Today I will be reviewing the novella, “Breakfast At Tiffany’s”. This book was written by the famous author Truman Capote during his early thirties. It was considered his most finest works due to its provocative and deep truthful message. Originally, it was published in 1958 with a movie 3 years later in 1961, which was also a big commercial success that not only boosted book sales, but also Truman’s fame count.
In general, this novella overall is about a young man who is a struggling author in New York trying to get his books published, but many see his artistic talent as unimaginative. In this same building he meets a young woman who is is very provocative and charismatic. She earns her living by tricking wealthy men to pay her for a cab home, but actually saves the money. When the two actually meet there is a lot of emotional and mental stress. Holly Golightly hides her past until it comes back to haunt her. Fred, the narrator of the book, is trying to tame a woman who just can’t be tamed. The couple go from friendship, to lovers, then enemies, until finally one of them leaves, making the other become nostalgic for what they once had. The story is told in a flashback form with references to the present and future of their relationship.
Some good things about this book would be its eloquent writing format, its creativity and detailed words to help the reader understand what the author wants you to see, and it’s life lessons. Had I never read this book I never would have known that sometimes acting can be embarrassing for the highly intelligent, or that it was once considered tacky to wear diamonds under the age of 50 during the 1950’s. Also for a relationship to actually last long, both parties have to be able to vent to each other with their deepest feelings. It’s the only way to let each other inside of each other’s head.
Some bad things about this intricate novella however include it’s often seen plot holes where more information and more focus could have shed some light upon. Less racial profiling on African-American and Asian people, and its lack of character development of surrounding characters.
I would, however, recommend anyone to read this book. It has it’s highly enjoyable parts and it is extremely vintage and is considered one of the world’s most famous works of literature. The original manuscript was even sold to a Russian billionaire for $360,000 and he opened a facility for people to view it up close.