Sunday, November 23, 2008

Breakfast at Tiffany's


I try and read a couple of classics a year, and I just finished Breakfast at Tiffany's, although I'm not sure whether it will count against my quota seeing as it is actually a novella.

Having always been a fan of the flick starring Audrey, I had been hesitant to read Capote's novella in case it was so far removed from the book that it tainted the film for me, but I really, really enjoyed it. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that almost all the dialogue in the film is lifted directly from the book, and although there are a few of major differences including the ending, the decade in which it is set and the character of the narrator/'Fred', there is a lot that is the same too. Breakfast at Tiffany's is beautiful in its brevity. It is an amazingly well-crafted story, without a word to spare. And the character of Holly Golightly is so real and so memorable.

I really think Audrey did a brilliant job in the film, although I know Capote wasn't happy with the casting.

I read this in a couple of hours, and I would highly recommend . The edition I read, which is one of the orange jacketed Penguin Popular Classics, includes the short stories published with the original first edition, and I read these too. They have definitely given me a taste for more Capote.

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