April 15, 2020
Sacred Reads: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote
Many people are familiar with the film Breakfast at Tiffany's which launched Audrey Hepburn, who plays Holly Golightly, into a style icon for generations to come. However, not so many are acquainted with the slim novella by Truman Capote on which the screen adaptation is based. In both versions, the Martinis flow freely, which is one of the reasons it's made it onto this list - although not the only one by far! However, although the premise for both the novel and film are similar - a young writer moves into an apartment in a brownstone on the Upper East Side in Manhattan and befriends the beautiful, chaotic young woman who lives on the floor below - there are also considerable differences. The main one is that Capote wrote the character of Holly Golightly with Marilyn Monroe in mind. Capote knew Monroe well and it was his wish - and Monroe's - that she should be cast as such in the film. Of course, Hepburn will forever be Holly Golightly to millions but on reading the book, one can see that the fragile, vulnerable Monroe would have been very convincing in the role - and not just because Capote's version is blonde! This bitter-sweet novel may be short in length but is extremely memorable - and is much less saccharin than the film. The Penguin edition also contains three additional stories, making it a great introduction to Capote.
< back
