A great novella written by Truman Capote in 1958 and later hijacked in 1961 to produce a watered-down film of the same name in the form of a romantic comedy. Narrated by a male christened "Fred", the story centres upon his former friend
Holly Golightly, a street wise, free-spirited nineteen year old who ran away from her Texas home and husband to live life as a scandalous socialite/call girl/wannabe gold-digger in New York. The underlying theme is the fear of love, stability, and emotional attachment that drives Holly's "wild thing" persona, and the inability of
the narrator's inhibited love for Holly to manifest itself as her salvation. Unlike the film version,
Capote's Holly is true to life in that psychologically damaged people do not drastically change their ways and live happily ever after once they are basically told to grow up. Also unlike the film, a horrendously unfunny racist portrayal of Mr Yunioshi is absent.
"It's better to look at the sky than live there. Such
an empty place; so
vague. Just a country where the
thunder goes and things disappear."
--Holly Golightly, 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'.