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33rd out of 148 books
—
45 voters
Summer Crossing
Thought to be lost for over 50 years, here is the first novel by one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.
Set in New York during the summer of 1945, this is the story of a young carefree socialite, Grady, who must make serious decisions about the romance she is dangerously pursuing and the effect it will have on everyone involved.
Fans of Breakfast at Tiffa...more
Set in New York during the summer of 1945, this is the story of a young carefree socialite, Grady, who must make serious decisions about the romance she is dangerously pursuing and the effect it will have on everyone involved.
Fans of Breakfast at Tiffa...more
Paperback, 142 pages
Published
June 27th 2006
by Modern Library
(first published January 1st 2005)
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Summer Crossing: Truman Capote's True First Novel
Summer Crossing appears to be Capote's true first novel which he abandoned. In fact, the manuscript was among papers left in an apartment in the care of a house sitter. Capote instructed the house sitter to put all papers on the street to be picked up as garbage. The anonymous house sitter recognized the value of what Capote considered trash, holding on to the caches of papers, including this novel for more than fifty years until his death.
A rela...more
Summer Crossing appears to be Capote's true first novel which he abandoned. In fact, the manuscript was among papers left in an apartment in the care of a house sitter. Capote instructed the house sitter to put all papers on the street to be picked up as garbage. The anonymous house sitter recognized the value of what Capote considered trash, holding on to the caches of papers, including this novel for more than fifty years until his death.
A rela...more
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 kne...more
7 likes · like · see review
Jul 21, 2008
Sara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Sara by:
Greg Draheim
Shelves:
southern-gothic,
20th-century
After checking out this apparent prototype to the rest of Capote's work, I definitely wanted to move on into some Breakfast territory.
Grady, like Clyde, offers only the leanest peripheral insight into her inner life, causing the reader to view her uncomfortably atop a pedestal. Irony abounds in Grady's childlike insistence for acceptance from those she places beneath her. (To me, she is the complete embodiment of "svelte" :) ) More than a coming-of-age, class-conflict, or sultry beach read, Summ...more
Grady, like Clyde, offers only the leanest peripheral insight into her inner life, causing the reader to view her uncomfortably atop a pedestal. Irony abounds in Grady's childlike insistence for acceptance from those she places beneath her. (To me, she is the complete embodiment of "svelte" :) ) More than a coming-of-age, class-conflict, or sultry beach read, Summ...more
This is one of those books where the back-story itself is almost good enough. Years after he originally wrote this novella (at age 19) in 4 Composition Notebooks (remember those black and white ones that you did all your Important Writing in in middle school?), Capote hastily moved out of his brownstone and asked his Super to throw away anything that he'd left behind in the rush. The detritus included a box containing this manuscript. A neighbor found the box and decided that such a thing should...more
Jul 08, 2007
Oceana2602
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people of Capote's age, Capote-Fans
Mr. Truman will probably throw a fit in his grave if I tell him that his first novel wasn't nearly as entertaining as Ms. Novik's. So he is a great writer, I don't doubt that. And for a first novel, Summer Crossing is probably better than most.
Doesn't mean I have to like it, and I didn't. It didn't make sense to me, which is probably more a question of age than of writing. But the book did nothing to me: I wasn't particularly interested in what was happening, I didn't seem to like the characters...more
Doesn't mean I have to like it, and I didn't. It didn't make sense to me, which is probably more a question of age than of writing. But the book did nothing to me: I wasn't particularly interested in what was happening, I didn't seem to like the characters...more
5 likes · like · see review
I have read this but forgot everything about it. Maybe it was good who knows?
It isn't fair to judge Capote's first novel by the same standards as his other work. This book was never meant to be published and read. Stolen from the trash by a building super, we can only glimpse the blooming genius behind this failed literary attempt. I say failed, only because Capote gave up on it, not because of the story's quality.
There's no way to know if this manuscript is a first draft, but if so, it's quite impressive. The characters are interesting yet seem merely sketched in penci...more
There's no way to know if this manuscript is a first draft, but if so, it's quite impressive. The characters are interesting yet seem merely sketched in penci...more
This is a lost manuscript of Truman Capote's. He had left it in a house that he had rented and told the housesitter to throw this, along with all of his other possessions, away. He had written it, edited it somewhat, but knew it was not ready for publishing. It was only after his death that his trusted friend, lawyer, and executor of his trust, made the decision to publish this book after it surfaced. Shame on him for going against the obvious wishes of the artist. For it taints the brilliant bo...more
Jun 27, 2010
Sam
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who love Truman Capote
Recommended to Sam by:
one of the Popular Penguins series
In the lead up to the release of yet more Popular Penguins, I decided to make a small attempt to decrease the number of unread PP in my pile. Wanting a quick read before sinking into something meatier for the weekend, I chose Summer Crossing which could be described as more of a novella at 120-odd pages.
Summer Crossing was found long after Truman Capote’s death and it was up to his lawyer amongst others to decide whether it should be published. It appeared that Capote had edited the manuscript s...more
Summer Crossing was found long after Truman Capote’s death and it was up to his lawyer amongst others to decide whether it should be published. It appeared that Capote had edited the manuscript s...more
I adored this book. It may not be as polished as many of his later works, and some of the characters not half as developed, but it's a nice little novella to read on a warm, sunny afternoon, and there are some moments within it that are simply magical, written so beautifully that the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
Although some may argue that there are not nearly enough of these moments to make reading the book worthwhile, I would argue that its rough and ready nature is what makes it so...more
Although some may argue that there are not nearly enough of these moments to make reading the book worthwhile, I would argue that its rough and ready nature is what makes it so...more
Summer Crossing is technically the first major novel Truman Capote wrote before he abandoned it for Other Voices, Other Rooms, which was to become his first published novel. Discovered years later, Summer Crossing became the last published novel of Truman Capote.
Actually, Summer Crossing is more a novella than anything. The story takes place in the summer of 1945 when a young rich socialite woman named Grady McNeil, insists on staying home in New York City as her parents travel aboard, as was th...more
Actually, Summer Crossing is more a novella than anything. The story takes place in the summer of 1945 when a young rich socialite woman named Grady McNeil, insists on staying home in New York City as her parents travel aboard, as was th...more
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...more
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...more
Grady is a seventeen-year-old of privilege in 1945. Her parents sail for a European holiday and reluctantly leave her behind. Grady refuses to stay with her sister on Long Island, because she has a secret. A secret boyfriend from the wrong side of the tracks.
The novel shows a bit of what Capote's writing would eventually become. But, maybe because of how long ago it was written, there is a feeling of having read all this before. There are no surprises in how Grady's summer plays out.
The most int...more
The novel shows a bit of what Capote's writing would eventually become. But, maybe because of how long ago it was written, there is a feeling of having read all this before. There are no surprises in how Grady's summer plays out.
The most int...more
As I am reading this novella, to add to the complexity of dialogue, it manages to transgress between scenes without much regard to the continuity of the plot. Much like an innocent mind that pulls trains of thoughts one after another with an increasingly evident loss of purpose. More than anything this indicates that it was a loosely compiled - 'unpolished' (and 'rubbished' by Capote himself in fact)- piece of fiction writing. However, Somewhere between these remarks lurks the fact that the nove...more
Fascinating glimpse of Capote's writing before Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood. Absolutely loved the window into the life of an Upper East Side girl in the '40s. The plot was a little weak but Capote's wonderful turns of phrase were very fun.
Some favorite quotations:
On Peter:
"...a fresh haircut lent him that look of defenseless innocence that only a haircut can." (15)
On New York:
"Broadway is a street; it is also a neighborhood, an atmosphere." (24)
Grady on Clyde:
"...his tempers affected...more
Some favorite quotations:
On Peter:
"...a fresh haircut lent him that look of defenseless innocence that only a haircut can." (15)
On New York:
"Broadway is a street; it is also a neighborhood, an atmosphere." (24)
Grady on Clyde:
"...his tempers affected...more
Halfway through, I was getting ready to drop this. I could feel the Truman Capote I felt when I read Breakfast at Tiffany's lurking in the background here. It's clear this is his first novel. Some of the passages are so scatter-brained and disjointed; and others, especially his dialogue, are pitch-perfect and beautiful and evocative.
In the end, I really liked it. Some of the characters weren't developed as much as they could have been, but it was a nice read. The atmosphere of this post-war New...more
In the end, I really liked it. Some of the characters weren't developed as much as they could have been, but it was a nice read. The atmosphere of this post-war New...more
The manuscript of this book turned up a few years ago when it's owner died, and his heirs wanted to sell it along with some other Truman Capote papers. The manuscript and papers ultimately ended up in the Manuscripts and Archives section of the New York Public Library.
Alan U. Schwartz, the trustee of the Truman Capote Literary Trust had to decide whether to publish the manuscript. Apparently, Capote had started this novella before publishing Other Voices, Other Rooms, and then had puttered with...more
Alan U. Schwartz, the trustee of the Truman Capote Literary Trust had to decide whether to publish the manuscript. Apparently, Capote had started this novella before publishing Other Voices, Other Rooms, and then had puttered with...more
Capote's first novel could have needed a little polishing and further development, but I have to agree with Alan U. Schwartz after reading his afterword , that publishing this was a good decision. Sure, Capote might have shoved the script among the trash, but there wasn't a definite proof of his not wanting to ever putting this to daylight. Apparently, according to Schwartz he had even mentioned the novel in his later letters to friends, suggesting that publishing it wasn't entirely out of the q...more
In his 1957 Interview with the Paris Review Capote, never one to shy away from stating his point of view said, "I'll give you fifty dollars if you produced a writer who can honestly say he was ever helped by the prissy carpings and condescensions of reviewers." Obviously Capote is dead, and my writing my thoughts about his books (and others I have read) on Goodreads isn't exactly what he means by 'reviewer', but his statement nonetheless makes me ponder the ease of criticism versus the difficult...more
Jan 02, 2010
Marsia
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Capote fans
Shelves:
posthumous-publications
I've long been a fan and collector of Truman Capote's work, so I was curious about this posthumous publication (marketed as a novel but actually a novella or extended short story; it covers only 124 double-spaced pages). SUMMER CROSSING, written before Capote turned twenty and deliberately abandoned by him in favor of OTHER VOICES, OTHER ROOMS (his first published book), reveals the would-be author's promise and talent as well as his inexperience.
It's no BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S.
Yet how could Ra...more
It's no BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S.
Yet how could Ra...more
Summer Crossing is the first book I've read by Truman Capote, and I was captivated by it. In spite of its briefness, I fell in love with Grady and Clyde and even Peter. The texture and the richness of the characters were palpable, and the language of the book was beautiful.
Interestingly, I didn't know the book was unfinished when I read it. I thought that it ended exactly where it ought to have ended. To me, the climax was the conclusion. In a way, the ending reminded me of the ending in Edith...more
Interestingly, I didn't know the book was unfinished when I read it. I thought that it ended exactly where it ought to have ended. To me, the climax was the conclusion. In a way, the ending reminded me of the ending in Edith...more
Like most readers I am reserved, suspect and skeptical of books by famous authors that appear decades after their deaths: these manuscripts which are mysteriously found between the mattresses or squirreled away in a trunk, in a country house where the author once spent a summer vacation. However, "Summer Crossing" is a book that Truman often spoke of.
My understanding is that this was to be his first novel. *"More and more," he wrote, "Summer Crossing seemed to me thin, clever, unfelt. Another l...more
My understanding is that this was to be his first novel. *"More and more," he wrote, "Summer Crossing seemed to me thin, clever, unfelt. Another l...more
Really this is not a good book. But i still liked reading it and thinking about truman capote's world and writing path from this first novel, which he had thrown away & was published posthumously, to In True Blood. ant then the years of frustration, alcoholism, and decline. Reading this seemed to give clues to some of the frivolity of the world he lived in and why his self-embedding in a desolate, rural tragedy might have felt strangely compelling and satisfying. And why after, like a war re...more
The back story of this book is (to be honest) more interesting than the book itself. Capote had written this before he published his first book, but when he moved out of his NY apartment after the success of In Cold Blood, he left the manuscript for this book behind, intending that it be destroyed along with other papers. However, the papers were never destroyed and came to light in 2004, when Sotheby's tried to auction them. Capote's lawyer (who was managing his trust) struggled with the decisi...more
I would really give this book 3 1/2 stars. I love Capote's writing style, and this book reminded me a lot of Breakfast at Tiffany's (which I adore). In the book, Grady McNeill, a young New York socialite, falls in love with a young Jewish boy from Brooklyn. Her parents go away for a summer, leaving her in New York. And thus begins her summer of love...always expected to be uncomplicated and fun...but in reality complications always arise.
The novel felt slightly unfinished, which is probably beca...more
The novel felt slightly unfinished, which is probably beca...more
"Schließlich kommt ein Augenblick, da fragt man sich, was habe ich getan?, und für sie war er an diesem Morgen ... Das Meer fragte dasselbe, schrille Möwen sprachen es dem Meer nach. Der größte Teil des Lebens ist so langweilig, dass es sich nicht lohnt, darüber zu reden, und langweilig ist es in allen Lebensaltern. Wenn wir die Zigarettenmarke wechseln, in ein neues Stadtviertel ziehen, eine andere Zeitung abonnieren, uns ver-und entlieben, dann protestieren wir auf oberflächliche und auch tief...more
sometimes you become so obsessed with reality that you forget your ideals stuck under your bed,or inside your heart or dancing happily in a shoebox--waiting to be rediscovered and wanted and re-imagined.that's sort of like Summer Crossing. You want to be Grady and you want to fall in love with Clyde but you want to hate him too.all these mixed emotions that you want to sum up into beautiful words to give justice to what you just felt after reading the book..but then you find yourself speechless,...more
Shocking ending for seemingly like a romantic comedy. This has more verve and is more direct than his Breakfast at Tiffany's (4 stars). The slow build worked for me. While reading, I was taking this book lightly because I almost always doubt this manuscript-of-a-dead-famous-writer-found-in-the-cellar/attic-of-his-house thing. It is either there really is a manuscript but it is unfinished, e.g., Suite Française (1 star) or maybe the author did not really want his book to be published. In either c...more
Poor Capote, to get this published on his own name ( and with some awesome covers), when he must have considered it safely trashed. I am now afraid of The Original of Laura. Though perhaps not fair, I think the problem with Summer Crossing is not that it is narratively incomplete, but that it is a very young and immature story: imature in storytelling, we pass from scene to scene, from emotion to emotion abruptly, and imature psychologically. As it is, it is interesting for an occasional beautif...more
Summer Crossing is a book I have had on my bookshelf for years after I my aunt gave me her duplicate copy. In between book club books, I needed a short read. So I picked up Summer Crossing, not having read any of Capote's other works. I didn't realize until after I had finished that the book was the first novel he wrote--although the last to be published.
Truman Capote is a great writer. Even this first book, which the author himself abandoned at one point in time, showcases his talent. I did not...more
Truman Capote is a great writer. Even this first book, which the author himself abandoned at one point in time, showcases his talent. I did not...more
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Truman Capote was an American writer whose non-fiction, stories, novels and plays are recognised literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) and In Cold Blood (1965), which he labeled a "non-fiction novel." At least 20 films and TV dramas have been produced from Capote novels, stories and screenplays.
He was born as Truman Streckfus Persons to a salesman Archulus Persons...more
More about Truman Capote...
He was born as Truman Streckfus Persons to a salesman Archulus Persons...more
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“He loved her, he loved her, and until he'd loved her she had never minded being alone....”
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210 people liked it
“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.”
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66 people liked it
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