Capote at Home

Truman Capote at home in his apartment in 1958. It was here he wrote Breakfast at Tiffanys.

At Tiffany's

Truman Capote and Harper Lee

Forgot to mention that I finished reading Truman Capote's New York city novella ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ recently. I'd been wanting to track down a copy as I'd read Carol Matthau's autobiography (Among the Porcupines) earlier this year and she knew Capote and was the inspiration for the Holly Golightly character. (see my earlier post) Very much a tale of the 40's or 50's, Breakfast is a lovely story of 100 pages in a novella format with succinct, short sentences and every word placed thoughtfully on the page. Most of the details about each character are left to Capote's well written New Yorker dialogue that allows the reader to hear the angst, dreams, and fears in a very real and tangible way. This character driven tale has the delightful Holly Golightly radiating at the centre of the smiles, frowns, excitements and despair. 


I was surprised at how much of the dialogue remained in the actual film script, but the tale is dialogue driven so I shouldn't have been. Some changes for the movie of course with Holly's "profession" cleaned up a little and the inclusion of the Hollywood happy ending, but an enjoyable read and it made me wonder at Capote's ability. It seemed entirely appropriate with it being his birthday this week and a friend currently visiting NY. (I've been hearing about Central Park and Knishes this week and I hope she finds time to dress in black and be photographed outside Tiffany's eating a bagel in sunglasses - a must do for any woman visiting NYC). So, an enjoyable read and one I was pleased to track down and have read in the break. The book I bought has two other short stories in it which I'm hoping to polish off in the next few weeks -  Capote's writing is excellent!


Burn brightly, Pete

Breakfast At Tiffanys

“The blues are because you’re getting fat or maybe it’s been raining too long. You’re sad, that’s all. But the mean reds are horrible. You’re afraid and you sweat like hell, but you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Except something bad is going to happen, only you don’t know what it is.”

– Truman Capote

Walter & Carol

I've just finished reading Carol Matthau's Among the Porcupines. I think it may be out of print and you would need to search 2nd hand stores to track down a copy, but it would be well-worth the effort. This is possibly one of the best biographies I've ever read - warm, sometimes heart-breaking, amusing, jaw dropping, but above all an enduring romance with genuine LOL sections. Harpo Speaks is the only biography I've read that comes anywhere near close. You'll need to read this with a non-judgmental frame of mind as the author is quite frank and open about her sex-life, romances and views on life. Carol Matthau was a woman of incredible strength and great love and understanding up until her death soon after Walter in 2003. She lived an extraordinary life - from foster homes as a child to a fairy tale existence as the teenage daughter of a multi millionaire with 6 maids, 2 butlers and permanent chefs.

Author Truman Capote first set eyes on her at age 14 when she was stark naked and remained a firm friend. He modelled Holly Golightly on her for his short story Breakfast at Tiffany's recounting the times when they would meet for breakfast - coffee and donuts outside the famous jewellers in downtown New York. She counted Gloria Vanderbilt and Oona Chaplin as her closest friends, was a wife of the poet/writer William Saroyan and lover of critic James Agee.

When she met and fell in love with Walter Matthau, he was married to another woman. Her life had changed drastically as a broadway actress and she was to fall deeply in love and spend the next forty years with a man with a major gambling addiction, but also an incredible lust for life coupled with an amazing talent and commitment to his craft which saw him nominated and win both Tonys and Oscars.

Carol's book had me laughing one page and welling up in tears the next with her stories of her love for Walter, the fights, the insights into friends and associates like Chaplin, Wilder, and a myriad of other talented artists. If you can find it, get it and hold on to it. Well recounted, an easy read and a memorable volume of insights  into a group of unique characters and a charmed life.

Burn brightly, Pete.