Robert M. (shotokanchef) reviewed Three by Truman Capote: Other Voices, Other Rooms; Breakfast at Tiffany's; Music for Chameleons on + 813 more book reviews
Other Voices, Other Rooms
When thirteen-year old Joel's mother dies and his estranged father sends for him, he travels from New Orleans to very rural Alabama. Dad's pad is a rather a run down, ramshackle house, gothic in its setting, no castle, yet not quite the "Bates'Hotel." Well almost! There is Amy, his aged, bizarre stepmother, her creepy cousin Randolph, a specter of an old woman upstairs (a Mrs. Rochester? {Jane Eyre}, or a mother Bates? {Psycho}), and a father that he (for some time) cannot see and about whom no one will talk. Then there are the sisters whom he befriends, Idabel and Florabelquite a handful, themnot to mention Zoo, the cook, and her Noah-like pappy. Gothic enough for you yet? Try part two.
Breakfast At Tiffanys
The title novella is the story of Holly Golightly: bawd, hussy, tramp, harlot, slut, trollop, whore, prostitute, courtesan, strumpet, quean, slattern, wench, concubine; or is she? Cocotte may describe her best. At any rate, this is one of the best character studies that youll find anywhere, even though she is still somewhat of a paradox.
Music for Chameleons
As with Caesar's Gaul, this is in tres partes. Part I, Music for Chameleons, contains five short pieces, basically fiction. Part II, Handcarved Coffins, is a non-fiction novella. Part III, Conversational Portraits, is a combination, mostly in an interview format, that I might describe as fictional non-fiction, or non-fictional fiction. Part I is interesting; I found Part II to leave the reader hangingit ends abruptly with no resolution; Part III is witty and entertaining.
Overall, Capote's writing is unique, entertaining, and a refreshing distinction from the claptrap that has been published since WW II. Much of this book reflects his struggle with self-identity.
When thirteen-year old Joel's mother dies and his estranged father sends for him, he travels from New Orleans to very rural Alabama. Dad's pad is a rather a run down, ramshackle house, gothic in its setting, no castle, yet not quite the "Bates'Hotel." Well almost! There is Amy, his aged, bizarre stepmother, her creepy cousin Randolph, a specter of an old woman upstairs (a Mrs. Rochester? {Jane Eyre}, or a mother Bates? {Psycho}), and a father that he (for some time) cannot see and about whom no one will talk. Then there are the sisters whom he befriends, Idabel and Florabelquite a handful, themnot to mention Zoo, the cook, and her Noah-like pappy. Gothic enough for you yet? Try part two.
Breakfast At Tiffanys
The title novella is the story of Holly Golightly: bawd, hussy, tramp, harlot, slut, trollop, whore, prostitute, courtesan, strumpet, quean, slattern, wench, concubine; or is she? Cocotte may describe her best. At any rate, this is one of the best character studies that youll find anywhere, even though she is still somewhat of a paradox.
Music for Chameleons
As with Caesar's Gaul, this is in tres partes. Part I, Music for Chameleons, contains five short pieces, basically fiction. Part II, Handcarved Coffins, is a non-fiction novella. Part III, Conversational Portraits, is a combination, mostly in an interview format, that I might describe as fictional non-fiction, or non-fictional fiction. Part I is interesting; I found Part II to leave the reader hangingit ends abruptly with no resolution; Part III is witty and entertaining.
Overall, Capote's writing is unique, entertaining, and a refreshing distinction from the claptrap that has been published since WW II. Much of this book reflects his struggle with self-identity.
