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Vuonna 1966 Truman Capote muutti Brooklynin asunnostaan vaurastuttuaan dokumenttiromaanistaan Kylmäverisesti saamillaan rahoilla. Hän jätti jälkeensä laatikoita, jotka uusi asukas pelasti talteen. Vasta 2004 löytyivät mm. neljä ruutuvihkoa, joihin Capote oli käsin kirjoittanut esikoisromaanin luonnosta. Hän oli aloittanut työn 1943 ja haudannut sen myöhemmin, mutta jatkanut käsikirjoituksen työstämistä kymmenisen vuotta ennen sen lopullista hylkäämistä. Capote-tutkijat olivat olleet täysin varmoja tämän esikoiskäsikirjoituksen tuhoutumisesta ja sen löytyminen oli täysi yllätys Capoten lähipiirillekin.
Romaanissa on monia niistä aineksista, joista Capote on tullut tunnetuksi ja joiden vuoksi häntä pidetään yhtenä viime vuosisadan tärkeimmistä amerikkalaiskirjailijoista: ironista huumoria, nuorten ihmisten lepattavan mielen tutkimusta sekä armotonta luokkayhteiskunnan kuvausta.
Tapahtumat sijoittuvat 2. maailmansodan jälkeiseen New Yorkiin. Nuori, huoleton yläluokan tyttönen Grady McNeil jää yksin 5. Avenuen kotiin, kun vanhemmat lähtevät laivalla Atlantin yli Eurooppaan kesänviettoon. Grady syventää kuumenevaa romanssiaan nuoreen juutalaiseen sotaveteraanin, joka asuu Brooklynissa ja on töissä parkkipaikalla. Kesän edetessä helteen piinaamassa kaupungissa suhde saa vakavampia ja ristiritaisiakin sävyjä. Lopulta Gradyn on tehtävä itselleen ja läheisilleen elintärkeitä päätöksiä.
Capoten esikoisromaani on monessa mielessä todellinen löytö. Se oli mm. Saksassa ilmestyessään suuri myyntimenestys ja puheenaihe.
Romaanissa on monia niistä aineksista, joista Capote on tullut tunnetuksi ja joiden vuoksi häntä pidetään yhtenä viime vuosisadan tärkeimmistä amerikkalaiskirjailijoista: ironista huumoria, nuorten ihmisten lepattavan mielen tutkimusta sekä armotonta luokkayhteiskunnan kuvausta.
Tapahtumat sijoittuvat 2. maailmansodan jälkeiseen New Yorkiin. Nuori, huoleton yläluokan tyttönen Grady McNeil jää yksin 5. Avenuen kotiin, kun vanhemmat lähtevät laivalla Atlantin yli Eurooppaan kesänviettoon. Grady syventää kuumenevaa romanssiaan nuoreen juutalaiseen sotaveteraanin, joka asuu Brooklynissa ja on töissä parkkipaikalla. Kesän edetessä helteen piinaamassa kaupungissa suhde saa vakavampia ja ristiritaisiakin sävyjä. Lopulta Gradyn on tehtävä itselleen ja läheisilleen elintärkeitä päätöksiä.
Capoten esikoisromaani on monessa mielessä todellinen löytö. Se oli mm. Saksassa ilmestyessään suuri myyntimenestys ja puheenaihe.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published October 25, 2005
418 people are currently reading
8811 people want to read
About the author
Truman Capote
345 books7,252 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Truman Capote was an American writer whose non-fiction, stories, novels and plays are recognised literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) and In Cold Blood (1965), which he labeled a "non-fiction novel." At least 20 films and TV dramas have been produced from Capote novels, stories and screenplays.
He was born as Truman Streckfus Persons to a salesman Archulus Persons and young Lillie Mae. His parents divorced when he was four and he went to live with his mother's relatives in Monroeville, Alabama. He was a lonely child who learned to read and write by himself before entering school. In 1933, he moved to New York City to live with his mother and her new husband, Joseph Capote, a Cuban-born businessman. Mr. Capote adopted Truman, legally changing his last name to Capote and enrolling him in private school. After graduating from high school in 1942, Truman Capote began his regular job as a copy boy at The New Yorker. During this time, he also began his career as a writer, publishing many short stories which introduced him into a circle of literary critics. His first novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms, published in 1948, stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for nine weeks and became controversial because of the photograph of Capote used to promote the novel, posing seductively and gazing into the camera.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Capote remained prolific producing both fiction and non-fiction. His masterpiece, In Cold Blood, a story about the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, was published in 1966 in book form by Random House, became a worldwide success and brought Capote much praise from the literary community. After this success he published rarely and suffered from alcohol addiction. He died in 1984 at age 59.
Truman Capote was an American writer whose non-fiction, stories, novels and plays are recognised literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) and In Cold Blood (1965), which he labeled a "non-fiction novel." At least 20 films and TV dramas have been produced from Capote novels, stories and screenplays.
He was born as Truman Streckfus Persons to a salesman Archulus Persons and young Lillie Mae. His parents divorced when he was four and he went to live with his mother's relatives in Monroeville, Alabama. He was a lonely child who learned to read and write by himself before entering school. In 1933, he moved to New York City to live with his mother and her new husband, Joseph Capote, a Cuban-born businessman. Mr. Capote adopted Truman, legally changing his last name to Capote and enrolling him in private school. After graduating from high school in 1942, Truman Capote began his regular job as a copy boy at The New Yorker. During this time, he also began his career as a writer, publishing many short stories which introduced him into a circle of literary critics. His first novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms, published in 1948, stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for nine weeks and became controversial because of the photograph of Capote used to promote the novel, posing seductively and gazing into the camera.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Capote remained prolific producing both fiction and non-fiction. His masterpiece, In Cold Blood, a story about the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, was published in 1966 in book form by Random House, became a worldwide success and brought Capote much praise from the literary community. After this success he published rarely and suffered from alcohol addiction. He died in 1984 at age 59.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,157 reviews
July 23, 2025
This novel, discovered by chance and published posthumously, is chronologically the first work of fiction by Truman Capote.
Why did young Truman not want to publish this initiatory tale written in his youth?
The writing style is already daring and poetic. The author combines the initiatory quest, social tragedy, and intimate drama. Additionally, he demonstrates great finesse in the psychological analysis of the characters.
This novel exudes a skin-deep sensitivity that moves. However, it lacks a bit of depth and intensity to convince.
Why did young Truman not want to publish this initiatory tale written in his youth?
The writing style is already daring and poetic. The author combines the initiatory quest, social tragedy, and intimate drama. Additionally, he demonstrates great finesse in the psychological analysis of the characters.
This novel exudes a skin-deep sensitivity that moves. However, it lacks a bit of depth and intensity to convince.
June 6, 2025
Two decades after Capote's death, along came Summer Crossing, his unpublished first novel, written when he was barely out of his teens. It was supposedly left behind in his abandoned Brooklyn flat after the huge success of In Cold Blood. In the afterward of this book there is uncertainty as to whether he wanted it published at all. In 2005 after Philip Seymour Hoffman portrayed Capote quite brilliantly, there was a surge in reading him again, so it's unsurprising that the deceased author's publishers decided to cash in. It bothers me somewhat when unfinished drafts are published after the writer is no longer here, unless of course a forgotten masterpiece is unleashed upon the world. Sadly, this short novel is far from being that, but there are flashes of the marvelous writer he turned out to be.
His prose here and there is glorious, and the seventeen-year-old central character of Grady McNeil feels like a lighter drawn version of Holly Golightly: dazzling in the eyes of those around her, but spiraling into a mode of self-destruction.
Grady is inebriated by a great freedom as well as by booze, after her parents travel abroad to check out their villa on the Riviera, leading Grady on a path to every parent's worst nightmare: a teenager gone wild. After hanging out with childhood friend Peter Bell (who wishes he could marry her) she falls for someone who is clearly of a completely different class, a poor Jewish car-park attendant from Brooklyn named Clyde, who also happens to be a homophobic macho war veteran. And it's here that Capote really struggles as to how to portray Clyde, who is a world from the likes of Grady and Peter. There is a moment when one is trying to seduce the other in her parent's swanky Fifth Avenue apartment but it all comes across as rather unsexy in the end. Over the course of the summer we meet family and lower-class friends of Clyde, who can be seen as caricatures, revealing Capote's disdain for the class which he sprang from. One thing Capote does excel on though, is his sensuous evocations of New York at the time, with the wonders of Broadway, the clubs, the parties, the feeling this really is a city that never sleeps.
As a first try at fiction, overall, it wasn't bad at all. But if Breakfast at Tiffany's is a lively cocktail you would want to drink again and again, then Summer Crossing would be something more along the lines of a weak sparkling wine: bubbly, sharp, but not memorable on the palate.
June 6, 2023
Exactly how much trouble can a filthy rich, spoiled Manhattan teenage girl get into when her parents leave via ocean liner for summer in Europe?
Our young lady with impeccable WASP credentials hooks up with a Jewish parking lot attendant from Brooklyn. Chaos ensues.
This sounds like a grade-B movie from the 1950s but the clash of class, the violence, alcohol and drugs are modern and it reads like 2020.
This was the first novel Capote worked on, starting in 1943, but he never felt it was finished and never published it. It was published posthumously, and probably incomplete, in 2005. Almost a novella (135 pp.).
[Edited 6/6/23]
Our young lady with impeccable WASP credentials hooks up with a Jewish parking lot attendant from Brooklyn. Chaos ensues.
This sounds like a grade-B movie from the 1950s but the clash of class, the violence, alcohol and drugs are modern and it reads like 2020.
This was the first novel Capote worked on, starting in 1943, but he never felt it was finished and never published it. It was published posthumously, and probably incomplete, in 2005. Almost a novella (135 pp.).
[Edited 6/6/23]
October 4, 2009
I adored this book. It may not be as polished as many of his later works, and some of the characters not half as developed, but it's a nice little novella to read on a warm, sunny afternoon, and there are some moments within it that are simply magical, written so beautifully that the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
Although some may argue that there are not nearly enough of these moments to make reading the book worthwhile, I would argue that its rough and ready nature is what makes it so alluring.
Grady McNeil is something a bit different by way of a heroine, and she seems to have very little knowledge of what she wants and what she needs, but she is enticing enough for the reader to be completely absorbed in her world.
The ending is confusing, and not quite in keeping with the rest of the novel, but maybe this could be because Mr. Capote had no idea where to take it, and so he just allowed it to reach a rather literal dead end.
We will never know, but although hardly his best work, there's something abit magical in every page of this book.
Although some may argue that there are not nearly enough of these moments to make reading the book worthwhile, I would argue that its rough and ready nature is what makes it so alluring.
Grady McNeil is something a bit different by way of a heroine, and she seems to have very little knowledge of what she wants and what she needs, but she is enticing enough for the reader to be completely absorbed in her world.
The ending is confusing, and not quite in keeping with the rest of the novel, but maybe this could be because Mr. Capote had no idea where to take it, and so he just allowed it to reach a rather literal dead end.
We will never know, but although hardly his best work, there's something abit magical in every page of this book.
July 17, 2012
Summer Crossing: Truman Capote's True First Novel
Summer Crossing appears to be Capote's true first novel which he abandoned. In fact, the manuscript was among papers left in an apartment in the care of a house sitter. Capote instructed the house sitter to put all papers on the street to be picked up as garbage. The anonymous house sitter recognized the value of what Capote considered trash, holding on to the caches of papers, including this novel for more than fifty years until his death.
A relative of the house sitter who also recognized the value of the lost Truman papers swiftly carted them off to Sotheby's. Through Capote's Literary Trust and some negotiation with Sotheby's, the Trust successfully protected the publication rights to all papers.
The sale would be limited to physical possession of the documents, but the purchaser could do nothing by way of publication of any of the documents. Ironically, not one person bid on the Truman papers, thanks to the legal maneuvering of the Truman Literary Trust. Today the papers are in their proper place with other known Capote papers at the New York Public Library. "Summer Crossing" was published in 2004 by Random House.
The big question is why didn't Capote want "Summer Crossing" published. Robert Linscott, Capote's editor at Random House told him it was too conventional, that it was good, but it did not reach the level of excellence Capote had achieved with his short fiction. In fact, Linscott told Capote that any writer could have written it.
Perhaps the deciding factor was Capote's lover's opinion. Jack Dunphy told him that the novel was "thin," a word that sends a chill up the spine of any writer. Capote told Linscott he had torn the novel up. The further I read in Clarke's biography, Capote, the more I become convinced that truth was a very relative word to Capote. At times, Capote seems to have invented his life story as he went along.
"Summer Crossing" refers to two distinct crossings during a long hot summer in New York. Lucy and Lamont McNeil are making an Atlantic crossing to see what the Germans have left of their European holdings.
Crossing on the Queen Mary
Oh, yes. They're quite wealthy. They have a penthouse apartment on 5th Avenue. While away, Lucy intends on the finest fashion designers to make their daughter Grady's Debutante dress.
The second crossing is Grady's from adolescent to woman. She is seventeen. Going to Paris is of no interest to her whatsoever. Mrs. McNeil thinks that young Peter Bell is the reason for Grady's reluctance to leave the city for the Summer. However, Grady only considers Peter her best friend.
Why, oh why, couldn't Grady be more like her older sister Apple, married, with child, nice house, go getter husband? Apple, which happened to be the only thing Lucy could eat during her pregnancy, leaves her supposedly older and wiser daughter to look after Grady. So it goes.
The Second World War is over. New York is an exciting place to be.
A girl has lots of opportunities.
Being the rebellious sort, Grady falls for Clyde Manzer, a parking lot attendant where she keeps her baby blue convertible Buick, a veteran who bulges with every muscle he built during the war, a full head of wavy black hair, and a way of showing his appreciation for a good looking girl. Taking a girl to the Central Park Zoo will do it every time.
Clyde invites Grady to meet his family to attend his nephew's bar mitzvah. Oh? I didn't tell you he was Jewish? And you were wondering where the conflict was coming in. Let's call it cultural.
Clyde's family can't figure out why he's bringing a shiksa blonde home with him. Conflict ensues when Clyde's sister Ida invites Clyde's nice Jewish fiancee, Rebecca, over to join the party. There, that should liven things up. Yes, it sure does.
Clyde moves into Grady's parents penthouse apartment. Hormones and pheromones are erupting left and right. Bodily fluids are exchanged on a regular basis. In that maddening state of love, what's a star-crossed couple to do but go over to Jersey and get married at 2a.m.?
Then, what should Grady discover but she is PREGNANT! Mother and Father are due back in less than a month!
Apple suggests they call a doctor to fix things. However, Grady reminds her of a friend they lost who bled to death on a public toilet.
What to do, what to do?
Ladies Home Journal, January, 1946
Yes! Never underestimate the power of a woman! But can this marriage be saved? I'm not going to tell you. You'll just have to read it yourself.
Just know that Grady has many rivers to cross.
The Queensborough Bridge
You may consider my review a bit flippant. I suppose it is. Grady's naivete can be grating. But this book is worth the read. Hmmm, this might be considered the first Truman Capote Summer Beach Read!
Here are the halting beginnings of a master observer of human behavior. Capote was only nineteen when he submitted the draft to Random House. I understand Capote keeping it under wraps. He knew he could do better. But, I daresay, if not for the booze and the drugs, Capote would have returned to this one, one day. It would have been a helluva book, too. Yet, even in her naivete, I can see the character of Holly Golightly taking shape that would explode from the pages of Breakfast at Tiffany's.
In a way it is fitting that "Summer Crossing," a novel Capote did not want published, and Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel serve as odd bookends to a remarkable literary life.
This one draws a 3.5 rating.
Summer Crossing appears to be Capote's true first novel which he abandoned. In fact, the manuscript was among papers left in an apartment in the care of a house sitter. Capote instructed the house sitter to put all papers on the street to be picked up as garbage. The anonymous house sitter recognized the value of what Capote considered trash, holding on to the caches of papers, including this novel for more than fifty years until his death.
A relative of the house sitter who also recognized the value of the lost Truman papers swiftly carted them off to Sotheby's. Through Capote's Literary Trust and some negotiation with Sotheby's, the Trust successfully protected the publication rights to all papers.
The sale would be limited to physical possession of the documents, but the purchaser could do nothing by way of publication of any of the documents. Ironically, not one person bid on the Truman papers, thanks to the legal maneuvering of the Truman Literary Trust. Today the papers are in their proper place with other known Capote papers at the New York Public Library. "Summer Crossing" was published in 2004 by Random House.
The big question is why didn't Capote want "Summer Crossing" published. Robert Linscott, Capote's editor at Random House told him it was too conventional, that it was good, but it did not reach the level of excellence Capote had achieved with his short fiction. In fact, Linscott told Capote that any writer could have written it.
Perhaps the deciding factor was Capote's lover's opinion. Jack Dunphy told him that the novel was "thin," a word that sends a chill up the spine of any writer. Capote told Linscott he had torn the novel up. The further I read in Clarke's biography, Capote, the more I become convinced that truth was a very relative word to Capote. At times, Capote seems to have invented his life story as he went along.
"Summer Crossing" refers to two distinct crossings during a long hot summer in New York. Lucy and Lamont McNeil are making an Atlantic crossing to see what the Germans have left of their European holdings.
Crossing on the Queen Mary
Oh, yes. They're quite wealthy. They have a penthouse apartment on 5th Avenue. While away, Lucy intends on the finest fashion designers to make their daughter Grady's Debutante dress.
The second crossing is Grady's from adolescent to woman. She is seventeen. Going to Paris is of no interest to her whatsoever. Mrs. McNeil thinks that young Peter Bell is the reason for Grady's reluctance to leave the city for the Summer. However, Grady only considers Peter her best friend.
Why, oh why, couldn't Grady be more like her older sister Apple, married, with child, nice house, go getter husband? Apple, which happened to be the only thing Lucy could eat during her pregnancy, leaves her supposedly older and wiser daughter to look after Grady. So it goes.
The Second World War is over. New York is an exciting place to be.
A girl has lots of opportunities.
Being the rebellious sort, Grady falls for Clyde Manzer, a parking lot attendant where she keeps her baby blue convertible Buick, a veteran who bulges with every muscle he built during the war, a full head of wavy black hair, and a way of showing his appreciation for a good looking girl. Taking a girl to the Central Park Zoo will do it every time.
Clyde invites Grady to meet his family to attend his nephew's bar mitzvah. Oh? I didn't tell you he was Jewish? And you were wondering where the conflict was coming in. Let's call it cultural.
Clyde's family can't figure out why he's bringing a shiksa blonde home with him. Conflict ensues when Clyde's sister Ida invites Clyde's nice Jewish fiancee, Rebecca, over to join the party. There, that should liven things up. Yes, it sure does.
Clyde moves into Grady's parents penthouse apartment. Hormones and pheromones are erupting left and right. Bodily fluids are exchanged on a regular basis. In that maddening state of love, what's a star-crossed couple to do but go over to Jersey and get married at 2a.m.?
Then, what should Grady discover but she is PREGNANT! Mother and Father are due back in less than a month!
Apple suggests they call a doctor to fix things. However, Grady reminds her of a friend they lost who bled to death on a public toilet.
What to do, what to do?
Ladies Home Journal, January, 1946
Yes! Never underestimate the power of a woman! But can this marriage be saved? I'm not going to tell you. You'll just have to read it yourself.
Just know that Grady has many rivers to cross.
The Queensborough Bridge
You may consider my review a bit flippant. I suppose it is. Grady's naivete can be grating. But this book is worth the read. Hmmm, this might be considered the first Truman Capote Summer Beach Read!
Here are the halting beginnings of a master observer of human behavior. Capote was only nineteen when he submitted the draft to Random House. I understand Capote keeping it under wraps. He knew he could do better. But, I daresay, if not for the booze and the drugs, Capote would have returned to this one, one day. It would have been a helluva book, too. Yet, even in her naivete, I can see the character of Holly Golightly taking shape that would explode from the pages of Breakfast at Tiffany's.
In a way it is fitting that "Summer Crossing," a novel Capote did not want published, and Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel serve as odd bookends to a remarkable literary life.
This one draws a 3.5 rating.
April 25, 2018
"You published that mess?! Oh darling no..." is probably what Capote said from his grave about Summer Crossing, a posthumously published early work. This sketch about a confused young girl's misguided love needs polish, a whole lotta polish. There are lines within a generally beautifully written Summer Crossing that stick out for their clunky dullness. Thus it reads like the first draft that it is, a first draft written by a master wordsmith, mind you! But as Hemingway said, "The first draft of anything is shit."
July 20, 2023
I'm a huge fan of Truman Capote but have put off reading his posthumously published novels for years because they aren't nearly as well reviewed as the stuff that came out during his lifetime. I've finally gotten around to reading Summer Crossing, however, and while I can't say that I'm disappointed (nothing Capote writes is ever disappointing), I do agree that it's not his most polished work. It's mildly entertaining and there are some funny bits, but it's definitely no Breakfast at Tiffany's. It also has the most shockingly abrupt ending of all time. But still, it's Capote and if you're a big fan, it's certainly worth a read. If you're new to Capote, it's still worth a read but go read Other Voices, Other Rooms and Breakfast at Tiffany's first – they're far superior.
March 16, 2024
Like Harper Lee, her friend Truman Capote had a book or two that he drafted and then abandoned, this one being the one he never meant to be published. As with Ms. Lee, someone decided to publish Capote's unfinished business anyway. It's short and quickly over, so little time to fret over it.
I greatly enjoyed it. There isn't much plot or character development, but that man knew how to put a beautiful sentence together. The ending is one I didn't see coming and left me wondering what will happen next, until I realized I knew without a doubt.
I greatly enjoyed it. There isn't much plot or character development, but that man knew how to put a beautiful sentence together. The ending is one I didn't see coming and left me wondering what will happen next, until I realized I knew without a doubt.
May 12, 2019
«Lasciarono che nella stanza calasse l'oscurità: la superficie morbida e flessibile delle loro voci si muoveva e sospirava attorno a loro, e anche se dicevano cose del tutto prive d'importanza era già tanto che potessero usare le stesse parole, applicare gli stessi valori”.
Grady O’Neil, diciassettenne figlia di una delle più prestigiose famiglie newyorkesi, approfitta dell’assenza dei genitori, partiti per una vacanza estiva, per stare con il fidanzato Clyde Manzer, parcheggiatore ebreo con cui ha instaurato una relazione segreta. I giorni trascorrono rapidi, l’estate va avanti e tanti sono i risvolti di questo amore burrascoso, morboso e indecifrabile. Infantile, ingenua ed immatura, Grady, è preda di emozioni che non sa gestire, di una voglia di vivere e di assaporare che non ha confini tanto che finisce col ritrovarsi invischiata in situazioni al limite. A complicare il tutto si aggiunge la presenza di Peter Bell, amico di famiglia, di lei da sempre segretamente innamorato. In appena un centinaio di pagine il libricino prende forma caratterizzandosi per l’essere una perfetta fotografia di quella società newyorkese illuminata dalla scintillante Central Park ed offuscata dalla squallida quotidianità di Brooklyn, e distinguendosi per la presenza di questi personaggi eclettici e peculiari. Se la giovane è mossa dall’inquietudine, dalla bramosia, dalla fame di vivere, i due ragazzi, Peter e Clyde, sono gli opposti della sua esistenza, individui che prendono forma e sostanza soltanto quando presenti nel suo cono di luce, nonché sintesi delle contraddizioni che la medesima incarna e rappresenta.
Seppur breve presenta uno spaccato di letteratura da conoscere ed apprezzare per la sua essenza e la sua storia.
Grady O’Neil, diciassettenne figlia di una delle più prestigiose famiglie newyorkesi, approfitta dell’assenza dei genitori, partiti per una vacanza estiva, per stare con il fidanzato Clyde Manzer, parcheggiatore ebreo con cui ha instaurato una relazione segreta. I giorni trascorrono rapidi, l’estate va avanti e tanti sono i risvolti di questo amore burrascoso, morboso e indecifrabile. Infantile, ingenua ed immatura, Grady, è preda di emozioni che non sa gestire, di una voglia di vivere e di assaporare che non ha confini tanto che finisce col ritrovarsi invischiata in situazioni al limite. A complicare il tutto si aggiunge la presenza di Peter Bell, amico di famiglia, di lei da sempre segretamente innamorato. In appena un centinaio di pagine il libricino prende forma caratterizzandosi per l’essere una perfetta fotografia di quella società newyorkese illuminata dalla scintillante Central Park ed offuscata dalla squallida quotidianità di Brooklyn, e distinguendosi per la presenza di questi personaggi eclettici e peculiari. Se la giovane è mossa dall’inquietudine, dalla bramosia, dalla fame di vivere, i due ragazzi, Peter e Clyde, sono gli opposti della sua esistenza, individui che prendono forma e sostanza soltanto quando presenti nel suo cono di luce, nonché sintesi delle contraddizioni che la medesima incarna e rappresenta.
Seppur breve presenta uno spaccato di letteratura da conoscere ed apprezzare per la sua essenza e la sua storia.
October 27, 2025
O manuscrito deste primeiro romance de Truman Capote foi descoberto em 2004, vinte e dois anos após a sua morte.
Um romance inacabado que decorre sob o calor intenso de um verão nova-iorquino, onde a juventude e o desejo se confundem.
Entre dois jovens, desenha-se uma paixão breve e inevitável, marcada pela melancolia dessa travessia de verão.
Lê-se com agrado, mas sem deixar marca!
Um romance inacabado que decorre sob o calor intenso de um verão nova-iorquino, onde a juventude e o desejo se confundem.
Entre dois jovens, desenha-se uma paixão breve e inevitável, marcada pela melancolia dessa travessia de verão.
Lê-se com agrado, mas sem deixar marca!
February 19, 2024
چرا کتابی که به زبان انگلیسی نوشته شده باید توسط یک مترجم از ترجمه آلمانی آن به فارسی برگردانده شود. مگر مترجمان خوب انگلیسی کم داریم؟
July 1, 2019
Un roman ușor, frumos și numai bine de citit vara!
"Vara, care înseamnă umbră și mușchi verde, catifelat, pulsa prin venele frunzelor de violete și Grady și-a strivit de obraji răcoarea lor parfumată."
"Vara, care înseamnă umbră și mușchi verde, catifelat, pulsa prin venele frunzelor de violete și Grady și-a strivit de obraji răcoarea lor parfumată."
September 8, 2012
Shocking ending for seemingly like a romantic comedy. This has more verve and is more direct than his Breakfast at Tiffany's (4 stars). The slow build worked for me. While reading, I was taking this book lightly because I almost always doubt this manuscript-of-a-dead-famous-writer-found-in-the-cellar/attic-of-his-house thing. It is either there really is a manuscript but it is unfinished, e.g., Suite Française (1 star) or maybe the author did not really want his book to be published. In either case, the book would only appeal to eager beaver fans of the author.
However, I still prefer Breakfast over this one because this has a thinner plot, less interesting conflicts and fewer memorable characters. Capote did not want this to be published because he thought that this was "thin, clever, unfelt" (Source: Wiki). After all, this was his first written novel. His first published work that made him known was his Other Voices, Other Rooms.
Grady is a 17-y/o girl who decides not to join her parents and sister to the family's annual vacation. This time, in France. The reason? She is eyeing this good-looking boy who mans the parking lot. She is pretty (tall, cropped blond hair, flawless skin) so she is not thirsty for attention. In fact, she foregoes of Peter who is equally handsome and lovable. Grady fancies the parking attendant more whose name is Clyde.
Sounds like a Harlequin book, right? Yes, that was the reason why, up to that part (halfway of the book), I took it lightly. You see, I am in this quest of completing all the Capote books. I am his fan and I'd like to be his completist, i.e., a reader who has read all of the author's main/published works. This is my second to the last Capote.
But the ending is jaw-dropping. I did not expect it. I was loving the common local touch of Capote and I thought that this was his version of Bonjour tristesse (3 stars) because Capote was 24 when he wrote this novel with a 17-y/o as the female main protagonist. However, Capote is Capote and he is better, in my opinion, than Francoise Sagan and Capote proved it by giving the final punch towards the end of the novel. Sagan got knocked out. The ending decides the winner.
Nicely done.
However, I still prefer Breakfast over this one because this has a thinner plot, less interesting conflicts and fewer memorable characters. Capote did not want this to be published because he thought that this was "thin, clever, unfelt" (Source: Wiki). After all, this was his first written novel. His first published work that made him known was his Other Voices, Other Rooms.
Grady is a 17-y/o girl who decides not to join her parents and sister to the family's annual vacation. This time, in France. The reason? She is eyeing this good-looking boy who mans the parking lot. She is pretty (tall, cropped blond hair, flawless skin) so she is not thirsty for attention. In fact, she foregoes of Peter who is equally handsome and lovable. Grady fancies the parking attendant more whose name is Clyde.
Sounds like a Harlequin book, right? Yes, that was the reason why, up to that part (halfway of the book), I took it lightly. You see, I am in this quest of completing all the Capote books. I am his fan and I'd like to be his completist, i.e., a reader who has read all of the author's main/published works. This is my second to the last Capote.
But the ending is jaw-dropping. I did not expect it. I was loving the common local touch of Capote and I thought that this was his version of Bonjour tristesse (3 stars) because Capote was 24 when he wrote this novel with a 17-y/o as the female main protagonist. However, Capote is Capote and he is better, in my opinion, than Francoise Sagan and Capote proved it by giving the final punch towards the end of the novel. Sagan got knocked out. The ending decides the winner.
Nicely done.
July 23, 2020
"E o senzaţie magică să poţi urmări persoana iubită dormind, inconştient că e privit, eliberat de sub orice control, îţi dă impresia, preţ de un dulce moment, că-i ţii inima în mână ; vulnerabil, oricât ar părea de iraţional, în clipele acelea este tot ce-ai crezut tu cândva că este . bărbatul pur, tandru ca un copil."
”Când schimbăm marca țigărilor pe care le fumăm, când ne mutăm în alt cartier, când ne abonăm la alt ziar, când ne îndrăgostim sau punem punct unei legături, nu facem decât să protestăm, în felurite chipuri, ușuratice sau profunde, împotriva monotoniei, cu neputință de nediluat, a vieții de zi cu zi. Din nefericire, toate oglinzile sunt la fel de trădătoare și, la un anumit punct al noii aventuri, reflectă acceași față vană și nesatisfăcută; și, de obicei, când te întrebi 'ce-am făcut?', îți spui de fapt, 'ce fac?”
”Când schimbăm marca țigărilor pe care le fumăm, când ne mutăm în alt cartier, când ne abonăm la alt ziar, când ne îndrăgostim sau punem punct unei legături, nu facem decât să protestăm, în felurite chipuri, ușuratice sau profunde, împotriva monotoniei, cu neputință de nediluat, a vieții de zi cu zi. Din nefericire, toate oglinzile sunt la fel de trădătoare și, la un anumit punct al noii aventuri, reflectă acceași față vană și nesatisfăcută; și, de obicei, când te întrebi 'ce-am făcut?', îți spui de fapt, 'ce fac?”
April 13, 2018
Summer Crossing
Summer Crossing è il primo romanzo di Truman Capote
Un romanzo che iniziò a scrivere a soli 19 anni, a cui continuò a lavorare per un decennio, ma che non volle mai pubblicare.
E poi?
E poi ,per caso, è stato ritrovato nella sua vecchia casa di Brooklyn, tra lettere e scartoffie, scritto a mano su dei quaderni ...
e quindi pubblicato ,solo pochi anni fa !
Romanzo giovanile, dunque, anche per tematiche,
che racconta l'incontro d'estate ,in una New York afosa e affascinante, tra Grady e Clyde.Grady è una ragazza viziata, ribelle, con la smania di crescere e di fare nuove esperienze di una impulsiva diciassettenne,Clyde è più grande, ha 23 anni,è un veterano di guerra, uno che sbarca il lunario come posteggiatore , con l'aria da duro , più esperto, ma in fondo...
Romanzo acerbo?
Forse.
Ma non nella scrittura, molto piacevole , affilata, esatta, sicura ,già matura .
Altro protagonista della storia Peter, l'amico d'infanzia di Grady (a me è piaciuta molto la descrizione della loro complicità :) )
Lasciarono che nella stanza calasse l'oscurità:la superficie morbida e flessibile delle loro voci si muoveva e sospirava attorno a loro, e anche se dicevano cose del tutto prive d'importanza era già tanto che potessero usare le stesse parole, applicare gli stessi valori.Grady disse :" Da quanto tempo mi conosci,Peter?"
E Peter : "Da quella volta che mi facesti piangere: eravamo a una festa di compleanno e tu mi rovesciasti un sacco di gelato e di torta sul vestitino alla marinara.Oh eri una bambina molto cattiva."
"Sono diversa adesso? Tu sei sicuro di vedermi come sono in realtà?"
"No" ,disse lui, ridendo,"e nemmeno lo vorrei."
"Perché potrei non piacerti?"
"Se pretendessi di vederti come sei in realtà vorrebbe dire che ti ho liquidata, che ti trovo noiosa e senza spessore"
PS. vedi ,a volte ,a riordinare lo scantinato? :D
Summer Crossing è il primo romanzo di Truman Capote
Un romanzo che iniziò a scrivere a soli 19 anni, a cui continuò a lavorare per un decennio, ma che non volle mai pubblicare.
E poi?
E poi ,per caso, è stato ritrovato nella sua vecchia casa di Brooklyn, tra lettere e scartoffie, scritto a mano su dei quaderni ...
e quindi pubblicato ,solo pochi anni fa !
Romanzo giovanile, dunque, anche per tematiche,
che racconta l'incontro d'estate ,in una New York afosa e affascinante, tra Grady e Clyde.Grady è una ragazza viziata, ribelle, con la smania di crescere e di fare nuove esperienze di una impulsiva diciassettenne,Clyde è più grande, ha 23 anni,è un veterano di guerra, uno che sbarca il lunario come posteggiatore , con l'aria da duro , più esperto, ma in fondo...
Romanzo acerbo?
Forse.
Ma non nella scrittura, molto piacevole , affilata, esatta, sicura ,già matura .
Altro protagonista della storia Peter, l'amico d'infanzia di Grady (a me è piaciuta molto la descrizione della loro complicità :) )
Lasciarono che nella stanza calasse l'oscurità:la superficie morbida e flessibile delle loro voci si muoveva e sospirava attorno a loro, e anche se dicevano cose del tutto prive d'importanza era già tanto che potessero usare le stesse parole, applicare gli stessi valori.Grady disse :" Da quanto tempo mi conosci,Peter?"
E Peter : "Da quella volta che mi facesti piangere: eravamo a una festa di compleanno e tu mi rovesciasti un sacco di gelato e di torta sul vestitino alla marinara.Oh eri una bambina molto cattiva."
"Sono diversa adesso? Tu sei sicuro di vedermi come sono in realtà?"
"No" ,disse lui, ridendo,"e nemmeno lo vorrei."
"Perché potrei non piacerti?"
"Se pretendessi di vederti come sei in realtà vorrebbe dire che ti ho liquidata, che ti trovo noiosa e senza spessore"
PS. vedi ,a volte ,a riordinare lo scantinato? :D
August 21, 2023
Идеалната компания за горещ неделен следобед през август, с чаша пенливо розе в ръка!
Не очаквах да харесам историята толкова много, поради сравненията със “Закуска в Тифани”, която не ме заинтригува достатъчно. Дали заради героите и младата любов или заради красивите описания на Ню-Йорк, не съм сигурна напълно, но четенето на тези 115 страници ми доставиха истинско удоволствие. Усетих лепкавата жега на града, разходиш се из Сентрал парк, 5-то авеню и Бруклин.
Грейди Макнийл е дръзка, богата, безгрижна 17 годишна девойка, която не се съобразява с правилата. Тя обича да кара буика си, да пуши, да танцува и няма никакво желание да дебютира в обществото. Вместо да замине с родителите си на пътуване из Европа тя избира да остане и да прекара лятото в Ню-Йорк. Причината е само една - любовта и то с неподходящото момче.
От самото начало усещах, че нещо ще се случи и напрежението ме държа до финалната сцена…
Красива история за любовта и съзряването. Радвам се, че дадох втори шанс на Капоти.
Не очаквах да харесам историята толкова много, поради сравненията със “Закуска в Тифани”, която не ме заинтригува достатъчно. Дали заради героите и младата любов или заради красивите описания на Ню-Йорк, не съм сигурна напълно, но четенето на тези 115 страници ми доставиха истинско удоволствие. Усетих лепкавата жега на града, разходиш се из Сентрал парк, 5-то авеню и Бруклин.
Грейди Макнийл е дръзка, богата, безгрижна 17 годишна девойка, която не се съобразява с правилата. Тя обича да кара буика си, да пуши, да танцува и няма никакво желание да дебютира в обществото. Вместо да замине с родителите си на пътуване из Европа тя избира да остане и да прекара лятото в Ню-Йорк. Причината е само една - любовта и то с неподходящото момче.
От самото начало усещах, че нещо ще се случи и напрежението ме държа до финалната сцена…
Красива история за любовта и съзряването. Радвам се, че дадох втори шанс на Капоти.
August 17, 2025
Au fost și părți interesante cu care am putut sa rezonez, dar per total rămâne o carte pe care o voi uita repede.
October 30, 2024
Summer Crossing by Truman Capote is set in 1940 New York City . Taken place during post-World War II. The story starts during one summer, in Manhattan and moved through various places around New York City. The novel follows Grady McNeil, a wealthy 17-year-old socialite, who decides to stay in the city while her family vacations in Europe. Her independence leads her into a romance with Clyde Manzer, a working-class Jewish parking attendant. The novel tells of the themes of class, identity, and desire against the summer heat of 1940s New York. Strong character development. Whirlwind romance not only between a 17 yo and 23 yo working class Jewish man. Romance outside of social classes made it more tempting, daring and tantalizing.
July 21, 2016
Whilst Truman Capote’s Summer Crossing was the first novel which the author penned, it was discovered posthumously, and was first published in 2005. The executors of his will were in two minds about whether it should be made readily available to the public, and I for one am so glad that it was. I feel privileged to be able to read Capote’s work in all of its forms, but there is something about Summer Crossing almost being hidden from public eyes which makes me all the more thankful to have been able to engross myself into the story.
Summer Crossing is set in post-World War II New York. The focus is upon a seventeen-year-old girl, ‘a young carefree socialite’ named Grady McNeil. Her parents go off to England – thus taking the ‘summer crossing’ of the novel’s title – and leave her alone in their Fifth Avenue penthouse for the summer. The blurb succinctly described how this impacts upon Grady’s life: ‘Left to her own devices, Grady turns up the heat on the secret affair she’s been having with a Brooklyn-born Jewish war veteran who works as a parking lot attendant. As the season passes, the romance turns more serious and morally ambiguous, and Grady must eventually make a series of decisions that will forever affect her life and the lives of everyone around her’.
Even before I began to read, I was expecting to find a heroine like Breakfast at Tiffany's quirky Holly Golightly. There are similarities between Grady and Holly, of course, but Grady is also something wholly original – she is a distinct character in her own right, who has been built to perfection and comes to life before the very eyes. She is a vivid creation, and one who dances around in the mind for weeks after the final page of her tale is closed. Capote launches into her family dynamic immediately, and so much is learnt about the characters in just the first few pages in consequence. The friction which exists between Grady’s parents, and her elder sister Apple, has been perfectly portrayed – so much so that we are aware of it straight away. The social and gender inequalities which he points out as the plot gathers speed help to ground Grady’s story in place and time. Capote’s understanding of the human psyche comes across as intelligently as is possible on the page.
I adore the premise of Summer Crossing, and would have been thrilled to come across it if it had been by another author. The mere fact that it was penned by Truman Capote, however, put it on something of a pedestal to me, and I was so excited to see how such an intriguing storyline would work when coupled with his beautiful and distinctive writing in its earliest stages. The Modern Library edition’s blurb calls it a ‘precocious, confident first novel’; to an extent it is, but upon reading it, it feels like so much more. Whilst it is slim – the edition which I read ran to only 126 pages – it touches upon so many themes, and its plot is constructed of a weight of layers, each of which comes together beautifully upon its conclusion.
As I invariably am, I was struck by Capote’s writing throughout Summer Crossing; his descriptions particularly hold such beauty: ‘whose green estimating eyes were like scraps of sea’, ‘bones of fish-spine delicacy’, ‘dream-trapped faces’, ‘joyful dark’, and ‘evening effigies embalmed and floating in the caramel-sweet air’ are just a few examples. The way in which Capote uses words is masterful; he builds scenes in such a stunning manner, and ensures that everything he describes is as vivid as it can possibly be. For a debut novel, Summer Crossing feels incredibly polished, and wonderfully wrought. I was swept away into the story from the very first page. It is fascinating to see how Capote has developed as a writer from these beginnings, but this novel is just as strong, surprising and well-plotted as his later work.
Summer Crossing is set in post-World War II New York. The focus is upon a seventeen-year-old girl, ‘a young carefree socialite’ named Grady McNeil. Her parents go off to England – thus taking the ‘summer crossing’ of the novel’s title – and leave her alone in their Fifth Avenue penthouse for the summer. The blurb succinctly described how this impacts upon Grady’s life: ‘Left to her own devices, Grady turns up the heat on the secret affair she’s been having with a Brooklyn-born Jewish war veteran who works as a parking lot attendant. As the season passes, the romance turns more serious and morally ambiguous, and Grady must eventually make a series of decisions that will forever affect her life and the lives of everyone around her’.
Even before I began to read, I was expecting to find a heroine like Breakfast at Tiffany's quirky Holly Golightly. There are similarities between Grady and Holly, of course, but Grady is also something wholly original – she is a distinct character in her own right, who has been built to perfection and comes to life before the very eyes. She is a vivid creation, and one who dances around in the mind for weeks after the final page of her tale is closed. Capote launches into her family dynamic immediately, and so much is learnt about the characters in just the first few pages in consequence. The friction which exists between Grady’s parents, and her elder sister Apple, has been perfectly portrayed – so much so that we are aware of it straight away. The social and gender inequalities which he points out as the plot gathers speed help to ground Grady’s story in place and time. Capote’s understanding of the human psyche comes across as intelligently as is possible on the page.
I adore the premise of Summer Crossing, and would have been thrilled to come across it if it had been by another author. The mere fact that it was penned by Truman Capote, however, put it on something of a pedestal to me, and I was so excited to see how such an intriguing storyline would work when coupled with his beautiful and distinctive writing in its earliest stages. The Modern Library edition’s blurb calls it a ‘precocious, confident first novel’; to an extent it is, but upon reading it, it feels like so much more. Whilst it is slim – the edition which I read ran to only 126 pages – it touches upon so many themes, and its plot is constructed of a weight of layers, each of which comes together beautifully upon its conclusion.
As I invariably am, I was struck by Capote’s writing throughout Summer Crossing; his descriptions particularly hold such beauty: ‘whose green estimating eyes were like scraps of sea’, ‘bones of fish-spine delicacy’, ‘dream-trapped faces’, ‘joyful dark’, and ‘evening effigies embalmed and floating in the caramel-sweet air’ are just a few examples. The way in which Capote uses words is masterful; he builds scenes in such a stunning manner, and ensures that everything he describes is as vivid as it can possibly be. For a debut novel, Summer Crossing feels incredibly polished, and wonderfully wrought. I was swept away into the story from the very first page. It is fascinating to see how Capote has developed as a writer from these beginnings, but this novel is just as strong, surprising and well-plotted as his later work.
March 11, 2025
Capote’s posthumously published novella is a sunlit fever dream, a story where the heat of New York City in July seems to seep into every sentence, blurring the line between passion and recklessness.
Grady McNeil, a seventeen-year-old heiress left to her own devices in her parents’ Fifth Avenue penthouse, spirals into a love affair with Clyde Manzer, a parking attendant whose world is as far from hers as Brooklyn is from Park Avenue. Capote’s language here is a tightrope strung between elegance and chaos, each word a step closer to the inevitable fall. Grady’s descent is not sudden but deliberate: “She was a flame, and she knew it, but she didn’t care if she burned.”
The novella brims with moments that sting like salt in a wound. Grady’s decision to abandon her family’s expectations and elope with Clyde is both impulsive and inevitable, a collision of privilege and desperation. Her pregnancy, revealed in a scene where she stares at her reflection as though seeing herself for the first time, becomes a ticking clock, counting down to disaster. The shattering of a perfume bottle—a gift from her mother—is a moment of violent catharsis, the shards glinting like the fragments of her fractured identity.
Later, her sister Apple discovers the affair, leading to a confrontation that steams with unspoken envy and sibling rivalry. A car crash, a literal and metaphorical wreck, is a twist of the knife that pivots the story from romance to ruin: “The rain fell like tears, but no one was crying.”
Capote infuses Summer Crossing with a sly autobiographical wink. Like Grady, he was a restless soul, chafing against the constraints of his upbringing. The novella’s portrayal of female desire, a rarity in mid-20th-century literature, is nothing short of revolutionary. Grady is neither angel nor demon; she is a force of nature, her choices as unpredictable as a summer storm.
The book’s history is as dramatic as its plot—nearly lost to a house fire, it resurfaced decades later, a relic of Capote’s early genius. It’s a high-wire act of a book, and Capote is the ringmaster, cracking his whip with a wicked grin.
Grady McNeil, a seventeen-year-old heiress left to her own devices in her parents’ Fifth Avenue penthouse, spirals into a love affair with Clyde Manzer, a parking attendant whose world is as far from hers as Brooklyn is from Park Avenue. Capote’s language here is a tightrope strung between elegance and chaos, each word a step closer to the inevitable fall. Grady’s descent is not sudden but deliberate: “She was a flame, and she knew it, but she didn’t care if she burned.”
The novella brims with moments that sting like salt in a wound. Grady’s decision to abandon her family’s expectations and elope with Clyde is both impulsive and inevitable, a collision of privilege and desperation. Her pregnancy, revealed in a scene where she stares at her reflection as though seeing herself for the first time, becomes a ticking clock, counting down to disaster. The shattering of a perfume bottle—a gift from her mother—is a moment of violent catharsis, the shards glinting like the fragments of her fractured identity.
Later, her sister Apple discovers the affair, leading to a confrontation that steams with unspoken envy and sibling rivalry. A car crash, a literal and metaphorical wreck, is a twist of the knife that pivots the story from romance to ruin: “The rain fell like tears, but no one was crying.”
Capote infuses Summer Crossing with a sly autobiographical wink. Like Grady, he was a restless soul, chafing against the constraints of his upbringing. The novella’s portrayal of female desire, a rarity in mid-20th-century literature, is nothing short of revolutionary. Grady is neither angel nor demon; she is a force of nature, her choices as unpredictable as a summer storm.
The book’s history is as dramatic as its plot—nearly lost to a house fire, it resurfaced decades later, a relic of Capote’s early genius. It’s a high-wire act of a book, and Capote is the ringmaster, cracking his whip with a wicked grin.
December 16, 2022
`ما تمام آن ساعتها را در تابستان،از زندگی دزدیدیم`
زبان رمان ساده و بیان آن با توجه به ریتمی که نویسنده با جملات کوتاهش تدارک دیده پرکشش و جذاب است. همانگونه که شخصیتها خواننده را مجذوب خود میکنند. «دزدان تابستان» شاید شاهکاری فراموش ناشدنی نباشد، اما هم ارزش خواندن دارد و هم اینکه شخصیت اصلی آن گریدی، این دختر جوان که سودای تجربه کردن عشق در اولین تابستان آزادِ زندگیاش را دارد، تا مدتها در خاطر خواننده میماند.
طعم جملات زیر دهان میماند،جملاتی پیچیده اما آراسته از یک نویسندهی ۱۸ ساله که آن را در دههی چهل و پنجاه نوشته و هیچوقت در طول عمرش آن را لایق انتشار ندانسته اما سال ها بعد از مرگش در سال ۲۰۰۵ دنیا از وجود آن باخبر میشود.
زبان رمان ساده و بیان آن با توجه به ریتمی که نویسنده با جملات کوتاهش تدارک دیده پرکشش و جذاب است. همانگونه که شخصیتها خواننده را مجذوب خود میکنند. «دزدان تابستان» شاید شاهکاری فراموش ناشدنی نباشد، اما هم ارزش خواندن دارد و هم اینکه شخصیت اصلی آن گریدی، این دختر جوان که سودای تجربه کردن عشق در اولین تابستان آزادِ زندگیاش را دارد، تا مدتها در خاطر خواننده میماند.
طعم جملات زیر دهان میماند،جملاتی پیچیده اما آراسته از یک نویسندهی ۱۸ ساله که آن را در دههی چهل و پنجاه نوشته و هیچوقت در طول عمرش آن را لایق انتشار ندانسته اما سال ها بعد از مرگش در سال ۲۰۰۵ دنیا از وجود آن باخبر میشود.
November 29, 2007
I can easily say this is definitely the best book I've ever read that was rescued from a trash can (Confederacy of Dunces was under his bed, right?). This was a novel Truman abandoned in 1943 to write his debut Other Voices, Other Rooms. After his success with In Cold Blood he moved out of his Brooklyn apartment for Manhattan instructing the remaining contents of his apartment be put out on the curb for collection. The Super salvaged a box full of papers that included this manuscript. Nobody knew about this until it came up for auction in 2004 and was subsequently published. It's a quick six chapters about a small but intense cast of mentally unstable characters set during a New York summer ("as the heat closed in like a hand over a murder victim's mouth, the city thrashed and twisted but, with its outcry muffled, it...sank into a coma"). I think this qualifies as a genre that I'm slowly becoming aware I've constructed for myself and deeply enjoy (Franny & Zooey, Leon The Professional, etc.). If you already love Truman Capote you've probably already read this and so forget it...
I immediately had a sense of recognition while reading these two passages:
"What infinite energies are wasted steeling oneself against crisis that seldom comes: the strength to move mountains; and yet it is perhaps this very waste, this torturous wait for things that never happen, which prepares the way and allows one to accept with sinister sincerity the beast at last in view..."
"Most of life is so dull it is not worth discussing, and it is dull at all ages. When we change our brand of cigarette, move to a new neighborhood, subscribe to a different newspaper, fall in and out of love, we are protesting in ways both frivolous and deep against the not to be diluted dullness of day-to-day living. Unfortunately, one mirror is as treacherous as another, reflecting at some point in every adventure the same vain unsatisfied face, and so when she asks what have I done? she means really what am I doing? as one usually does."
I immediately had a sense of recognition while reading these two passages:
"What infinite energies are wasted steeling oneself against crisis that seldom comes: the strength to move mountains; and yet it is perhaps this very waste, this torturous wait for things that never happen, which prepares the way and allows one to accept with sinister sincerity the beast at last in view..."
"Most of life is so dull it is not worth discussing, and it is dull at all ages. When we change our brand of cigarette, move to a new neighborhood, subscribe to a different newspaper, fall in and out of love, we are protesting in ways both frivolous and deep against the not to be diluted dullness of day-to-day living. Unfortunately, one mirror is as treacherous as another, reflecting at some point in every adventure the same vain unsatisfied face, and so when she asks what have I done? she means really what am I doing? as one usually does."
December 20, 2024
"It is very seldom that a person loves anyone they cannot in some way envy."
"She had liked to be alone, but not, as Lucy accused, to spend her time in listless moping, which is a vice of the highly domesticated, the naturally tame.
Ao que sei, os fãs de Truman Capote não gostam muito desta novela, não só porque a acham inferior ao resto da obra, mas também porque foi publicada postumamente, mas eu fiquei encantada. Uma escrita cristalina e certeira numa história que, não sendo perfeita e tendo personagens algo irritantes, nos faz recuar ao primeiro Verão de liberdade e excessos, sem os pais em casa.
"She had liked to be alone, but not, as Lucy accused, to spend her time in listless moping, which is a vice of the highly domesticated, the naturally tame.
Ao que sei, os fãs de Truman Capote não gostam muito desta novela, não só porque a acham inferior ao resto da obra, mas também porque foi publicada postumamente, mas eu fiquei encantada. Uma escrita cristalina e certeira numa história que, não sendo perfeita e tendo personagens algo irritantes, nos faz recuar ao primeiro Verão de liberdade e excessos, sem os pais em casa.
October 13, 2016
I adored this book.
Beautifully written.
Sparkling, poetic, lyrical prose.
Grady is a witty heroine who I loved.
Wonderful setting of 1920's New York.
Although there was an underlying sense of dread as the book reached it's climax!
A little gem of a book which will become a favourite of mine!
So glad it was published.
Beautifully written.
Sparkling, poetic, lyrical prose.
Grady is a witty heroine who I loved.
Wonderful setting of 1920's New York.
Although there was an underlying sense of dread as the book reached it's climax!
A little gem of a book which will become a favourite of mine!
So glad it was published.
October 12, 2020
Cortísimo pero de una intensidad brutal. Me ha gustado mucho pese a que ha habido momentos que me parecieron duros.
July 15, 2019
"Лятно пътуване" е прелюдия към най-известното произведение на Капоти "Закуска в Тифани" и още тук откриваме почерка и изящния стил на американския писател и журналист. Има толкова красиви изречения и елегантни фрази, че през цялото време между редовете се усеща една лекота като летен бриз и нотки от небрежно впръскан парфюм.
Ето като това например:
"Старото отчаяние от вечното гонене на влакове, многото работа и сметки за плащане сякаш падаше от него като уморен прах, той седеше и пускаше колелца от цигарен дим, нули, празни, както Грейди започваше да се чувства..."
Историята се завърта около седемнайсетгодишната Грейди Макнийл, която отказва да придружи родителите си до Париж през лятото, защото има нещо много по-важно, което я задържа в горещия и опустял Ню Йорк. Какво може да е това, ако не любов, разбира се.
Грейди е всичко онова, което по-голямата ѝ, омъжена сестра и повечето млади момичета от средата на 20 век не са - витална, дръзка, несъобразяваща се с установените порядки и преследваща собствените си желания и пориви.
Самата история на раждането ѝ подсказва, че Грейди ще бъде различна и невписваща се - кръстена е с името на мъртвородения си брат, когото майка ѝ така и не може да преживее. Още този факт обяснява хладината и отчуждението между двете или, както Капоти много хубаво описва - обичат се, но не се харесват.
Грейди не се вълнува от предстоящото си представяне във висшето общество и от модела на балната рокля, който толкова въодушевява майка ѝ. Обича да кара синия си буик кабриолет, да пуши, да танцува и да се размотава с приятеля си от детинство Питър Бел.
Той е и единственият, който я разбира, и на когото би доверила тайната за любовта си към Клайд Манцър - работник от еврейски произход, с когото се запознават на работното му място в обществен паркинг, близо до Бродуей.
Клайд е възможно най-неподходящият мъж за Грейди - грубоват, небрежен, понякога суров и апатичен, с провалена кариера на бейзболист и преживяващ тежко смъртта на любимата си сестра Ан.
Сякаш за краткия преход от извънредно горещото нюйоркско лято към есента, бележаща завръщането на родителите Макнийл, Грейди се превръща от наивно, презадоволено момиче, което се чуди "каква безкрайна енергия пилее човек, за да се подготвя за беди, които идват толкова рядко", в жена, уплашена от това, че "всичко това щеше да продължи да съществува - вълните, шипковите храсти, ронещи по пясъка изсушени от слънцето листенца; ако аз умра, всичко това пак ще го има".
В този смисъл "лятното пътуване" може да се възприема и като класическата метафора за преоткриването, което обаче понякога не е животворно и спасително.
Още от самото начало става ясно, че "Лятно пътуване" е за любов, чийто край просто няма как да бъде щастлив. Финалните кадри (защото за мен романът е изключително кинематографичен) са сякаш единственият възможен изход от сблъсъка с узряването за Грейди, чийто пламък се оказва твърде силен, за да продължи да тлее кротко в съзвучие с условностите на времето.
"По-голямата част от живота е толкова скучна, че не си струва да се говори за нея, при това е скучно във всички възрасти. Когато сменяме марката цигари, местим се в нов квартал, абонираме се за нов вестник, влюбваме се и разлюбваме, ние протестираме с повърхностни и същевременно дълбоки жестове срещу неподлежащата на разсейване скука на всекидневието."
Както често се оказва обаче, скуката и монотонно повтарящите се дни могат да са спасителни.
Препоръчвам този роман! Винаги е интересно да се види началната точка от развитието на един знаков писател. По същия начин се чувствах с "Машенка" на Набоков.
Ето като това например:
"Старото отчаяние от вечното гонене на влакове, многото работа и сметки за плащане сякаш падаше от него като уморен прах, той седеше и пускаше колелца от цигарен дим, нули, празни, както Грейди започваше да се чувства..."
Историята се завърта около седемнайсетгодишната Грейди Макнийл, която отказва да придружи родителите си до Париж през лятото, защото има нещо много по-важно, което я задържа в горещия и опустял Ню Йорк. Какво може да е това, ако не любов, разбира се.
Грейди е всичко онова, което по-голямата ѝ, омъжена сестра и повечето млади момичета от средата на 20 век не са - витална, дръзка, несъобразяваща се с установените порядки и преследваща собствените си желания и пориви.
Самата история на раждането ѝ подсказва, че Грейди ще бъде различна и невписваща се - кръстена е с името на мъртвородения си брат, когото майка ѝ така и не може да преживее. Още този факт обяснява хладината и отчуждението между двете или, както Капоти много хубаво описва - обичат се, но не се харесват.
Грейди не се вълнува от предстоящото си представяне във висшето общество и от модела на балната рокля, който толкова въодушевява майка ѝ. Обича да кара синия си буик кабриолет, да пуши, да танцува и да се размотава с приятеля си от детинство Питър Бел.
Той е и единственият, който я разбира, и на когото би доверила тайната за любовта си към Клайд Манцър - работник от еврейски произход, с когото се запознават на работното му място в обществен паркинг, близо до Бродуей.
Клайд е възможно най-неподходящият мъж за Грейди - грубоват, небрежен, понякога суров и апатичен, с провалена кариера на бейзболист и преживяващ тежко смъртта на любимата си сестра Ан.
Сякаш за краткия преход от извънредно горещото нюйоркско лято към есента, бележаща завръщането на родителите Макнийл, Грейди се превръща от наивно, презадоволено момиче, което се чуди "каква безкрайна енергия пилее човек, за да се подготвя за беди, които идват толкова рядко", в жена, уплашена от това, че "всичко това щеше да продължи да съществува - вълните, шипковите храсти, ронещи по пясъка изсушени от слънцето листенца; ако аз умра, всичко това пак ще го има".
В този смисъл "лятното пътуване" може да се възприема и като класическата метафора за преоткриването, което обаче понякога не е животворно и спасително.
Още от самото начало става ясно, че "Лятно пътуване" е за любов, чийто край просто няма как да бъде щастлив. Финалните кадри (защото за мен романът е изключително кинематографичен) са сякаш единственият възможен изход от сблъсъка с узряването за Грейди, чийто пламък се оказва твърде силен, за да продължи да тлее кротко в съзвучие с условностите на времето.
"По-голямата част от живота е толкова скучна, че не си струва да се говори за нея, при това е скучно във всички възрасти. Когато сменяме марката цигари, местим се в нов квартал, абонираме се за нов вестник, влюбваме се и разлюбваме, ние протестираме с повърхностни и същевременно дълбоки жестове срещу неподлежащата на разсейване скука на всекидневието."
Както често се оказва обаче, скуката и монотонно повтарящите се дни могат да са спасителни.
Препоръчвам този роман! Винаги е интересно да се види началната точка от развитието на един знаков писател. По същия начин се чувствах с "Машенка" на Набоков.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2018
Buvo manoma, kad sio romano rankrastis yra dinges. Jis buvo atrastas atsitiktinai 2004-iais, ruosiantis Sotheby's aukcionui. Capote pradejo ji rasyti 1943-iais, vis grizdamas prie jo iki pat mirties, bet taip ir nepanores isleisti...Tai trumpas, elegantiskas pasakojimas apie viena jaunos merginos vasara, kuri pakeis viska....
Siaip jau, maniau, kad tai toks lengvas skaitalas, bet tik iki pakutines frazes, istartos Grady...
Siaip jau, maniau, kad tai toks lengvas skaitalas, bet tik iki pakutines frazes, istartos Grady...
July 3, 2019
Не е най-доброто от Капоти, но все пак е Капоти, което значи, че хубаво, дори само заради усещането от неговото писане. И пак Ню Йорк, обичам го и него, и Капоти завинаги!
March 23, 2024
Skip it.
August 11, 2014
Роман служит прекрасной иллюстрацией к тому, что, раз автор не хотел публиковаться, значит, у него были причины.
Текст очень и очень слабый, вот прямо видно, что это черновик. Местами попадаются очень хорошие, ограненные абзацы, а за ними - опять мелодрама и скелет из клише. Герои не прописаны, а просто вбухнуты в текст кусками. Их поступки текстом романа не мотивированы никак. Симпатичная девочка из богатой семьи, которой мама предположительно везет из Парижа невиданной красоты платье дебютантки, влюбляется в парковщика, ветерана войны, а потом оказывается, что и еврея, ай-яй-яй, что скажет семья. Какой-то ворох драматических деталей про обоих никак не связывает этих двух людей между собой, нет никаких оснований для любви и интриги. С чего вдруг они полюбили друг друга? Даже используя популярную теорию про противоположности, их роман выглядит натужно и нелепо. Самый цельный персонаж - Питер, девушкин друг детства, про которого есть примерно три абзаца - ярких, остроумных, красивых три абзаца.
Что касается языка - иногда в тексте проскальзывают хорошие куски, но их очень мало, в основном - мелодрама и высокопарные фразы с загадочным смыслом. Вот даже это «Нельзя бросить другого человека — бросить можно только себя» - оно что вообще означает? Паоло Коэльо заплакал от зависти.
В общем, теперь всем молодым авторам, наверное, должно быть понятно, что без труда и переписывания хорошего текста не получится (и к чести Капоте, сам-то он видел, что текст "thin, clever, unfelt"), а публиковать случайно найденное можно, только если вы порылись в ящиках у Сэлинджера, который даже в стол, говорят, писал не навскидку.
Текст очень и очень слабый, вот прямо видно, что это черновик. Местами попадаются очень хорошие, ограненные абзацы, а за ними - опять мелодрама и скелет из клише. Герои не прописаны, а просто вбухнуты в текст кусками. Их поступки текстом романа не мотивированы никак. Симпатичная девочка из богатой семьи, которой мама предположительно везет из Парижа невиданной красоты платье дебютантки, влюбляется в парковщика, ветерана войны, а потом оказывается, что и еврея, ай-яй-яй, что скажет семья. Какой-то ворох драматических деталей про обоих никак не связывает этих двух людей между собой, нет никаких оснований для любви и интриги. С чего вдруг они полюбили друг друга? Даже используя популярную теорию про противоположности, их роман выглядит натужно и нелепо. Самый цельный персонаж - Питер, девушкин друг детства, про которого есть примерно три абзаца - ярких, остроумных, красивых три абзаца.
Что касается языка - иногда в тексте проскальзывают хорошие куски, но их очень мало, в основном - мелодрама и высокопарные фразы с загадочным смыслом. Вот даже это «Нельзя бросить другого человека — бросить можно только себя» - оно что вообще означает? Паоло Коэльо заплакал от зависти.
В общем, теперь всем молодым авторам, наверное, должно быть понятно, что без труда и переписывания хорошего текста не получится (и к чести Капоте, сам-то он видел, что текст "thin, clever, unfelt"), а публиковать случайно найденное можно, только если вы порылись в ящиках у Сэлинджера, который даже в стол, говорят, писал не навскидку.
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