Breakfast At Tiffany's by Truman Capote

Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's is a famous work, both in itself and for the movie it inspired. Although I haven't seen the movie, the image of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly is hard to shake off.

Yet for all the hoopla, for me this novella is dated. Perhaps in 1958, when it was written, Holly was an intriguing & singular character, displaying an independence of spirit that men (like the unnamed narrator) found hard to fathom. Perhaps it was part of the momentum for the movement for women’s rights, I don’t know.

To me the novella was light & slight about a flighty woman, whom today would be termed an escort or an SPG. I found myself unsympathetic to both Holly and the narrator, who came across as a fawning fool, allowing himself to be toyed by Holly. In short, the story is a male viewpoint of the adventures of a ‘kampung’ girl in a big city. Her end is a mystery to the narrator & necessarily (though frustratingly) to us too.

That said, Truman Capote’s writing cannot be faulted. The writing is rich & lyrical with a dream-like quality almost akin to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Although I wish Holly’s character had been fleshed-out a bit more, this was probably intentional on Truman Capote’s part. 3 stars.