I'm a huge fan of Truman Capote but have put off reading his posthumously published novels for years because they aren't nearly as well reviewed as the stuff that came out during his lifetime. I've finally gotten around to reading Summer Crossing, however, and while I can't say that I'm disappointed (nothing Capote writes is ever disappointing), I do agree that it's not his most polished work. It's mildly entertaining and there are some funny bits, but it's definitely no Breakfast at Tiffany's. It also has the most shockingly abrupt ending of all time. But still, it's Capote and if you're a big fan, it's certainly worth a read. If you're new to Capote, it's still worth a read but go read Other Voices, Other Rooms and Breakfast at Tiffany's first – they're far superior.

3,5/4

Capote cristaliza-se definitivamente como o escritor do meu coração. Esta é uma obra que poderá ser considerada incompleta, mais experimental, um protótipo do que seria a sua escrita, o seu estilo. Nunca se quis publicada pelo próprio autor mas após a sua morte, veio à luz do dia. É brilhante porque a inocência está mais que viva. A juventude, as cenas imersas de alma e nostalgia. O devaneio, a solidão, o amor de um verão. A naturalidade arrepiante dos diálogos que nos aproximam, como nunca julguei ser possível, da obra, e toda a separação quebra-se entre aqui e ali, entre a autenticidade vivida e a narração. Os cortes de reflexão brilhantes e as inúmeras e pequenas subtilezas fazem desta pequena obra uma espécie de quadro ou fractal de uma emoção, de uma personagem que poderia ser, julgo eu, a menina de todos nós - sonhadores.

This novel is considered one of Truman Capotes early works and was published after his death, it’s somewhat easy to see why Capote wouldn’t have wanted this published. The plot lacks density and the ending was just so abrupt it’s easy to imagine that Capote just got fed up of writing and decided to off everyone. For these reasons I think it deserves three stars.
However, that being said I found great enjoyment in this read as it feels like an authentic romantic comedy of the 1920s (albeit the ending) and provides light entertainment.

--- will write a proper review once I return from my lovely vacation ---

* Back from vacation!

I read this book on the train ride and I enjoyed it a lot. I don't know how to exactly talk about it. It's not the best of Capote obviously - it's his first novel and he didn't even publish it, but it's a lovely piece of literature that I am glad it got out.

Perfectly decadent

holly golightly may be the archetype but grady mcneil is the blueprint

six chapters accounting a reckless summer ridden with instability, prominent feeling and a profound naivety. it is criminal this was abandoned i want more

“handicapped by the width of her feeling and the narrowness of his”

There is no other writer like Truman Capote. Simple, poetic phrases and characters that are hard to forget. 'Summer Crossing' is very unique among other Capote's works - it is his first and at the same time last novel, published years after his death, nearly ten years ago. It's different, fresh and mesmerizing. It will grab your heart and won't let go hours after the book is finished. Capote's story at its essence.

As someone who wouldn't call herself Truman Capote's number one fan, I was surprised when I found myself feeling a near-instant affection for and kinship with the young female protagonist of Summer Crossing, Capote's first novel. This protagonist is seventeen-year-old Grady, whose parents head off for the summer while she is left unsupervised in their Fifth Avenue penthouse and the city that surrounds it. As the days and weeks pass, the reader is allowed open access to the private thoughts and feelings Grady has about her burgeoning existential awareness. As is only to be expected, these cause the story to take on a somewhat cheerless tone, particularly for a novel that boasts the word "summer" in the title--but naturally it is exactly the novel's "gray for the summer" tones which guaranteed my love of it.

What a beautifully imperfect book. This is Capote's first novel written sometime in the 1940s and not published until 2004. Why the big gap? He left his apartment and told his landlord to throw it away.

Thankfully the landlord kept it. Eventually it landed in the hands of Sotheby's for auction. They notified the lawyer in charge of Capote's Trust. He gave the transcript to the New York Public Library, and he also had the book published.

Summer Crossing tells the story of Grady McNeil, a debutante in New York City, as she experiences her first summer in the city instead of going to France with her parents. It is a love story and a tale of self-discovery. While I haven't read Breakfast at Tiffany's I have seen the movie, and this book clearly lays the groundwork for that plot.

It talks about the clash of the classes in New York City and the reality of what those classes meant. Capote tackles sensitive subjects with beautiful language and care. It is truly a masterpiece of a book despite its obviously unpolished feel.

You must read it. It is short and a very easy read that will keep you turning pages. A great read for the summer.

I can easily say this is definitely the best book I've ever read that was rescued from a trash can (Confederacy of Dunces was under his bed, right?). This was a novel Truman abandoned in 1943 to write his debut Other Voices, Other Rooms. After his success with In Cold Blood he moved out of his Brooklyn apartment for Manhattan instructing the remaining contents of his apartment be put out on the curb for collection. The Super salvaged a box full of papers that included this manuscript. Nobody knew about this until it came up for auction in 2004 and was subsequently published. It's a quick six chapters about a small but intense cast of mentally unstable characters set during a New York summer ("as the heat closed in like a hand over a murder victim's mouth, the city thrashed and twisted but, with its outcry muffled, it...sank into a coma"). I think this qualifies as a genre that I'm slowly becoming aware I've constructed for myself and deeply enjoy (Franny & Zooey, Leon The Professional, etc.). If you already love Truman Capote you've probably already read this and so forget it...

I immediately had a sense of recognition while reading these two passages:

"What infinite energies are wasted steeling oneself against crisis that seldom comes: the strength to move mountains; and yet it is perhaps this very waste, this torturous wait for things that never happen, which prepares the way and allows one to accept with sinister sincerity the beast at last in view..."

"Most of life is so dull it is not worth discussing, and it is dull at all ages. When we change our brand of cigarette, move to a new neighborhood, subscribe to a different newspaper, fall in and out of love, we are protesting in ways both frivolous and deep against the not to be diluted dullness of day-to-day living. Unfortunately, one mirror is as treacherous as another, reflecting at some point in every adventure the same vain unsatisfied face, and so when she asks what have I done? she means really what am I doing? as one usually does."

Πέμπτο βιβλίο του Τρούμαν Καπότε που διαβάζω και δηλώνω για άλλη μια φορά αρκούντως ικανοποιημένος. Απ'όσο ξέρω αυτό είναι το πρώτο του πραγματικό μυθιστόρημα που έγραψε σε νεαρή ηλικία, αλλά έτυχε να εκδοθεί πολλά χρόνια μετά τον θάνατό του, μιας και είτε δεν ήθελε να εκδοθεί είτε απλώς το... ξέχασε κάπου παρατημένο. Λοιπόν, είναι ένα μικρό μυθιστόρημα με κάποιες αδυναμίες και σίγουρα δεν είναι για όλα τα γούστα, όμως η όλη ατμόσφαιρα της παλιάς εποχής, το σκηνικό της Νέας Υόρκης, η ώριμη και σε σημεία λυρική γραφή, είναι στοιχεία που με με ικανοποίησαν σε μεγάλο βαθμό. Ας πούμε ότι κάτι στον τρόπο που περιγράφει σκηνικά και καταστάσεις, κάτι στους ανθρώπινους και φυσικούς διαλόγους, κάτι στους χαρακτήρες του, ταιριάζει με τα γούστα μου. Γενικά μου αρέσει να διαβάζω ιστορίες του Τρούμαν Καπότε, ακόμα και αν αυτές είναι απλές από άποψη πλοκής.

Buvo manoma, kad sio romano rankrastis yra dinges. Jis buvo atrastas atsitiktinai 2004-iais, ruosiantis Sotheby's aukcionui. Capote pradejo ji rasyti 1943-iais, vis grizdamas prie jo iki pat mirties, bet taip ir nepanores isleisti...Tai trumpas, elegantiskas pasakojimas apie viena jaunos merginos vasara, kuri pakeis viska....
Siaip jau, maniau, kad tai toks lengvas skaitalas, bet tik iki pakutines frazes, istartos Grady...