Breakfast at Tiffany's: A Short Novel and Three Stories (Modern Library)
by Truman Capote
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Read in April, 2008
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 Chri...more
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 Chri...more
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Read in April, 2007
Very different from my fave movie. The male lead isn't a prostitute and all signs point to him not being hetero either. Funny how 1960's America edited the catty upstairs neighbor. It made me think about how Hollywood would have dodged it nowadays. If they did, it would probably be another Jack McFarlane instead of the moody writer of the short story. A relief for my boyfriend, the cat's fate isn't nearly as bad in the book as in the movie. But they also don't get together in the end. Holly Goli...more
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Read in March, 2008
I thought I didn't like Truman Capote because I once tried to read In Cold Blood and HATED it.
I'm glad I didn't give up on him, because I loved this little book! There's just something about his spare prose and the way he strings words together that appeals to me. The story of Breakfast at Tiffany's is fun. The last 20 pages or so are not as fun as the rest of the story, but overall it's a great story. I liked reading about what New York City was like in the 1940's.
There are also thre...more
I'm glad I didn't give up on him, because I loved this little book! There's just something about his spare prose and the way he strings words together that appeals to me. The story of Breakfast at Tiffany's is fun. The last 20 pages or so are not as fun as the rest of the story, but overall it's a great story. I liked reading about what New York City was like in the 1940's.
There are also thre...more
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Read in May, 2008
This was a difficult read for me. I expected to love it, but struggled with a couple of things. Firstly, Holly Golightly is pretty unlikeable! They did a lot of work on her for the movie (though she's pretty unlikeable in that too, at times).
But the bigger beef I had was with the racism! I realize the book was written at a time when black people might be called Nigger, colored, negro or coon-but really?! Everybody didn't speak or think that way in the 50's, so it's a definite choice for Capote...more
But the bigger beef I had was with the racism! I realize the book was written at a time when black people might be called Nigger, colored, negro or coon-but really?! Everybody didn't speak or think that way in the 50's, so it's a definite choice for Capote...more
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Read in June, 2007
I saw the movie first, and as a result the book really was nothing like what I had expected. Much like the film versions of The Color Purple (loved the book) or The House of Mirth (hated the book), and countless other adaptations, the film version really took away something that I thought was the heart of the written story, or the point of it. Basically, the book doesn't have the same happy ending as the film. The book does not end with Holly Golightly staying in New York to sha...more
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Read in January, 2007
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in May, 2007
Holly Golightly is a 50s version of this day's party girls (check their names on the cover of magazines..)Nice life with many admirers, some booze, parties and some potential Mr Rights. Deep inside Holly is unsure and tries to escape something (her past). I liked Truman Capote and Breakfast at Tiffany's.
The annoying little thing when reading that book was the constant humming of
"And I said "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's?"She said "I think I remember the film
And ...more
The annoying little thing when reading that book was the constant humming of
"And I said "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's?"She said "I think I remember the film
And ...more
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Read in January, 2003
I read this before seeing the film version of Breakfast at Tiffany's, and I think the story is much stronger than in the film. It lacks the happy ending found in the movie, but I think that gives it a more solid, heavy feeling; Holly's problems are not the kind that can be easily solved by having a great new friend, and I think the story really carries that message home: sometimes, things just are not okay in the end. That is the general feeling I got from this whole collection of stories. So...more
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I loved reading this so much that I wish I had written it! I think pretty much everyone I know has seen the movie, which is slightly tamer, with a happy ending ... the book is very open about sex, including homosexuality, booze and drugs, and real life in general. It seems ahead of its time in many ways, but it's exactly what I expected from Capote ... he did good! I think I actually like the ending in the book better than in the movie ... it's real, more like Holly Golightly. If you haven't rea...more
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Read in October, 2007
This book is a collection of short stories and the longest one, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is probably one of his most well known. I didn't really like "Breakfast at Tiffany's." I didn't like the main character, Holly Golightly, and perhaps this slanted my view of this book. House of Flowers and A Diamond Guitar were only OK. I LOVED "A Christmas Memory." This short story is like a warm childhood memory that just makes you feel good when you think about it. Over all t...more
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Lovers of the film beware...you have to get the dream of Audrey Hepburn out of your mind. Capote's true vision of Ms. Golightly is far more selfish, dirty, worldly and in short, human. Her skill to manipulate her surroundings as if they were attached appendages is more gift than art and her chameleon-like ability to adapt to any environ makes her believably sympathetic within the basic animal instinct of self-preservation. And also romance lovers, George is gay.
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Read in December, 2007
Now, this is gruesome of me, I know. But, I had NO idea that Breakfast at Tiffany's was a Truman Capote novel before Audrey Hepburn immortalized Holly Golightly onscreen. If it had been some obscure, strangely-written novel, like The Phantom of the Opera was, then I mightn't be as shocked...but, a Capote novel!?
I am ashamed of myself. As much as I love Audrey, there was so much more to the Holly in the book. Truly. It was a good time.
I am ashamed of myself. As much as I love Audrey, there was so much more to the Holly in the book. Truly. It was a good time.
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Read in June, 2007
My first impression about the cover : This book was written by a woman. While I judges it from the cover with a beautiful woman on it.
I enjoyed this book very much. Especially to Holly character. She's funny, a liar and ignorant. When a man who intended to marry her escape just in time she needed him so much, she didn't blame him. She was hurt but try to be always optimistic.
It's a very thin book. That's a pity the joyful run fast.
I enjoyed this book very much. Especially to Holly character. She's funny, a liar and ignorant. When a man who intended to marry her escape just in time she needed him so much, she didn't blame him. She was hurt but try to be always optimistic.
It's a very thin book. That's a pity the joyful run fast.
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Read in March, 2008
When I saw "Breakfast at Tiffany's" the film, I was bored by it: Flighty young woman takes hold of men's psyches yet can still never find happiness; must keep moving from place to place. And shoplift.
But reading the original story changed my mind. It's a quick, wistful, tender and somewhat comforting read that gives the reader true nostalgia for New York City at the time. And the part with the cat at the end nearly broke my heart.
But reading the original story changed my mind. It's a quick, wistful, tender and somewhat comforting read that gives the reader true nostalgia for New York City at the time. And the part with the cat at the end nearly broke my heart.
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i love the fact that the undertone in the short novel is completely different to the movie. it's a lot more raw, narrating a younger holly golightly's eccentric and superficial way of life from an older, unrequited paul varchak's point of view, the pace consequently affected by the male gaze and desire, as opposed to the movie's focus on the tumultuous, and albeit more glamorous, relationship between the characters.
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Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
Capote readers and glamour-pusses of the universe
Love, love, love, love, loved it! It's entirely and utterly more dirtily-detailed and risque than the movie. So I definitely recommend it, if you have or haven't seen the film. Although it really burns me up that there's really no linear plot to the story, the literature, the diction, the nostalgia, and just about everything about it is "maaarvelous, darling." It's definitely my number one favorite book.
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I watched the movie, didn't understand it, read the book and LOVED it, finally understood the movie. Holly Golightly is a much more interesting character than even Audrey Hepburn can convey, so if you've seen the movie and haven't read the novella, you're really missing out.
I also loved the other three stories in this volume, so make sure you get the "and three short stories" version of the text.
I also loved the other three stories in this volume, so make sure you get the "and three short stories" version of the text.
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اگر تا به حال نوشته ای از "ترومن کاپوته" نخوانده اید، یا فیلمی از او ندیده اید، بهتر است تغییری در برنامه تان بدهید و دست کم یکی از کارهایش را تا آخر بخوانید، یا فیلمی از او ببینید. بقیه اش خود به خود پیش خواهد آمد.
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I read this book before seeing the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. The story is barely recognizable in the movie-- which I recommend skipping all together-- and much more typical of Capote than the movie. The three short stories are also worth reading, especially "A Christmas Memory," about the relationship between a young boy and his elderly cousin, and "A Diamond Guitar."
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Read in March, 2008
This is a tale for anybody who ever went to a city and reinvented themselves. Also a tale about a successful "it" girl, maybe one of the first studies of this phenomenon. Her eventual did she didn't she downfall and disappearance only add to the psychological marvel of modern life and all the pitfalls and vulnerability of our "hipsters" no matter the decade.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.97 (1606 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.97 (1591 ratings) number of reviews: 151popular shelves
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"...i love new york, even though it isn't mine, the way something has to be, a tree or a street or a house, something, anyway, that belongs to me because i belong to it. "
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