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b_arose's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Breakfast at Tiffany's is a book littered with sadness, flawed and unlikeable characters told from the perspective of an anonymous narrator, who falls for the charms of Holly Golightly, a wayward twenty year old who masks her pain and sufferings in life with men and alcohol.
The plot revolves around the disjointed tales of his encounters with Holly and the men in her life in New York. Capote's writing has fast pacing, flair and naunce to paint vidid pictures of the scenes he depicts of the characters. What happens narratively in the story is not hugely memorable and everyone is pretty annoying in some way but the way they are written draws you in to want to hear more.
House of Flowers is a sad story of a young child sex worker who at 17 falls for a man in the mountains who treats her poorly but is too afraid to leave him as she thinks she's in love. It's not the easiest format to read as none of the dialogue has any speech marks and flows as one solid passage. This was my least favourite story of the book as it didn't offer any hope to toxic situations or anecdotes that felt anything outside of cruel.
A Diamond Guitar is the best of the three shorter stories, it's patched with light and dark, sadness and happiness in a way that feels realistic to the human memory and views of the world. An unlikely friendship that is used for different reasons with warming moments. If you liked The Shawshank Redemption film, this story has a similar vibe.
A Christmas Memory is an odd tale of a seven year old (I still cannot tell if they are meant to be a boy or girl) and 60 year old woman who are distant cousins and best friends in a house of family members who outcast them. The story is very well written with incredible vocabulary and metaphors that doesn't relate to the way a seven year old would speak at all, so the fact it's from a child's perspective makes it odd and 'weird' to read very eloquent adult language. It's a simple story of their journey to making fruit cakes at Christmas with very little money and their dreams and pasttimes. There's an abrupt sad ending which feels slightly disjointed and overall sours the playful innocence we have previously become accustomed to.
All the writings in this book are fast paced with slow language to describe the mundane in a romantic essay from a slow living perspective.
The plot revolves around the disjointed tales of his encounters with Holly and the men in her life in New York. Capote's writing has fast pacing, flair and naunce to paint vidid pictures of the scenes he depicts of the characters. What happens narratively in the story is not hugely memorable and everyone is pretty annoying in some way but the way they are written draws you in to want to hear more.
House of Flowers is a sad story of a young child sex worker who at 17 falls for a man in the mountains who treats her poorly but is too afraid to leave him as she thinks she's in love. It's not the easiest format to read as none of the dialogue has any speech marks and flows as one solid passage. This was my least favourite story of the book as it didn't offer any hope to toxic situations or anecdotes that felt anything outside of cruel.
A Diamond Guitar is the best of the three shorter stories, it's patched with light and dark, sadness and happiness in a way that feels realistic to the human memory and views of the world. An unlikely friendship that is used for different reasons with warming moments. If you liked The Shawshank Redemption film, this story has a similar vibe.
A Christmas Memory is an odd tale of a seven year old (I still cannot tell if they are meant to be a boy or girl) and 60 year old woman who are distant cousins and best friends in a house of family members who outcast them. The story is very well written with incredible vocabulary and metaphors that doesn't relate to the way a seven year old would speak at all, so the fact it's from a child's perspective makes it odd and 'weird' to read very eloquent adult language. It's a simple story of their journey to making fruit cakes at Christmas with very little money and their dreams and pasttimes. There's an abrupt sad ending which feels slightly disjointed and overall sours the playful innocence we have previously become accustomed to.
All the writings in this book are fast paced with slow language to describe the mundane in a romantic essay from a slow living perspective.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Racial slurs, and Sexism
nanc_282's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I picked up this book because I’ve never read anything by Truman Capote. It’s an okay short story about a woman who lives in the same apartment block as the (male) narrator and she dazzles him. It has a lighthearted style which is supposed to reflect the girls cookie nature. However, it does touch in a number of challenging themes, prostitution, child-marriage, sexual exploration, organised crime, for example. But these are only referred to obliquely. The narrator is too enchanted by Holly herself to really engage with the sadness within her story.
Contains racial and sexual language contemporary with 1950s America.
Contains racial and sexual language contemporary with 1950s America.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs, Sexism, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
mik43l4's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Death, War, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Pedophilia, and Toxic relationship
treestostars's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Maybe this would be enjoyable enough if you just removed the racism, racial slurs, sexism, homophobia, pedophilia, domestic violence, entitlement, fatphobia, classism, and subpar plot of the book. The MC was annoying at best and down right horrible at worst. He casually fantasized about violence of the female interest Holly and said he loved her multiple times while also saying she was an idiot because she doesn’t enjoy reading? It’s all very bizarre. The writing style was fine but each character was a disappointment and not lovable. Still unsure why this was a classic unless all that was required was to be like wealth and be white. Cause that’s all that was offered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Classism, Homophobia, Sexism, Racism, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Body shaming
cherryredmarlene's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3 stars for Breakfast at Tiffany‘s itself but 3.5 because I liked the other stories included in this edition, especially “A Diamond Guitar”. I actually don’t see the value Breakfast at Tiffany’s has for readers today except your interested in Truman Capote’s works in general. The society and people depicted in this are all quite disgusting, very naturally racist and white supremacy also isn't anything other than some quirky character trait in here. I of course see how racism at that time was much more widely accepted than today and can differentiate, but because in Breakfast at Tiffany’s I don’t see any other aspect than the writing style (which is good but also doesn’t blow your mind) for which this story would be worth reading, I am a little disappointed after finishing it and expected a bit more since this story is made out to be so iconic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Misogyny
sydneybedell's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Death and Miscarriage
burnyayhayley's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
I don't really know what I expected, though I was unfortunately not surprised by the problematic, outdated language.
This story is so odd, but I have to admit that the character of Holly is fascinating— in the way that compulsive liars who are friends with everyone are often fascinating.
I found the reveals to be quite effective, I was taken aback several times, which I should credit to the pace and tone of the book being so light and airy that when something surprising happens it falls like a ton of bricks. There is clearly skill in the writing, but for the first third of the book at least, I really was questioning why this was a beloved classic.
And why is it that SO MANY AUTHORS write from the perspective of a useless male narrator who doesn't even get a story that has any closure? What is the attraction to that perspective?
Anyway, it was okay, and I do like it when classics are weirder than I expect.
This story is so odd, but I have to admit that the character of Holly is fascinating— in the way that compulsive liars who are friends with everyone are often fascinating.
I found the reveals to be quite effective, I was taken aback several times, which I should credit to the pace and tone of the book being so light and airy that when something surprising happens it falls like a ton of bricks. There is clearly skill in the writing, but for the first third of the book at least, I really was questioning why this was a beloved classic.
And why is it that SO MANY AUTHORS write from the perspective of a useless male narrator who doesn't even get a story that has any closure? What is the attraction to that perspective?
Anyway, it was okay, and I do like it when classics are weirder than I expect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Sexism
Minor: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, and War
marycurry's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Sexism
Moderate: Violence and Alcohol
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