February: the author Truman Capote

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Jayne:
The book is the first time Jayne has read this author. This novella (only 100 pages) was published in 1958 and the film followed in 1961. The movie is more toned down than the book as was necessary for the times. The story is quite raunchy. Jayne thought that Audrey Hepburn was too sweet and classy in the movie.

The story......A lonely, struggling writer becomes enchanted with his neighbor, an independent young woman who strives to be a high-climbing socialite with a penchance for high-fashion and wild parties. But, soon he uncovers the vulnerability she has at heart.

The jewellery store Tiffanys was a place Holly Golightly would go when she was feeling down. It was like a Nirvana for her and represented the fact that money could buy you anything....even Breakfast at Tiffanys. 

Jayne thought it was a good read. 

Pat:

She agreed with all of Jayne's comments.

Judy J:

Like the others, Judy also enjoyed reading it and commented that the film was very much a 'Hollywood' adaption of the book with a different beginning and ending. In fact Capote has been quoted as saying that the main character was modeled on Marilyn Monroe's early life and he had wanted her to play the part in the film.

One of the strengthens of the book is he way the author brings his characters to life with small but intimate details.

Judy G:

Judy also commented on how raunchy the book was, and although she enjoyed it, felt the story drifted at times.

Pamela:

She hated the film as it distorted the book and the characters.

Some of her thoughts:-

Holly is a person who is unable to make a commitment - she doesn't name her cat or refer to the narrator by his proper name. She exploits her position and uses people. The portrayal of the Japanese photographer is very racist. The only one she really cares for is her brother, her life is a facade. She realises this when she is charged by the police and is quickly dropped by most of her friends. She wont make any commitments, but you can't help liking her.

The book is an illustration of the loneliness of people in a city of many millions. 

In Cold Blood 

Lesley:

Truman Capote's real name was  Truman Streckfus Persons and he came from a very dysfunctional family. He was friends with Harper Lee and Dill (a character from To Kill a Mockingbird) is said to be based on Capote.

In Cold Blood is based on a true story which had been reported in the New York Times. A midwestern family, the Clutters, who had been pillars of the local society, were brutally murdered in their own house, for no apparent motive. 

Capote took 6 years to write the book after extensive research and it was really the first significant book in the genre of True Crime. 

Lesley also commented on the strength of his writing as being his descriptions of people. He even created a feeling of sympathy for one of the killers, as you could see his life heading that way.  

Rosemary S:

She agreed that there was sympathy for one of the killers, Perry. She felt he had been goaded into committing the murder. The book was intense reading and she thought there was a parallel between the family and the killers.

Tam:

She thought there were 2 underlying issues in the book.

Firstly, the death penalty - there was a lot of discussion at this time in Kansas about the morality of executing people.

Secondly, do you kill because of your environmental background or because of your hereditary genes? Perry had come from a terrible background but had a kind streak. Whereas Dick, his co-killer, came from a good family and had only set out to commit a robbery.

Connie:

Connie thought that Dick was greedy and wanted money and so he had to kill to get it.

She enjoyed the writing in the first section which introduced the characters and the places where it all happened. She could picture the whole scene.

Connie doesn't really like to read true crime, and she is not interested in the details of what had happened and why. She is also not really interested in finding out about the author, but just wants to read the story.

Jo:

Her comment was that the killers were only there because they were told the family had a large safe and they wanted the money. They had driven 800 miles to get there and hadn't thought of the ramifications. 

Annette:

She was most interested in the forensic psychologist's evaluation of the 2 killers.

Among his findings were - Perry suffered from a severe mental illness, there was much brutality in his childhood. There was no love, direction or sense of moral value in his life. He had above average intelligence. He felt discriminated against and was overly sensitive to criticism. He was unable to control his rage, which was easily triggered and usually vented towards authority figures. The conclusion by the doctor was that he was capable of murder without apparent motive.

Maree:

As she was reading, Maree was hoping  that the story could change. You have been introduced to this lovely family and you know they are going to be killed. Bad things happen to good people!

Dianne:

Dianne thought there was so much detail through out the book, particularly from the psychiatrist, and it gave you another depth. There was also much loneliness in the book.

The killers were victims, the family were victims and the community were victims as well.

Dianne was moved by the ending.

Joan:

Harper Lee and Truman Capote had exclusive access to the Clutter file and did extensive research. The book was an instant classic because of its biographical treatment of the victims and the killers, the forensic evidence and the psychological background of the killers.

It was an important book at the time.

The Grass Harp 

Rosemary O

This book had been written from memories of the author's childhood in Alabama and the tree house in the backyard. Included in it were his cousin Sook and her dropsy medicine, the recipe of which she eventually took to her grave.

It was a strange book and full of weird characters with no real story.

Jane: 

She agreed, saying she didn't love it or hate it. It just seemed to finish, with no real ending. The group goes and lives in a tree house.

Laura:

Laura also read the book but thought it was beautiful and loved the story. It was very real for her.

She saw it as struggles with family life, the power struggles in a family and who has what rites. It describes how family politics gets town politics involved in solving their problems. These eccentric characters found it very difficult to break out in such a place.

She thought it had a common theme of 'autumn'....the story is set in autumn and the people are in the autumn of their life, this is their last chance.

A Christmas Memory  

Sheila:

Although  only 45 pages long, the story has been published separately. Again, this story is influenced by the author's early life. Until 10years old he had lived in Alabama with extended family members. Among them was a simple, older cousin with whom he spent a lot of time while they were ignored by the rest of the family.

It's a gentle, loving and tender story about 2 lonely people as they go through the rituals of preparation for Christmas.

Sheila described it as a snapshot of how Truman Capote would have lived his early life.

A House on the Heights

Pauline:

This essay is only 28 pages and 4 lines long, and was originally published in 1950 in a holiday magazine.

The book describes the time he spent in Brooklyn Heights, the events of his life, and the colourful characters who also lived there. There is no plot, but just description of his images of Brooklyn.

Pauline liked his descriptive style of  writing, particularly as there was no waffling. 

Answered Prayers - The Unfinished Novel

Julia:

The title is in reference to a quote by Saint Teresa of Avila "answered prayers cause more tears than those that remain unanswered".
By 1975, Capote's increasingly outrageous public behavior, fueled by alcohol, drugs and sexual indiscretion led many to believe that he had no intention of ever publishing Answered Prayers and had given up writing to follow in the footsteps of his fabulous friends as a professional socialite. 

After read the introduction, Julia had no intention of reading it either!

Welcome to a new member Bev, who recommended books written by Tess Gerritsen. These are crime stories featuring  Jane Rizzoli, a detective and Maura Isles  a medical examiner with the Boston Police Department. 

Next month join us as we discuss a great love story we have read.