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I Remember Grandpa

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« Il y a tout le bonheur d'un récit qui vous brouille le regard de larmes et le coeur d'émotion. Un grand, un très grand petit livre.» ( Michèle Gazier, Télérama) « Une merveille d'à peine cinquante pages, toute en émotion contenue, qui nous touche secrètement, durablement. » ( Michel Braudeau, Le Monde)

37 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1987

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113 people want to read

About the author

Truman Capote

345 books7,254 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

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 and young Lillie Mae. His parents divorced when he was four and he went to live with his mother's relatives in Monroeville, Alabama. He was a lonely child who learned to read and write by himself before entering school. In 1933, he moved to New York City to live with his mother and her new husband, Joseph Capote, a Cuban-born businessman. Mr. Capote adopted Truman, legally changing his last name to Capote and enrolling him in private school. After graduating from high school in 1942, Truman Capote began his regular job as a copy boy at The New Yorker. During this time, he also began his career as a writer, publishing many short stories which introduced him into a circle of literary critics. His first novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms, published in 1948, stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for nine weeks and became controversial because of the photograph of Capote used to promote the novel, posing seductively and gazing into the camera.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Capote remained prolific producing both fiction and non-fiction. His masterpiece, In Cold Blood, a story about the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, was published in 1966 in book form by Random House, became a worldwide success and brought Capote much praise from the literary community. After this success he published rarely and suffered from alcohol addiction. He died in 1984 at age 59.

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5 stars
23 (14%)
4 stars
65 (41%)
3 stars
52 (32%)
2 stars
12 (7%)
1 star
6 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for Cecilebe.
85 reviews14 followers
October 30, 2016
Un petit livre tout simple sur l'enfance, la distance, l'oubli. Bref, sur le fait de grandir. Mignon triste.
Profile Image for Amaya.
50 reviews
December 2, 2024
Court, doux et attendrissant ! Un récit initiatique sur les bouleversements et les rapports familiaux de Bobby, enfant un peu clueless (normal, il a 5 ans). J’ai beaucoup aimé la retranscription des émotions que l’on peut ressentir au plus jeune âge; la moindre chose pouvant nous paraître gravissime qui est déjà oubliée l’instant d’après.
J’ai beaucoup aimé!
Profile Image for Emi.
21 reviews1 follower
March 9, 2018
Touchant. Émouvant.
Définitivement un livre que j’acheterai pour le relire et que j’offrirai ♥️

« Papa expliquait à Maman que j’allais faire des études pour m’en sortir. Maman essayait sans arrêt de placer une remarque mais papa ne lui en laissait pas le temps : « C’est d’être ignorant qui m’a ôté ma liberté. »
Profile Image for Oumeima Hammami.
16 reviews7 followers
March 18, 2017
le livre est assez facile à lire, je l'ai terminé au bout d'une demi heure, mais je n'arrive à rien en retenir, vraiment banal. Flop.
Profile Image for Alain.
1,088 reviews
August 28, 2017
une petite histoire sur le déchirement et l'enfance, , choisie pour découvrir l'auteur. Guère enthousiasmé en fermant le livre, cette histoire continue cependant de me trotter dans la tête
Profile Image for Giulia Giammattei.
21 reviews
December 22, 2022
Un petit livre (plus ou moins 50 pages) qui cache un grand enseignement. La phrase suivante, extraite du livre, dit déjà tout.
“Vivre, laisser vivre et prendre plaisir à la vie (...) recevoir l’amour et le partager”.
Rien de plus à dire.
5/5
Profile Image for cat.
24 reviews
January 17, 2020
One of Capote's first stories, another proof of his wonderful ability as a writer.

A short story with an emotional writing, reading "I Remember Grandpa" will leave you with a sorrowful feeling.
Profile Image for lapetitesouris.
237 reviews12 followers
January 13, 2021
A touching story that Capote wrote for his aunt. It holds a place along with A Christmas Memory and his stories from childhood. 💔
Profile Image for Chloe.
246 reviews8 followers
December 9, 2021
I wanted to read it because it's Truman Capote and it had beautiful illustrations throughout. IT IS SAD.
85 reviews
November 3, 2022
"Ceci est mon héritage, mon passé qui ne me quittera plus jamais".
6 reviews
June 13, 2025
GENRE ils ont pu partir mais jamais rendre visite au papi aller
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Reinhold.
551 reviews33 followers
November 13, 2009
Sehr wahrscheinlich gar kein Capote

Bei dem zur Diskussion stehenden Büchlein handelt es sich um ein vieldiskutiertes Werk. Allerdings nicht weil es so gut ist, sondern viel mehr weil es heute als fast erwiesen gilt, dass dieses Werk nicht von Truman Capote stammt. Im Jahr 1987 (also drei Jahre nach Capotes Tod) "fand" eine Verwandte von Truman Capote diese Erzählung und veröffentlichte sie in der Hoffnung auf ein ordentliches Zubrot.

Inhaltlich geht es die Geschichte eines Kindes das mit den Eltern vom Land in die Stadt zieht. Bei diesem Umzug werden die Großeltern auf der bis dahin gemeinsam bewirtschafteten Farm zurückgelassen. Viel mehr Handlung gibt es auf diesen wenigen Seiten auch schon nicht mehr. Streicht man die durchaus stimmungsvollen Bilder weg und reduzierte die Schriftgröße auf das übliche Maß so bleiben gerade noch etwa 25 Seiten übrig.

In dem Buch gelingt es dem Autor sehr gut die Geschichte durch die Augen eines Kindes zu erzählen. Teilweise werden auch sehr stimmungsvolle Bilder erzeugt, das ist aber auch schon alles was es an positiven zu sagen gibt. Zu den Themen Plot, Tiefe der Personen und Persönlichkeitsentwicklung reicht der Hinweis auf die niedrige Seitenzahl um zu zeigen, dass es hiervon nichts gibt das erwähnenswert ist. Sprachlich ist das Werk nicht übel aber auch nicht glanzvoll. Die Qualität schwankt enorm und das ist wohl auch das eigentliche Problem. Eine einfache Sprache hätte man noch akzeptiert weil die Erzählung ja durch die Augen eines Kindes geschildert wird, ein Schwanken zwischen guter und einfacher Sprache ist in diesem Kontext jedoch der Qualität abträglich. Schließlich endet die Geschichte auch noch im Nichts, damit meine ich, dass sie sehr plötzlich abgebrochen wird. Das Ende ist sehr lieblos erzählt und löst auch das Geheimnis nicht auf. So gesehen ist der englische Originaltitel des Buches "I remember Grandpa" sicherlich günstiger gewählt.
11 reviews1 follower
March 29, 2009
This is the first book by Truman Capote that I've read, and I can see that he is a good writer. The book is well written and evokes lovely images of place and time. However, the story is awful, and put me in a bad mood for the entire day. **SPOILER ALERT** The beginning of the story is fine, but in the end, the family completely abandons the old man, leaving him to live with strangers. They never go back to visit, not even after Grandma dies and Grandpa writes to say he's all alone, doesn't know what to do, and wishes he'd died too. They don't keep in touch, and a few short years later, their son has all but forgotten his grandfather. It is heart-wrenching, not heartwarming.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Cynthia Egbert.
2,673 reviews39 followers
October 27, 2015
Just as beautifully written as his other short stories, but this one broke my heart to pieces. That is not all bad.
Profile Image for Zorua64.
172 reviews19 followers
July 31, 2025
Pov le livre: Ouin ouin je déménage
Profile Image for Elise.
14 reviews17 followers
February 7, 2016
I found this story very moving, not to say heartbreaking
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews

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