Breakfast at Tiffany's

Breakfast at Tiffany’s evokes vivid images of Audrey Hepburn in the slim black dress she immortalized, the quintessential black glasses, her hair tied up in a sophisticated bun and her long fingers in a bejeweled black glove gently playing with the cigarette holder. The novella by Truman Capote was so much more than just that image. It suddenly catapulted Truman Capote to the top of my ever burgeoning list of favorite authors. The simplicity of his narrative is captivating. The novella is part of a collection of four short stories by the author published in 1958. Needless to say Breakfast at Tiffany’s was destined to be one of the most endearing novellas for all times to come. The novella traces the enigmatic friendship between the young and waifishly beautiful Holly Golightly and a young yet unpublished struggling author with glamorous New York of the 1940’s as a befitting montage. It starts with the unnamed author discovering intriguing Miss. Golighlty with trepidation. Edged by his intrigue and held back by his reticent self the author tries to learn about the elusive Ms. Golighlty but finally friendship blooms when the brash but charming protagonist deigns to do so. This sets the tone of the two characters as well as their relationship. The readers are as fascinated by Holly Golightly, her socialite ways and her seemingly decadent admirers as much as the young earnest author is. Without doubt Holly Golightly is the pivot of the story but the relationship between the two is what takes the story forward. The author is unlike any of Holly’s suitors and that lays the foundation of the honest and selfless platonic relationship. The friendship starts with the author being completely absorbed by the charming Holly and Holly seeking solace in a friend unlike the rest of the men she has met. There are many layers to Holly and her relationship with the unnamed author both often mirroring each other. What makes the novella a reader’s delight is that the description of the protagonists and her relationship does not stall the narration but it is infact the impetus that blends in the narration forcing it to move forward. Holly assumes a definitive character in a very short while through brilliant descriptors. The paradox of her black and white judgment frame coexisting with her dubious scruples is perfectly natural even for the reader. She is innocent but not naïve; she is carefree, follows her natural instincts, speaks her mind, empathizes with the weaklings in her life as she takes them under her wings and charms everyone along the way all the while displaying wisdom and insight way beyond her years. The novella traces her life in the short period of one year as she yearns for the people she left behind while trying to foolishly love the ones her current life presents her with. At the heart of the story is a young girl yearning for her home, a place she feels comfortable in, a girl searching for her place under the sky knowing that her relationships with places and people is at best transient. This theme also runs across the other three short stories of the collection, reflective of Truman’s disturbed childhood. This short novella etches unambiguous characters that you fall in love with instantly. It touches chords of the heart many verbose authors fail to recognize and this is what makes it a masterpiece. The precise insights and the brevity of characterization make Truman Capote one of the most delectable writers. Students of the English language should study Truman to appreciate adjectives. Phrases like, “I’d rather be natural than normal”;”Yearning not stupid” amaze the discerning reader. The story ends at an appropriately poignant note; it could not have ended any other way according to me. There has to be a special mention of the quick repartee that Holly and the unnamed narrator exchange at various points that takes the story and their relationship further. The story and the dialogues have a screenplay written all over it and I cannot think of any other story that can so naturally lend itself to a film. As the novella and the book came to an end, appropriately the phrase “A Picture paints a thousand words” came to my mind, for Truman’s writing in one word is Picturesque.

Details:

Title: Breakfast at Tiffany's
Author: Truman Capote
Publisher: Random House
When:1958