Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It has some genuinely beautiful passages, full of the sharp imagery that Capote is famous for. I envy his ability to take a snapshot in words! That took it up to four stars.
The book starts terribly strong, with mounting mysteries, very gothic. The characters are strong and intriguing.
BUT. (you knew there was a but coming.)
The story breaks down, gets more and more mystical and dream-like as it goes, and there is more than one passage where I was flatly uncertain what had happened and what was dream. Also the portrayal of black characters is... problematic. I want more justice for Zoo. I feel like there's a way to write dialect that respects the interior intelligence of the speaker, and Capote ain't got it.
The ending made me want to make it a three star review, but I had such raptures in the beginning I thought it would be a five star review, and so, lo: four.
Worth reading for your Southern Gothic fix, and for Gay Literature History.
More justice for Idabel, while I'm at it. Never have I admired a character more!
Anyway, I also acknowledge that making me mad is winning by writer-standards. So yes, darling, Truman, you are good. Damn you.
The book starts terribly strong, with mounting mysteries, very gothic. The characters are strong and intriguing.
BUT. (you knew there was a but coming.)
The story breaks down, gets more and more mystical and dream-like as it goes, and there is more than one passage where I was flatly uncertain what had happened and what was dream. Also the portrayal of black characters is... problematic. I want more justice for Zoo. I feel like there's a way to write dialect that respects the interior intelligence of the speaker, and Capote ain't got it.
The ending made me want to make it a three star review, but I had such raptures in the beginning I thought it would be a five star review, and so, lo: four.
Worth reading for your Southern Gothic fix, and for Gay Literature History.
More justice for Idabel, while I'm at it. Never have I admired a character more!
Anyway, I also acknowledge that making me mad is winning by writer-standards. So yes, darling, Truman, you are good. Damn you.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s freakish that Capote was 23 when he wrote this. Literary skill notwithstanding, I’m bamboozled at the amount of wisdom and hindsight— on things like aging, reality, identity, etc. that I can’t believe anyone of my age possesses (I turn 23 in 2 days). Yet it seemed like he did. Go figure.
Lots to unpack with this one. I’ve been meaning to read a southern gothic book forever and I’m so glad this was my first one. Lately I’ve been into books with a huge cloud of mystery surrounding them. He translated the style of writing (descriptive, long-winded, surreal, with cryptic and eccentric characters) directly into a main argument, the flightiness of reality, that underlines the book. There were about a million metaphors and at the beginning I was like okay, enough, but by the end of the book they had all found their places seamlessly in the plot and I was amazed at how we’d arrived here at the end of a mere 195 pages. I can’t even analyze the tip of the iceberg here, so I won’t even try.
LOL @ Capote writing 3 canonically queer main characters and then, when interviewed for the first 20 years about the queerness in the book, basically gaslighting his interviewers: “where’d you hear that?” The fifties must have been tough. Shouts to the journeys of the authors who wrote about queerness unabashedly and then gaslit their way into acceptance in the literary world until being queer was somewhat okay 😭
I’ll be returning to this one for suuuure.
Sidenote after reading all these reviews that are like it made nooo sense it was so surreal and confusing i hated it: like that’s so valid but i was obsessed with the way that it didn’t make sense and was so over the top in its surreality…. One might call it camp……………
Lots to unpack with this one. I’ve been meaning to read a southern gothic book forever and I’m so glad this was my first one. Lately I’ve been into books with a huge cloud of mystery surrounding them. He translated the style of writing (descriptive, long-winded, surreal, with cryptic and eccentric characters) directly into a main argument, the flightiness of reality, that underlines the book. There were about a million metaphors and at the beginning I was like okay, enough, but by the end of the book they had all found their places seamlessly in the plot and I was amazed at how we’d arrived here at the end of a mere 195 pages. I can’t even analyze the tip of the iceberg here, so I won’t even try.
LOL @ Capote writing 3 canonically queer main characters and then, when interviewed for the first 20 years about the queerness in the book, basically gaslighting his interviewers: “where’d you hear that?” The fifties must have been tough. Shouts to the journeys of the authors who wrote about queerness unabashedly and then gaslit their way into acceptance in the literary world until being queer was somewhat okay 😭
I’ll be returning to this one for suuuure.
Sidenote after reading all these reviews that are like it made nooo sense it was so surreal and confusing i hated it: like that’s so valid but i was obsessed with the way that it didn’t make sense and was so over the top in its surreality…. One might call it camp……………
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
it felt like it just collapsed part of the way through. finished out of spite.
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
Strong character development:
Yes
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Read for a university class. I have no idea what to think of this book. I just know it was kinda hard to get through and I'm sure it will make a lot of sense when we actually talk about it in class. Then I'll go "ahaaaaa yeah of course" and probably regret this low rating. But hey, that's the nature of studying English.
So basically, I picked this book trying to be super literary, and because I wanted (still do) to read something by Truman Capote. But it just does nothing for me. Objectively, I see the skill in the writing. It reminds me of Carson McCullers. But I'm getting no enjoyment out of it - so, for now, it's on the dnf list. Maybe later.