time. He's kind of like Hemingway in that regard. People almost talk about Hemingway as a man more than they talk about his actual books. He's become a larger-than-life figure. But, both Hemingway and Capote can actually write, so there's a plus. I hate when an author is very hyped and then I read his/her work and am like, "Meh." Or "That was terrible." No, Capote is a classic for a reason, apparently. He's skilled as an author in more ways than one, and the book kept surprising me with its cleverness. Very well-written.

THIS BOOK REMINDED ME OF:
The Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures

Bunny Tales

The Catcher in the Rye. Actually, Capote reminded me of Salinger quite a bit.


TL;DR - I would say the biggest drawback of this book is the disgusting racism. Asking me to brush it aside is asking too much from me.

On the plus side: amazing writing. Classic. Capote doesn't shy away from deep meaning or exploring the depths of human psyche or life. I'm glad I read it.

READ WITH: Pantless Group. ;)

The sky was red Friday night, it thundered, and Saturday, departing day, the city swayed in a squall-like downpour. Sharks might have swum through the air, though it seemed improbable a plane could penetrate it.

I'll admit the truth that this is the first "classic" I have read, and right now the only. I'm truly not a person that can read anything, so the fact that I finished this novella proves it is something worth reading. The actual story of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" I read from beginning to end in one sitting, sipping on my bottomless cup of coffee. This is not an amazing feat due to it's skimpy 103 page-span, but the way the story captured me amazes me still since as i mentioned, most cannot. As soon as I was introduced to Holly Golightly I was fascinated. Much like Warhol's fascination with the world, I wish i could spend a lifetime studying Holly's every move. A beautiful young girl, with a mysterious past, an elegant present, yet a seemingly empty future. Holly just wanted to find a place where she was constantly happy, and at peace with herself, like she is within Tiffany's. Holly stumbles through life in a 1950's New York setting with her unnamed companion which is a tiger striped feline. She lives in a scarce and unmanaged apartment, directly underneath her friend, nicknamed "Fred" (who seems may be one of the only 3 people who truly care for Holly.) When I borrowed this title from the local library I hadn't noticed that it also contained 3 short stories. I didn't even know I had finished Breakfast at Tiffany's, thinking House of Flowers was only a title for Part 2. Upon realization that I wouldn't ever hear or read anything more about Holly Golightly, or know weather or not she had traveled to Africa or married, I was horribly disappointed. I now find myself yearning for more of this Holly Golightly character, although I know I will never find it.
This is a must read and honestly the only book I've read to date that leaves me pleading for more.

How does one review something so good? Are there even words to do it? Here's my attempt:

Holly Golightly is an interesting enough character to fill ten libraries. She crept into my thoughts regularly for months after reading the book, and I still think about her quite often to this day, like a long-lost lover, but more fondly.

I've never quite enjoyed prose like this either. I mean, every single sentence I liked. There wasn't one in the whole book where I thought, "you know, this one's the bad one." It's no wonder that I didn't put the book down until I finished it.

Structurally, it's a masterpiece. The pacing is perfect.

It's one of those books that you read, and when you finish it, you're a little sad, because you know you found THAT book, and you know you'll probably never find a book you like this much again.

I want to say something bad about it, but I just can't think of anything.

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.

کوتاه، روان و تا حدی تلخ. تلخه چون زندگیه به صورت کلی. یعنی داستانِ لحظه‌ها هم هست ولی نوع روایت سرعت گذشت زمان رو کاملاً ملموس میکنه.

داستان در مورد دختریه به نام هالی و البته رابطه‌ی سایر موجودات از آدم و گربه گرفته تا لباس و اتاق با هالی. هالی به تعریف نویسنده و از زبان خود شخصیت "یک موجود وحشیه" و سایر موجودات حاضر در داستان ظاهراً در این دسته‌بندی نمی‌گنجند. این شاید در دنیای داستان و واقعیت اولین برخورد من با شخصیت "موجود وحشی" نباشه. من ترجیحاً اسم‌شون رو میذارم free bird یا پرنده‌ی آزاد. در مورد این پرنده که نویسنده با رسم شکل توضیح داده ولی در مورد موجودات در تماس با اون (شاید بشه گفت قربانیان‌شون) فکر می‌کنم این چند خط از متن به اندازه‌ی کافی گویا باشه:

"هالی بهش توصیه کرد:《هیچ‌وقت عاشق یک موجود وحشی نشو، آقای بل. اشتباه دکتر همین بود. همیشه با خودش موجودات وحشی به خانه می‌آورد. یک شاهین با بال آسیب‌دیده. یک بار یک گربه‌ی دُم‌کوتاه گنده آورده بود که پایش شکسته بود. اما شما ��می‌توانید به یک موجود وحشی دل ببندید. هرچه بیش‌تر دل ببندید، آن موجود قوی‌تر می‌شود. خلاصه آن‌قدر قوی می‌شود که به جنگل فرار می‌کند. یا می‌پرد روی شاخه‌ی درخت. بعد درختی بلند‌تر. بعد هم آسمان. آخر و عاقبتت این خواهد بود آقای بل. اگر به خودت اجازه بدهی عاشق یک موجود وحشی بشوی، سرنوشتت این است که به آسمان چشم بدوزی.》"

"هالی مارتینی‌اش را بلند کرد و گفت:《به سلامتی دکتر.》و لیوانش را به لیوان من زد.《به سلامتی تو، دکتر عزیزم، باور کن خیره‌شدن به آسمان بهتر از زندگی کردن در آن است. فضایی خالی، فضایی مبهم، کشوری که فقط در آن رعد و برق می‌زند و اشیا ناپدید می‌شوند.》"


پ.ن۱: از ترکیب انگلیسی free bird استفاده کردم چون این مفهوم برای اولین بار در بستر انگلیسی برای من شکل گرفت.

پ.ن۲: من پرنده‌ی آزاد رو برای آسیب رسوندن به دیگران سرزنش نمی‌کنم.
نیش عقرب از نه از ره کین است
اقتضای طبیعتش این است
(عقرب الزاماً شبیه هیولایی نفرت‌انگیز نیست.)

1.5

حالا شماها هرچی دلتون خواست بگید اما من واقعا و واقعا از هالی گولایتلی بدم میومد! از اون آدمایی که چون خوشگلن دیگه نیازی به فکر کردن نمی‌بینن و حتی گمان می‌کنن کارهای احمقانشون باعث جذاب‌تر شدنشون می‌شه. در صورتی که بنظر من بیشتر شبیه یک لامپ نئون بزرگ می‌مونن که هر کار می‌کنن تا بیشتر دیده بشن. بیشتر دلبری کنن و از این طریق ارضا می‌شن. جای اون چیزی که توی وجودشون خالیه رو اینطوری پر می‌کنن خلاصه.

خود کتاب هم که بنظر من نه آنچنان در فضاسازی موفق بود نه در شخصیت پردازی. داستان بخصوصی هم که ابدا نداشت.

حقیقتش خیلی چیزها می‌خواستم راجع به هالی گولایتلی و این قماش آدما بگم ولی دیدم اصلا ارزشش رو هم نداره. بی‌خیال. به جاش، و برای اینکه تنوعی هم شده باشه دعوت می‌کنم همگی به فرازهایی چند از "زد-بازی" گوش بدیم که بعضی وقتا حواسشون نبود آهنگاشون قشنگ می‌شد:

{ریتم آهنگ اگر رو بلد نیستید می‌تونید اینجا گوش کنید}

چشما نیمه باز، سر با ریتم به آهستگی بالا پایین لطفا
می‌فرماید :

ماها تحریم نیستیم همگی سوخت میدیم
نمیدونیم باهم سرچی دوست میشیم
دیگه شده مسخره برام
اینجا بس کمه سواد،
از تفریح،
گذشته،
مصرف مواد
تهران شیک و پیک بود دیگه شیک نیست
رستوران بود و شده پیک نیک
تهران، کارتونی بود ولی گرگه
بردش
خوردش
میگ میگ!ا
دیگه دیگه رینگ بکس شد
چشم نذاشته میان میگن سُک سُک
دافاش خشنن و زاخارش فشنن
ولی بازم حال میکنیم باهاش مگه نه؟!ا
یه موقعی معیار خوب و ساده بود
تحصیلات و خونواده بود
قبل از این که پول و مایه بود
ولی الان دیگه
دخترا قشنگ میدونن باکی بخوابن
دختر چیه اینا ماشین حسابن
با این حال این جا عالیه
فکرا خالیه
تو جیرینگا مالیه
...

“If I could find a real-life place that made me feel like Tiffany’s, then I’d buy some furniture and give the cat a name.”

Only Truman Capote could make me feel so nostalgic for a place and time I’ve never inhabited. He’s done this remarkably well with all of the pieces I’ve read thus far. This particular collection includes the iconic Breakfast at Tiffany’s as well as three shorter pieces, one of which I’ve reviewed elsewhere – A Christmas Memory (loved it!). I’ve 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’s 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’s Holly is charming, for sure, but also much more enigmatic than I would have envisioned. She’s deliciously darker. There’s something about Holly that I could relate to – a restlessness of spirit, perhaps. Unlike yours truly, however, Holly is a bit of a fleeting vision. One gets the sense that she’ll be here one second and the next… poof!. Even the name slot affixed to her mailbox gives us a clue straightaway.

“Printed, rather Cartier-formal, it read: Miss Holiday Golightly; and, underneath, in the corner, Traveling. It nagged me like a tune: Miss Holiday Golightly, Traveling.”

Just who is this woman? That’s 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’m 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!

“… 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.”