Book Review: "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Truman Capote

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Truman Capote's "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was published in 1958; first in Esquire, and then by Random House. As an aside, this novella and I are the same age. Prior to publication, there was a brouhaha with the Hearst Corporation. Harper's Bazaar had picked up the story, but the Hearst editors asked Capote for changes to the language. The publication rights went to Esquire, and that was that. Reading it this year, for perhaps the tenth time, the objection to language seems silly. At the time, however, it was considered racy.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" is probably better known as the movie of the same name starring Audrey Hepburn. The novella runs to 179 pages and in most editions is published with three short stories. While I love the movie, it is a pale shadow of the real story. Sure, Audrey Hepburn charms the pants off of everyone as Holly Golightly, but George Peppard is a stiff Paul Varjak. The entire ending of the tale is chopped and mangled into a cute Hollywood happy ending. The film is a lovely, fluffy bit of Hollywood charm, but it is most certainly not Capote's novella.

On the surface, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is a simple and straightforward story. I like to think of it as a plain ring of gold, adorned with three jewels. The first jewel is Capote's perfect prose. The second jewel is how deftly the characters are developed. It is as if they appear in a doorway; old friends that you remember in an instant, yet you have never met. The third jewel of this story, for me, is how the characters interact; how they fit together like wonderful pieces of an ornate jigsaw puzzle.

It is almost impossible to talk about the plot without dropping spoilers, but even sixty years later, I will try not to give away the farm. The story is told, when a narrator is necessary, through the eyes of young writer in New York. The young man lives in a brownstone in the City, and he has the most amazing neighbor: Holly Golightly. Miss Golightly is determined to carve a place for herself in the world. Her only tools are her good looks and her outrageous personality. As the young writer, Paul Varjak, is drawn further and further into Holly's orbit, he discovers there is far more to her past than she is willing to tell.

The elegantly written prose of this novella illustrates why Capote was L'Enfant Terrible of American literature in the late '50's and early '60s. There are myriad interviews, film clips, and photographs of the older Capote who worked the talk show circuit to stay in the limelight. I choose to remember Truman Capote as the literary Rock Star that he was, not the shadow that he became.

So, all these years later, why should anyone read this Novella? The answer is quite simple. I believe that these characters, Holly Golightly, Paul, Joe Bell, Doc, and their story, will linger long in the reader's memory. I highly recommend "Breakfast at Tiffany's." If you have never read Capote's work, this is a great place to start. If you have read his work, this is an amazing refresher; a visit from an old friend.


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