Other Voices, Other Rooms

by Truman Capote, John Berendt (Introduction)

After the death of his mother, thirteen-year-old Joel Knox is summoned to live with a father he has never met in a vast decaying mansion in rural Alabama, its baroque splendour now faded and tarnished. But when he arrives, his father is nowhere to be seen and Joel is greeted instead by his prim, sullen new stepmother Miss Amy and his debauched cousin Randolph - living like spirits in the fragile decadence of a house full of secrets.

Truman Capote's first novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms is a story of hallucinatory power, vividly conjuring up the Gothic landscape of the Deep South and a boy's first glimpse into a mysterious adult world.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Southern Gothic, Queer, LGBT, Gothic, Literature

173 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

Librarian 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.

Reviews

[Vit Babenco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes childhood can be seen in a Gothic light.

The windows of the house are cracked and shattered, hollow as eyeless sockets; a rotted balcony leans perilously forward, and yellow sunflower birds hide their nests in its secret places; the scaling outer walls are ragged with torn, weather-faded posters that flutter when there is a wind. Among the town kids it is a sign of great valor to enter these black rooms after dark and signal with a match-flame from a window on the topmost floor.

Although Other Voices, Other Rooms doesn’t feature anything supernatural or otherworldly it boasts an enchantingly morose Gothic attitude.

It was at this point that he saw the queer lady. She was holding aside the curtains of the left corner window, and smiling and nodding at him, as if in greeting or approval; but she was no one Joel had ever known: the hazy substance of her face, the suffused marshmallow features, brought to mind his own vaporish reflection in the wavy chamber mirror. And her white hair was like the wig of a character from history: a towering pale pompadour with fat dribbling curls.

The atmosphere of gloomy enigma is mysteriously magnetizing.
And as every Gothic novel should do Other Voices, Other Rooms contains a dire secret.
A child is a seed of an adult…

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1935, at an early age of 11, Capote began writing. The first novel that he attempted to write was Summer Crossing but one day, while he and a fellow southerner and writer Carlson McCullers, the author of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1940), were walking in the woods, he got inspired to write something about the rural life in the South. So, he set Summer Crossing aside and wrote this book. This then became his first published book (1948) when Capote was 24 years old. The style is Southern Gothic and it is semi-autobiographical.

This is semi-autobiographical because what he wrote was mostly based on his actual experiences in Monroeville, Alabama where he grew up with the 1961 Pulitzer winner, Harper Lee, author of the modern classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Capote and Lee were best of friends so they made each other as character in their own respective novels. Harper Lee's character called Dill was based on Truman as a boy and Capote's Idabel Thompkins in this book was based on the tomboyish Harper Lee when she was a young girl. This 1948 book did not win Capote any award but it stayed in the New York Times Bestseller list for 9 weeks. After 13 years, Harper Lee came up with her only novel To Kill a Mockingbird and it did not only win her a Pulitzer but also the hearts of many people around the world.

This book may not have made an impact as strong as Mockingbird but Capote's writing is as good, if not even better, than Harper Lee's. The only thing missing here, I guess, is that it did not tackle social and racial inequality issue but rather focused on those minor themes that are also present in Mockingbird such as courage, compassion, decadence and isolation. Both books have Gothic southern elements but Lee used it for humor while Capote used it for mystery if not to actually scare. So, overall, I agree that Mockingbird is a notch higher than this debut novel of Capote.

The story revolves around a 13-y/o boy Joel Knox whose mother has just died. One day, he receives a letter from his father inviting him to live with him in a place called Skully's Landing. Joel does not know his father because he was an infant when his father abandoned him and his mother. Left with no choice, he travels all by himself from New Orleans to his father's house. Before seeing his father, he meets all the other people in the town including the sisters Florabel and Idabel Thompkins. They become his friends particularly Idabel. Towards the end of the novel, Joel finally meets his father and he is shocked to find out his father's condition. Prior to that meeting he had high expectations on what his life would be with his father even writing rosy pictures to his friend back in New Orleans.

My favorite scene is one of those first few encounters of Joel Knox (Capote) and Idabel Thompkins (Harper Lee). Idabel asks Joel if he has been snakebit. Joel says no but he has survived being ran down by a car. Florabel (Idabel's sister) says "now Idabel will think of having herself run down by a car." This reminded me when I was young and I got to argue with my playmates who had a better toy or who had the richer father or who had gone to a farther place - city or town, etc. That scene made me laugh imagining how the tomboyish Idabel would have been behaving considering the very vivid descriptions Capote spent in his prose for that girl.

This is the last Capote book on my bookshelf. I am not yet his completist as far as his novels are concerned because I could not find a copy of The Grass Harp (1951). But as far as those that are available, here are they - fully read with many of their pages now dogeared (proof that I enjoyed reading them):

4 STARS (I really liked these!):
and

3 STARS (I liked these!):
, , and

Now, I just have to hunt for this book:
.
THE GRASS HARP

...then I will be his completist.

[lori light · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favorite quotes:

"...all his prayers of the past had been simple concrete requests: God, give me a bicycle, a knife with seven blades, a box of oil paints. Only how, how, could you say something so indefinite, so meaningless as this: God, let me be loved."

"...so few of us learn that love is tenderness, and tenderness is not, as a fair proportion suspect, pity; and still fewer know that happiness in love is not the absolute focusing of all emotion in another: one has always to love a good many things which the beloved must come to symbolize; the true beloveds of this world are in their lover's eyes lilac opening, school bells, a landscape, remembered conversations, friends, a child's Sunday, lost voices, one's favorite suit, autumn and all it's seasons, memory, yes, it being the earth and water of existence, memory."

"the brain may take advice, but not the heart, and love, having no geography, knows no boundaries: weight and sink it deep, no matter, it will rise and find the surface: and why not? any love is natural and beautiful that lies within a person's nature; only hypocrites would hold a man responsible for what he loves, emotional illiterates and those of righteous envy, who, in their agitated concern, mistake so frequently the arrow pointing to heaven for the one that leads to hell."

"What we want most is to be held...and told..that everything (everything is a funny thing, is baby milk and papa's eyes, is roaring logs on a cold morning, is hoot owls and the boy who makes you cry after school, is mama's long hair, is being afraid and twisted faces on the bedroom wall)...is going to be alright."

loved this book. LOOOOVED it.

[Doug H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Southern Gothic on steroids and/or mushrooms.

During a recent re-read of To Kill a Mockingbird I learned that Harper Lee and Truman Capote were childhood friends and that each of them had based a character in their novels on each other.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Ms. Lee based Dill Harris on Mr. Capote and in Other Voices, Other Rooms Mr. Capote based Idabel Thompkins on Ms. Lee. They both describe these quirky characters so affectionately that the affection became contagious for me. Maybe it isn't surprising then that Dill and Idabel are my favorite characters in each of these novels.

I also appreciated many of the other eccentric characters in Other Voices, Other Rooms but I stopped short of loving them. Capote's writing is impressive for a 23 year old author, sure enough; it's poetic and powerful at times but, to me, most of the characters didn't get fleshed out enough and often felt more like caricatures than characters. (I didn't feel this way at all about the characters in Capote's second published novel, The Grass Harp. I was much more impressed by the "realness" and believability of the characters in that novel.)

I also think this novel suffers a bit from Truman Capote being a precocious 23 year old and trying a bit too hard to impress with bells and whistles in his language. For me, there are too many long convoluted sentences here, too many unbroken paragraphs, too much ornamentation and frill, too much could-be-a-dream-or-could-be-really-happening. If you like that sort of thing, definitely check this out. In that respect, it really is quite "artistic". I tend to prefer language that is more simple and straightforward. ...Unless it's Pynchon or James Joyce.

I liked the first two sections, but I couldn't tell you what happened it the final section. I read the last 30 pages twice and still didn't get it. Either he was having fever dreams or he came across some toadstools in the woods on the way to to the Cloud Hotel.

[Lawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other Voices, Other Rooms: Capote's Swamp Baroque Concerto in Three Movements

Other Voices, Other Rooms was an attempt to exorcise demons, an unconscious, altogether intuitive attempt, for I was not aware, except for a few incidents and descriptions, of its being in any serious degree autobiographical. Rereading it now, I find such self-deception unpardonable.--Truman Capote, The Dogs Bark, New York, Random House, 1973



First Edition

Having just re-read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, I returned to Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote, her childhood friend. Truman Capote became a literary sensation at a much younger age with the publication of a number of short stories beginning in 1945. I first read Capote's debut novel for Professor O.B. Emerson's Southern Literature Class in 1973 at the University of Alabama. In the flurry of a hectic semester, Capote's first novel made little impression on me. My reaction is much different as I write this.

If you've ever questioned what Southern Gothic literature is, look no further than Other Voices, Other Rooms. All the elements are here: a journey from light to darkness, a former resort hotel crumbling into ruin as a result of local legends that guests abandoned their summers there after following others drowning in the lake on the hotel property, among other references to superstition and an unfolding spiral into the grotesque. In Capote, biographer Gerald Clarkesaid the novel surpassed Gothic and referred to it as "Swamp Baroque."

Thirteen Joel Harrison Knox is cast adrift when his mother dies. He and his mother were abandoned by his father, Edward Sansom when he was only a year old. While staying with relatives in New Orleans, Joel is shocked to receive a letter in spidery red ink on green stationery from his father, along with funds to travel to his home in Scully's Landing near Noon City, Alabama. Young Joel travels by train and bus to a small town that could easily pass for Monroeville, Alabama, or if you prefer, "Maycomb."

From Noon City, Joel is carried out to the family home by Jesus Fever, so ancient that most often he appears to be sleeping. However, Jesus' mule, John Brown is used to the journey and Joel finds himself without incident at Scully's Landing.

However, his father is nowhere to be seen. Rather, he meets his stepmother, Amy and her Cousin Randolph who actually owns the property. Randolph dominates Amy as he owns the house in which she and Joel's father live. Randolph's sexuality is subtly revealed through the progress of the novel. He frequently wears flowing kimonos with butterfly sleeves. He summons Joel to his room, naked but for a breakfast tray over his genital area. He is large, soft, and his skin glows with a pink flush whenever Joel is in his presence. He discusses love with Joel who does not understand him.

“The brain may take advice, but not the heart, and love, having no geography, knows no boundaries: weight and sink it deep, no matter, it will rise and find the surface: and why not? any love is natural and beautiful that lies within a person's nature; only hypocrites would hold a man responsible for what he loves, emotional illiterates and those of righteous envy, who, in their agitated concern, mistake so frequently the arrow pointing to heaven for the one that leads to hell. ”

At various times, Joel sees a woman appear at the windows of the home, dressed in a white gown, her hair falling in long curling ringlets. When Joel questions Amy and Randolph about the mysterious woman, Randolph ignores the question, while Amy asks, "Randolph, you haven't been..." which earns her a kick under the table and a slap from Randolph.

To Joel's dismay, he discovers his father is an invalid, unable to communicate, other than to drop a tennis ball when he needs attention. This is not what Joel had expected, although he had written to one of his friends that his father was tall, smoked a pipe and knew all about airplanes. Yes, there's a good deal in common between Joel and Dill Harris. Both bend the world to shape their hopes and expectations.

And, just as Capote served Harper Lee as model for Dill Harris, we find a young Harper Lee serving as model for Idabel Thompkins, a tomboy who refuses to wear girl's clothing, but would prefer to romp through the woods, swamps, fishing and skinny dipping. Idabel calls Joel "Sissybritches." Joel describes her more as boy than girl with a low and husky voice.

Joel has hair almost white, his face with delicate features. Capote describes him as to pretty to be a boy. Yet, on a fishing trip with Idabel, after she declares the catfish aren't biting, she produces a bar of Ivory and suggests they bathe together. Joel is shocked. Idabel is nonplussed.

“With an exceedingly contemptuous expression, Idabel drew up to her full height. "Son," she said, and spit between her fingers, "what you've got in your britches is no news to me, and no concern of mine: hell, I've fooled around with nobody but boys since first grade. I never think like I'm a girl; you've got to remember that, or we can't never be friends." For all its bravado, she made this declaration with a special and compelling innocence; and when she knocked one fist against the other, as, frowning, she did now, and said: "I want so much to be a boy: I would be a sailor, I would..." the quality of her futility was touching.”

As they bathe, Joel notices the beginning of a swell of her breasts. He notices the suggestion of a widening of the hips. However, when he is drawn to kiss her cheek, Idabell rebuffs him, telling him if he cannot respond to her as a brother, they cannot be friends.

Much remains to be revealed. Capote's novel is one of self discovery and the realization of one's sexual identity. He writes beautifully. Capote's use of language is lyrical, with sections that could easily be considered poetry as opposed to prose. Other Voices, Other Rooms is deeply introspective, exploring themes of the nature of love, isolation, and the search for family, which appears repeatedly in Capote's other works.

Capote's debut novel burst on the literary scene in 1948. Other works appearing that year were The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer and The Young Lions by Irwin Shaw. However, Other Voices, Other Rooms hit the best seller's list and quickly sold twenty-six thousand copies.



First Edition, Random House, New York, 1948

Reaction among literary critics in New York were largely unfavorable, with the exception of the review appearing in the New York Herald. Interestingly, reviews from Heartland America, extending down to Dallas, Texas, embraced Capote as an inspired writer for the coming generation.

The author's photograph on the back of the jacket attracted almost as much attention as the contents of the book. Harold Halma had taken the photograph in 1947. Per Wikipedia: "Walking on Fifth Avenue, Halma overheard two middle-aged women looking at a Capote blowup in the window of a bookstore. When one woman said, 'I'm telling you: he's just young,' the other woman responded, 'And I'm telling you, if he isn't young, he's dangerous!' Capote delighted in retelling this anecdote."



Author's photo on dust jacket back

However, the sultry, seductive photograph, almost overshadowed Capote's literary work. The photograph became the subject of criticism or ridicule, with Mad Magazine spoofing the portrait. Capote responded that the photograph had been a candid shot taken by Halma and that he had not posed for the picture which was patently untrue.

While Capote was young, only twenty-three at the time of the novel's publication, he was of no danger to the ladies Halma had overheard. Capote had been accepted to the Yaddo Colony for Writers in 1946. While there he became sexually involved with literary professor Harold Doughty. Capote fell out of that relationship into another with literary critic Newton Arvin, to whom Other Voices, Other Rooms Capote dedicated the novel.

This novel established for Capote the fame and celebrity he would seek throughout his life. A quest that ultimately destroyed him.



caricature from David Levine


Highly recommended. This is a 4.5 Star Read.

[Diane Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this many years ago, and remember liking it, but not much else. I suppose I considered it well written, and wanted to read everything Capote had done, as I really loved IN COLD BLOOD, and was fascinated by the little man with the squeaky voice that I saw on television. In interviews, he was fearless, and said the most shocking things he could think of, because he loved the attention.

This time around though, I think it's one of the saddest things I've ever read. Semi-autobiographical, it's a first novel from a 23 year old who simply wants to be loved for who and what he is. He said himself that he wrote the novel to exorcise some demons. Reading between the lines after knowing a little about his life, now makes this not just a novel from gifted author, but an explanation of the man he became in later years.

One of the best characters, Idabell Thompkins, was based on the real life Harper Lee, a childhood friend. I think it explains a lot about her demons as well. Many thanks to the voters of On The Southern Literary Trail for choosing this as this month's selection. I enjoyed every beautiful word.

[N · Rating 5 out of 5]

“This love of mine, more intense than anything else I felt was lonelier. We are alone-terribly, isolated from the other, so fierce is the world’s ridicule we cannot speak or show our tenderness” (147-48).

Reading this gorgeous bildungsroman of a debut novel finally convinced me what a master Truman Capote was as a writer. This is the third work of his I’ve read, and finally- I’ve found a work of his that I truly felt invested in.

It’s the story of Joel Knox who is sent to live with his mysterious father and his family in a decaying mansion in Mississippi. He meets stepmother Amy, tomboy Idabel, and his enigmatic uncle Randolph who becomes a figure in his coming of age as a young gay man.

Beautiful, haunting and filled with poetic scenes of loneliness and trying to belong- it’s no surprise it reminded me of Carson McCullers’ work, and that Capote himself had been friends with her.

It’s a masterwork of longing and of the grotesque, appropriately categorizing Capote as a one of the masters of the Southern gothic.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Other Voices Other Rooms" is at times massively confusing, intensely beautiful, and mystical. Often, all at the same time. Capote's command and use of language and style is unquestionably brilliant, and many times the text reads like poetry. Capote is simply a masterful composer of language. Every word in its rightful place.
Capote also has the gift that many writers lack and that is a descriptive prowess that completely surrounds the reader and engulfs them in the world of the text. The first time that Idabel describes the history of the Cloud Hotel to Joel the reader finds themselves seeing this world materialize in front of their eyes. To be so completely lost in a work speaks highly of the writer's abilities!
Another great strength of this text is how accurately it displays how a child left to his own devices has to create and interpret the world around him. Joel is left to figure out the world for himself, and considering his age and limited experience he does a decent job of it. Joel's interpretations of the world are oftentimes not concrete, or even accurate, and this is where the adult reader will find themselves at moments confused. Reread, it will be worth it.
The main theme of this novel is love and acceptance, and how we all pine for it from our earliest memories. Every character longs for it in some form. The successful ones find it first in themselves. The recognition of that is the greatest achievement in this text, and the scariest.

[Dagio_maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Si sentiva escluso, privo di identità, un ragazzo di pietra su un piedistallo di legno fradicio"


INCIPIT

Chi deve recarsi a Noon City non può che servirsi di un mezzo di fortuna, poiché non vi sono né treni né corriere che vadano in quella direzione; c'è solo un camion della Chuberry Turpentine Company che sei giorni la settimana preleva merci e posta a Paradise Chapel, la città più vicina; e qualche volta chi è diretto a Neon City può ottenere un passaggio dal conducente del camion, Sam Radclif. Ma con qualsiasi mezzo ci si vada, si tratta di un viaggio disagevole perché le strade, corrugate come assi da bucato, sono tali da sgangherare anche il veicolo più solido


Mi sono completamente immersa in questa storia: gotica nella misura in cui aleggiano atmosfere misteriose.

Mi sono completamente immersa in una scrittura che dipinge paesaggi ed anime sofferenti impegnate nello sforzo quotidiano di innalzare mura di difesa.
Esseri fragili nascosti in stanze segrete dove si può diventare protagonisti acclamati di una vita che nella realtà rinnega la nostra identità.

Mi sono completamente immersa in questa viaggio dall'infanzia a l'età adulta.

Il viaggio di un ragazzo che deve attraversare il guado, cercando di far attenzione a distinguere bene il passaggio, perchè quando si hanno dodici anni i limiti tra sogno e realtà si confondono facilmente.
L'istinto è quello di fuggire ma in fondo Joel è consapevole che:

" qualora su ne fosse andato - come aveva fatto una volta - altre voci, altre stanze, voci perdute e fievoli, sarebbero echeggiate nei suoi sogni

[Jonathan Ashleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truman Capote is currently my favorite writer. The poetic fashion in which he brings a novel to life is extraordinary and I hope he can continue to impress me. He introduces his characters in a perfect order, and they are people you want to know more about. The only drawback to this book, his first novel, is that he assumed I understood where he was going at every turn, and I didn’t. I wanted a big ending that made we want to start the book over from the beginning. I didn’t get it.

[Chrissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, how does one describe this?!

In this story, Truman Capote's Idabel Thompkins is the young Harper Lee, just as Lee's Dill is the young Capote in To Kill a Mockingbird. The two books are nevertheless c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e-l-y different. Don’t expect to be given a similar tale. Capote’s book is semi-autobiographical and quite a number of the characters are inspired by family and friends he once knew.

What adjectives best describe this book? Magical, beautiful, creepy and frightening. Southern Gothic writing at its best! It is unique. It is special. The reading experience is exhilarating. It is chockfull of perplexing symbolisms. Pay attention to the adjectives I am throwing at you. You will be perplexed and confused but in an imaginative and creative way. You will be shocked—this is not a light-hearted or sweet story. Ordinary characters are as foreign to this book as night is to day.

On the other hand, the themes and the topics covered are relevant to us all—abandonment, loneliness, the universal need for love and a sense of belonging, the loosening of parental ties, loss of innocence, independence and self-awareness. This is a coming of age story and in this respect also one of both sexual awakening and self-acceptance of an individual’s sexual identity.

The central character, Joel Knox, is thirteen. His mother has died. His aunt has sent him to his father, who abandoned mother and son soon after Joel’s birth. This entails a move from New Orleans, Louisiana, to a rural community in Mississippi. The decrepit and falling apart mansion in which he is to live with his father, stepmother, her gay cousin Randolph and two black servants is Skully’s Landing. On arriving, there is no sight or sound of Joel’s father. The girl, Idabel Thompkins, lives nearby. Creepy, mysterious things begin to take place.

Although the book’s central protagonist may be thirteen, the book is not for the young. It is too risqué and too violent. There is a rape. Adult guidance is absolutely necessary.

For an adult, the tale is tantalizing. It is tantalizing as a result of its creativity, its originality and its ambiguity. It is through Capote’s magnificent prose that this is achieved.

The audiobook is narrated by Cody Roberts. I have given the narration performance only one star, the lowest possible rating. This is of course only my personal reaction to it. Roberts uses an exaggerated Southern drawl that jarrs the listener. He pauses in extremely strange places, making it difficult to appreciate the writing. IF you can instead read the paper book, choose that instead! It has been a struggle for me to not let the terrible narration destroy Capote’s fantastic prose.


***********************

*A Christmas Memory 5 stars
*In Cold Blood 4 stars
*Breakfast at Tiffany's 4 stars
*Other Voices, Other Rooms 4 stars
*The Grass Harp, Including A Tree of Night and Other Stories 2 stars

[Mariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truman Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms is more of a raising yourself through experiences and colored glasses- green, red, rose, purple, the whole over the rainbow spectrum- world views than coming of age. The painful growth into what you think you are, and who you really are. I'm more and more irritated with "coming of age" tag these days, since I can't accept that there's this point where one comes to this point, and then you're done. It's more like stops and starts, backwards and forwards, all mixed together confusion, isn't it? It can't just be me? We aren't always grown up in memories, anyway, despite that 20/20 hindsight some people supposedly have (it'd help to have Capote's 100% conversational recall). I'm still little, sometimes.
I love this book. I get the feeling that the people I've met who've read Capote don't feel this kinda gratitude that I feel towards him. Like maybe they wanna say, "Dude, Mariel, it's just a book" and back away slowly and then run away as fast as they can. I kinda did raise myself through movies and stories and stuff (probably still do), and I feel strong connections to characters, as if they were real people. I relate to how Joel made up these fictions to get by, like about the deadbeat father, or his dying mama. How he does the same with the new people he meets, most of whom are living their own fictions. All in Capote's humanist way that doesn't care about the bullshit. He sees them without judgement or sorrow. "You do know they aren't real, Mariel?" I've been (to my mind, snottily) asked fairly often. But they are! Someone wrote them. And aha! In the case of Other Voices, Other Rooms, Idabel was based on the same little girl whom Harper Lee based Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird on. Capote and Lee grew up with her. So she is real *smug*. (I'd not have forgotten about this girl either.)
This story is kinda sick feeling in the can't look away possibly impending disaster of the future, and more than in just the southern gothic way of the times that uses background for inherent creepiness (I'm from southern usa so it will either feel like home or trying too hard for me). I'm haunted by this shedding your skins feeling and rejecting yourself, and losing fantasies you made for yourself to hide from ugly realities, and getting lost in the pretensions and ugly realities of those other people, in all those other places. I can understand memories feeling like the sick hot days like these. Hear the doom drumbeats of all those original people doing their thing to their own drums. Watching other people like this. It took me twice as long as the usual coming of age story to not feel skinless. I'm grateful to Capote for writing this book that can relate to that feeling of being lost. And for feeling like we're in together. Yeah, I know it's just a book. I don't care.

[Suvi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why is it that when I find a book worthy of five stars I'm at a loss for words, and can't write anything sensible about it? Well, let's just say that I fell head over heels with Capote after this one. One hundred percent more skill than his friend Harper Lee. The way Capote uses words is simple yet it creates a strong sense of place. The lack of plot doesn't really matter for me personally, because there's everything I could ever need from a Southern Gothic novel. Eccentric characters, ambiguous sexuality, abandoned houses, weird stories told by even weirder people, suffocating sense of alienation, dream-like sequences and overall cigarette and brandy fumed melancholia.

[Jason Pierce · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Tangentially related to my Murder by Death project explained here. (The "tangential" part is mentioned below.)**

What in the hell did I just read? I guess this is a bildungsroman of sorts, but it's missing the bil and sroman, and you can see what we're left with. A very strange book. I heard that the character of Idabel was based on Truman Capote's real life childhood friend Harper Lee, and that Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird was based on Truman. It all sounded like fun, so I checked it out. Now that I'm done with it... Well, it bears repeating: What in the hell did I just read? Stand by while I consult the internet to see what's supposed to be so great about this, for it must've flown by me...

...Okay. I've once again made the mistake of reading a book for the story and quality of the prose and not paying attention to themes and literary art. There are themes of abandonment, and finding oneself, and loneliness, sacredness of love, and other stuff. Sacredness of love? How about perversion? No matter how I slice it, a 30-some-year-old man hooking up with a 13-year-old boy is pretty fucked up regardless of how much the boy is okay with it.


"Hey. It's what men do with boys, isn't it?"
(See Coreyography)

Poor kid.

Also, a 12 or 13-year-old tomboy girl getting instantly twitterpated with an older midget lesbian she just meets who has a thing for kids, and then running off with her to another state...


The lesboooooooo,
Something exciting and new.

You know, being gay you'd think I'd appreciate the homosexual theme in this more, but it didn't do anything for me. (It actually never does in this kind of book because it often comes across so heavy handed, though that wasn't the case in this one. There's no persecution in this story because it looks like almost everyone is gay, and it just is what it is). Joel (the main character) discovered he was gay; that's all fine and good, but the suggested pedophilia between Randolph (the 30 something) and Joel... And between Miss Wisteria (the midget) and Idabel... And Miss Wisteria feeling up Joel's thigh on the Ferris wheel... All of it is treated rather nonchalantly. Am I the only one disturbed by this? I checked out several reviews on goodreads and only one on the first page even alludes to the pedophilia, and it does so very gently.

This book is lauded with praise in some circles, and part of it is due to Capote being so ahead of his time with gay acceptance and not giving a rip what others thought about his sexuality. But it's not just that. It's pedo. Shit, we find out Randolph is behind luring Joel to the house from the start; Joel's dad didn't have a thing to do with it because he's a complete invalid who can't even communicate. Randolph even makes sure he and Joel are away the day Joel's former guardians come to visit. He manipulates everything throughout the entire novel so he can get a boy to play with and call it love. There's a difference between a gay man and a pedophile, though not everyone seems to understand that. The terms aren't synonymous and work independently of each other. Pedo's can be gay, straight, or bi; male, or female. Am I the only one who sees this theme? Am I making it up? I don't... What the... I... Who... How... Never mind.

Anyway. That's really a nitpick but not the whole reason why I give the book only two stars. I just didn't enjoy this all that much. It was too weird. I think it tries to do several different things and never quite makes it with any of them. Capote's style is poetic which already pushes it toward the con column; I just can't make myself appreciate that. The prose is flowery, and he does a good job with it, but a little bit of that goes a long way for me. It's something a lot of the critics love, though, so if you're into that you'd probably love this.

I had avoided Capote for years based on things I'd heard, and I've discovered my fears weren't groundless. Different strokes for different folks, and his style just isn't my cup of tea, so I don't think I'll be revisiting his books or stories.

BUT! I'll always love his portrayal of Lionel Twain in Murder by Death. And he lives past the bridge at 22 Twain. Two two Twain! (It takes so little to amuse me sometimes.)


"I will tell you, Mr. Wang, if you can tell me why a man who possesses one of the most brilliant minds of this century can't say his prepositions or articles! 'What is the,' Mr. Wang! 'What is the meaning of this?'"

"It! It is confusing! Say your goddamn pronouns!"

That movie is so stupid, but I can't help liking it. I'm afraid I like it better than this book, and that's sad, for the movie ain't much.

Also, I wonder if this book would've launched Capote as well as it did if this photo wasn't on the back:



This kind of pose was considered quite risqué in 1948 though it's commonplace today and would go without comment, but one did not stare sultrily into the camera lens with his hand resting on his crotch in the middle of the 20th century. There was quite a fracas about it which generated buzz which in turn became book sales. It was a stroke of marketing genius that paid off.

As for the rumor that Capote actually wrote To Kill a Mockingbird for Lee... Please. The writing styles are so different I don't see how one could confuse the two, and it's not easy for a writer to disguise his flow that dramatically. It'd be like trying to change your handwriting to someone else's.

So, if you're into literary stuff I can't seem to appreciate, you'll probably love this. Excellent descriptions? It's got it. If you want an odd story, then this is also for you. If you're wondering what Dill and Scout are like from a different author's perspective in an alternate universe, you'll certainly find out. I'm glad I read this, but I was disappointed because all the stuff I'm supposed to like about it was beyond me. Also, it just kind of muddled along and didn't really end up anywhere exciting.

I don't know. I give this an "eh" in spite of the "accepting what you are" theme which normally speaks to me. What a strange book.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Other Voices, Other Rooms”
by Truman Capote

Book Review by Jay Gilbertson

This is maybe the eighth, could be the ninth time I’ve read this amazing little novel and I know for certain I’ll read it again one day. Billed as Capote’s first, and in my opinion his best work, Other Voices, Other Rooms is truly an amazing piece of literature and still haunts me today.
The author took a classic coming-of-age theme and carefully, subtly and with fascinatingly flawed characters—ripped it to smithereens! The story centers around two powerful topics that Capote struggled with his entire life: the search for a father-figure and the struggle with sexual orientation. What carries this tale is Capote’s brilliant prose and impeccable descriptions of place. He is one of the more rare authors that compel the reader to constantly re-read certain passages not because they’re confusing but due to the incredible picture the author presents of thirteen-year-old, Joel Knox, on the brink of manhood.
Give this a try:
“…He lay there on a bed of cold pebbles, the cool water washing, rippling over him; he wished he were a leaf, like the current-carried leaves riding past: leaf-boy, he would float lightly away, float and fade into a river, an ocean, the world’s great flood.”
With the death of Joel’s mother early on in the story, he is sent off to live with his estranged father in a dilapidated old hotel that, like its occupants, is further sinking into disrepair. From the psychotic step-mother, Miss Amy, to her eccentric cousin, Randolph, to the crusty-cook, Zoo, there isn’t a stereotype left to imagine. Throw in Idabel and Florabel, twins as different as they are alike, and you’ve got a brew of misfits that will surround you with color and sparkle contrasted with loneliness and despair at every turn. One jarring element that any modern reader will find uncomfortable to read is Capote’s use of the ‘N’ word. Though common back when this work was first published, it seems appropriate within the story and adds yet another layer to this complex cast.

Another of the many fascinating characters is not a person, but an old resort called Cloud Hotel. It too is a falling apart place with a history that will burn into your imagination and leave you wanting to know more. Though I’ve read everything Capote ever wrote, it’s this novel I return to because like some poetry, each reading I find some new gem to marvel and wonder about.
Like this clever title-weave-in:
“…But Little Sunshine stayed on: it was his rightful home, he said, for if he went away, as he had once upon a time, other voices, other rooms, voices lost and clouded, strummed his dreams…”
Oh and there’s also a midget and a woman with a huge wart on her chin and a one-armed barber and a cat named Toby. And of course, there’s a woman in the window and you won’t believe who that turns out to be—or perhaps you will.

For more information about the author visit:
www.capotebio.com

[Wyndy · Rating 3 out of 5]

'In Cold Blood' is my only previous experience with the writing of Truman Capote. I thought that book was superb, so I had high expectations for this first novel of his, published when he was only 23 years old. Initially, I was loving the descriptive prose, but after a while it started feeling overwritten, forced. And this story of young Joel Knox desperately seeking love and acceptance, and the disparity between his expectations of the reunion with his father and the reality of it, and the woe upon woe upon woe, were sad and dark for me. Many of the supporting characters, and the house where Joel is sent to live, are downright creepy. Such is the nature of Southern Goth, I guess - though I'm no expert. There's no question Truman Capote could write, and I plan to read 'The Grass Harp' and 'Breakfast At Tiffany's,' but goodness gracious, this was a strange read.

[George K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πέρυσι τον Αύγουστο ήταν που διάβασα για πρώτη φορά βιβλίο του Τρούμαν Καπότε: Το κλασικό "Εν ψυχρώ", που τόσο πολύ μου άρεσε. Εδώ έχουμε να κάνουμε με κάτι εντελώς διαφορετικό, όμως: Όχι με ένα μυθιστορηματικό χρονικό μιας αληθινής υπόθεσης, αλλά με μια γλυκόπικρη ιστορία ενηλικίωσης, που διαδραματίζεται στον μαγευτικό και συνάμα εφιαλτικό αμερικάνικο Νότο.

Πρωταγωνιστής της ιστορίας είναι ο δωδεκάχρονος Τζόελ Νοξ, που μετά τον θάνατο της μητέρας του, ταξιδεύει από την Νέα Ορλεάνη όπου γεννήθηκε και μεγάλωσε, σε κάποια μικρή πόλη του αμερικάνικου Νότου, με σκοπό να ξανασμίξει με τον πατέρα του που τον είχε εγκαταλείψει. Ο Τζόελ θα φτάσει σ'ένα ξεπεσμένο αρχοντικό, αλλά αντί για τον πατέρα του, θα τον υποδεχτούν η βλοσυρή μητριά του, ένας παράξενος ξάδερφος ονόματι Ράντολφ, καθώς και μια μαύρη υπηρέτρια. Ο Τζόελ θα πρέπει να αρχίσει να συνηθίζει την νέα του ζωή, θα καταλάβει πολλά πράγματα για τον κόσμο γύρω του, ενώ κάποια στιγμή θα γνωρίσει και ένα τρελό αγοροκόριτσο, την Άινταμπελ.

Αυτό είναι το πρώτο βιβλίο που έγραψε ο Τρούμαν Καπότε σε ηλικία εικοσιτεσσάρων ετών και κατά κάποιον τρόπο λειτουργεί και σαν μια αυτοβιογραφία για τα παιδικά του χρόνια. Ο μικρός Τζόελ είναι alter ego του ίδιου του Καπότε, ενώ η Άινταμπελ ίσως να μοιάζει πάρα πολύ με την στενή φίλη του Καπότε, την συγγραφέα Χάρπερ Λι. Όπως και να'χει, η ιστορία είναι πολύ ωραία, μαγευτική, ευχάριστη σε πολλά σημεία και λιγάκι στενάχωρη σε κάποια άλλα, σίγουρα καλογραμμένη και ευκολοδιάβαστη, με έντονη ποιητική διάθεση. Προσωπικά με ταξίδεψε πολλά χρόνια πριν στον αμερικάνικο Νότο και μ'έκανε να νοσταλγήσω ως ένα σημείο τα δικά μου παιδικά χρόνια.

Σίγουρα σαν μυθιστόρημα μπορεί να έχει τα θέματά του και να μην ταιριάζει με τα γούστα όλων, όμως δεν μπορεί να πει κανείς ότι δεν έχει κάτι το ιδιαίτερο και ότι δεν είναι φοβερά καλογραμμένο. Μ'αυτό το βιβλίο ο Καπότε βγήκε στο προσκήνιο των αμερικάνικων γραμμάτων και έδειξε το ξεχωριστό του ταλέντο...

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read, of Japanese novels, that 'exquisite' is a back-handed compliment since it potentially suggests an artful gewgaw, something of little substance polished to a high, deceptive shine. But I can't think of a more apposite word for Capote's debut, which is both exquisite and uncompromising about coming of age and shedding childhood like a snakeskin. The sentences are heavily-worked, lapidary wonders, but for this reader what they encapsulate and signify is as durable. Majestic, tragic and essential.

[Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this when I first read it in my early 20's, but I couldn't remember anything about it as I reread it. I really liked it this time around, primarily for the poetic and magical writing that placed me right there – sights, sounds, smells - in this dreamlike Southern Gothic story.

Thirteen-year-old Joel Knox recently lost his mother and is living with his Aunt Ellen in New Orleans. One day a letter from his father, who had not been heard from for twelve years, summons Joel to Skully’s Landing, Alabama to live with him . . . permanently. It is no easy trick to get there – days of trains, buses, a supply truck get him to the nearest town where no one is present to meet him. Finally, a mule-drawn cart driven by Jesus Fever, a wizened 104-year-old black man who works for his father, shows up to drive Joel to The Landing. It’s late at night and Jesus falls asleep at the wheel, so to speak, but John Brown the mule guides them safely home.

“Relaxed as a rag doll, Joel was stretched on a croquer-sack mattress, his legs dangling over the wagon’s end. A vine-like latticework of stars frosted the southern sky, and with his eyes he interlinked these spangled vines till he could trace many ice-white resemblances: a steeple, fantastic flowers, a springing cat, the outline of a human head and other curious designs like those made by snowflakes. There was a vivid, slightly red-three quarter moon; the evening wind eerily stirred shawls of Spanish moss which draped the branches of passing trees. Here and there in the mellow dark fireflies signaled one another as though messaging in code. He listened contented and untroubled to the remote singing-saw noise of night insects.”

Sadly, this is likely the last time he will be contented and untroubled until the very end of the story of his first months at The Landing. Joel had left New Orleans with optimism and but arrives with a building sense of dread, confirmed by what he sees and the complete dislocation he experiences. A crumbling mansion, a small group of very strange people living on the outer fringes, no sight of his father, and no indication that anyone is ever going to tell his father’s whereabouts. Perpetually drunk, cross-dressing cousin Randolph, Miss Amy his absent-when-present step-mother, Jesus Fever and his daughter Zoo who cook and clean and hold Sunday church service for three, two girls from down the way Florabel and Idabel Thompkins (based on Capote’s friend Harper Lee), and Little Sunshine another old black man (and possible lover of Randolph) who lives in the crumbling Cloud Hotel – all these characters swirl around Joel as he becomes more and more lost and lonely, only desiring to be loved and to belong somewhere. Early on there was so much to fear for Joel given the strikes against him in this weird place, where just when you think it can’t get any weirder, it becomes completely bizarre (hallucinatory as another GR reviewer called it). But this is truly a coming of age story, of Joel realizing and celebrating who he is. And since this is somewhat autobiographical for Capote, the “who he is” makes complete sense and perhaps he couldn’t have discovered himself anywhere else. I finished this slim volume feeling optimistic that Joel had found himself and would be ok.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't until after seeing "Capote" (excellent film, by the by) that I got the itch to read something by the film's namesake. Thus far my first choice, "In Cold Blood," has been checked out every time I've gone to the library, so I settled instead for his first novel, "Other Voices, Other Rooms."

I was not surprised to see the young protagonist, Joel, as a reflection of Capote himself. What did interest me, however, was that in the twenty-fifth anniversary edition I was reading, Capote wrote a forward in which he claimed that it wasn't until re-reading the novel twenty-five years later that he "realized" that the boy was a version of himself. Whatever.

As far as the writing goes, Capote's prose is gorgeous, his physical descriptions lush and intricate, and the Southern vernacular is spot-on. It is easy to see why people were so taken with the novel; the reader sees and smells and feels everything he writes with stunning clarity.

In keeping with a Gothic tradition, however, Capote included some supernatural elements that actually felt really out of place. Some of them never got resolved (the old lady?!)...which perhaps I could have forgiven if the ending had any sort of resolution. It didn't. It felt almost like Capote had written himself into a corner and had no other way of ending than to construct something so far out that the reader was baffled enough to believe it was deep and thought-provoking. It kind of ruined the book for me, actually.

There's some good writing here, but not enough to compensate for the lack of continuity and some bizarre Gothic ploys that really detract from the flow of the main story. I'm not giving up on Truman yet, though, and would like to read more of his later works.

[Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

[2.5 Stars]

My Video Review (Spoilers):
https://youtu.be/86qxtxzcjQE


For now, it was different than what I expected. I think it was interesting reading In Cold Blood first before reading this one. I found they actually have some overlapping themes, but the ending was very rushed, I thought. I'm going to do some more research and compile my notes, so I hope that video is up in the next week or two.

[Albert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t know much about this novel before reading it. I did note before starting that it was Capote’s first novel. It felt like a first novel to me. Some of the writing was excellent, but some of the descriptions seemed longer than necessary and at times felt oddly integrated with the narrative. I very much liked the characters of Idabel, Zoo and Jesus, but did not have strong feelings for the protagonist Joel Knox. The Southern Gothic nature of the novel, represented in the characters of cousin Randolph and stepmother Amy, as well as the circumstances of Joel’s father, did not grab my interest. I was much impacted by what Zoo encountered in her attempted departure from Skully’s Landing.

Upon finishing the novel, I was surprised to find how high the GR rating was and that the novel stayed on The New York Times’ bestseller list for nine weeks. I recognize some of the novel’s reception was the result of its notoriety as one of the few American novels in the first half of the 20th century to deal directly and positively with homosexuality, but still felt I must have missed something. Ultimately, I felt the quality of the writing was very uneven and so was the overall reading experience. I was pleased that the novel was as short as it was.

[Camie · Rating 2 out of 5]

After his mother's death Joel Knox is summoned to the decaying Mississippi mansion Skully's Landing to meet the father who abandoned him and runs smack dab into a menagerie of odd characters namely an addled stepmother Amy, silk kimono dressed Uncle Randolph, barely alive bedridden father Mr. Samson, and the wild girl child Idabel who all exist in some kind of dreamlike narrative.
I've read ICB and BAT so Capote is not a new author for me. I understand this is supposed to be semi-autobiographical and that the character Idabel is supposedly based roughly on his childhood friend Harper Lee, but even those facts couldn't interest me in (or help me understand ) this story. A GR friend Doug called this one Southern Gothic on steroids or mushrooms. I'm going with mushrooms , lol, and giving myself extra credit (big time) for finishing it.
A book which for me started out confusing and strange and by the end just left me completely and uncaringly baffled. 2 stars
Read for May On The Southern Literary Trail

[Andrei Tamaş · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pot afirma cu stupoare (peiorativ), că Truman Capote nu este unul din autorii moderni care impresionează. Cel puţin nu prin acest volum. Din punctul meu de vedere, nu-şi merită faima. Comparând opera lui cu cea a lui William Styron ori -mergând un strop înapoi- cu cea a lui Hemingway, Capote nu este o figura proeminentă a literaturii americane. Repet: nu prin acest roman.

[David Carrasco · Rating 5 out of 5]

¿Alguna vez te has sentido fuera de lugar, como si el mundo hablara en un idioma que tú no entiendes?

Bienvenido a Otras voces, otros ámbitos, la primera novela de Truman Capote, donde cada página es un susurro desde una habitación en penumbra, y cada personaje parece mirarte desde el otro lado de un espejo deformante.

La historia nos presenta a Joel Knox, un niño de trece años que, tras la muerte de su madre, es enviado a una mansión sureña para conocer a su padre, un hombre al que nunca ha visto. Pero lo que encuentra en esa casa no es exactamente un hogar. Allí está Miss Amy, su madrastra, una mujer que parece manejar la casa con la precisión de una administradora más que con el afecto de una madre. Randolph, su primo, es un personaje alucinado y teatral, con una voz melancólica que parece susurrar secretos a medio entender. Y más allá de la mansión, en los caminos polvorientos del sur, una galería de personajes excéntricos como las mellizas Idabel y Florabel, cómplices en aventuras infantiles que parecen sacadas de un sueño febril. También están Jesús Fiebre y Pequeño Luz de Sol, dos figuras envueltas en el misterio del folclore sureño, hechiceros de un mundo donde lo real y lo fantástico se confunden.

Esta es una novela donde la identidad se siente como un eco lejano, donde los personajes parecen espectros atrapados en un limbo de deseos no dichos y recuerdos a medio formar. A algunos les podrá recordar los relatos de Mark Twain, pero hay una clara influencia de Carson McCullers y Tennessee Williams, o incluso del propio Faulkner, en la construcción de este mundo sureño, con sus figuras extravagantes y su carga de angustia existencial. Pero lo que hace especial a Otras voces, otros ámbitos es su tono febril, esa forma de Capote de envolverlo todo en un halo de ensueño, como si el lector estuviera mirando la historia a través de un velo de calor sureño y melancolía infantil.

Y es que Capote, con solo 23 años, logra hacer algo que no todos los escritores se atreven: meter todo un universo dentro de algo tan pequeño como un libro de menos de 250 páginas, aunque quizá quisiera meter demasiado simbolismo que para muchos resulte complicado de entender. Aquí no estamos ante una novela fácil de leer. Más bien, cada palabra parece estar diseñada para hacerte pensar, reflexionar, y si eres suficientemente astuto, descubrir las capas ocultas entre los pliegues del texto. De hecho, lo que el lector ve al principio no es lo que realmente es. Es uno de esos libros que te pide una segunda lectura para captar todos los secretos que quedaron enterrados en las primeras páginas. Porque Capote no solo cuenta una historia, nos obliga a diseccionarla. Esa es una de las maravillas de esta obra: el misterio no es solo un tema, es la manera en la que se presenta el mundo, como un rompecabezas de pistas dispersas que solo se conectan cuando ya crees que todo está resuelto.

Decir que esta novela es autobiográfica es, probablemente, quedarse corto. Capote no solo pone su infancia en estas páginas, la destripa y la deja latir a la vista de todos. Este es su retrato del sur: decadente, sensual, desquiciado. Un lugar donde el despertar de la identidad no es un tránsito suave, sino un choque contra paredes invisibles. Aquí, la soledad pesa. La identidad se enmaraña. La realidad se tuerce en reflejos distorsionados.

Es fascinante leer Otras voces, otros ámbitos sabiendo lo que Capote llegaría a ser. Aquí tenemos a un joven escritor de 23 años que ya maneja la prosa con una ambición desbordante, con ese estilo hipnótico y envolvente que será su marca personal. Pero si lo comparamos con sus obras más maduras, se nota que aún está explorando los límites de su talento. Su lirismo es exuberante, casi barroco, y a veces uno siente que la belleza de sus frases amenaza con devorar la historia. Si en A sangre fría pulirá su precisión hasta lograr una narración precisa y contenida, aquí todavía lo vemos disfrutando del exceso, dejándose llevar por el sonido de las palabras. Es un Capote más libre, más salvaje, pero también menos medido. No hay aquí la fría maestría con la que diseccionará la psicología humana en su obra cumbre, pero hay algo igual de valioso: el deslumbramiento de un genio en formación.

Es un estilo que no solo te exige atención, te pide que saborees cada frase como si fuera una joya extraída de una mina inagotable. Y es que, la prosa de Capote tiene algo de ostentoso, como si el autor quisiera demostrar, desde el principio, que su talento no solo era prometedor, sino audaz. Aquí no hay sitio para lo fácil. Cada capítulo comienza con la urgencia de algo cinematográfico, y cuando te das cuenta de lo que está pasando, ya es tarde: has sido atrapado en su mundo. Un mundo donde lo surrealista es lo que te mantiene despierto, donde la línea entre lo que es un sueño y lo que es real se difumina con una facilidad aterradora. Y los personajes, ¡madre mía!, ¿quién no se sentiría un poco inquieto al encontrarse con alguien como Miss Amy o con Randolph? Hay algo casi caricaturesco en su manera de moverse por la historia, una exageración que, en lugar de restarles profundidad, los vuelve aún más fascinantes. Los animales tienen nombres humanos, los humanos tienen nombres de animales, y todo se mezcla hasta que ya no sabes si lo que ves es una exageración de la realidad o la pura verdad escondida bajo capas de ficción.

Porque Otras voces, otros ámbitos no es solo un relato de iniciación, es un descenso a un mundo donde la infancia es una casa embrujada y la búsqueda de uno mismo siempre deja cicatrices. A pesar de su complejidad, su prosa es cautivadora y mantiene al lector en un estado constante de intriga. Sin embargo, la densidad simbólica y los giros narrativos pueden generar confusión, lo que podría hacer que algunos se sientan desconectados o insatisfechos con la historia.

No es una novela amable. No es una historia que se lea con la sensación reconfortante de estar en manos seguras. Es más bien como entrar en una casa desconocida y darse cuenta, demasiado tarde, de que las sombras en las esquinas están observando.

Si alguna vez has sentido que perteneces a otro mundo pero aún no sabes cuál, este libro te entenderá antes de que tú mismo lo hagas.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nach dem Tod seiner Mutter reist der sensible und ein wenig feminine dreizehnjährige Joel von New Orleans ins Kaff Noon City, um dort bei seinem Vater zu leben, den er seit seinem ersten Lebensjahr nicht gesehen hat.
Der Familiensitz Skully´s Landing ist eine Mischung aus dem verzauberten Garten und dem Haus Usher. Das ehemals prächtige Anwesen verfällt in pittoresker Schönheit und auch seine Bewohner sind nur Schatten einer fernen Vergangenheit. Da ist Joels Stiefmutter Amy, nervös und theatralisch, eine Figur wie aus einem Dickensroman, und der Cousin Randolph, ein von der Welt zurückgezogener Homosexueller, der seine Tage vorzugsweise im Rausch und im Halbschatten verbringt. Joels Vater bleibt ein Fantom, auf der Landing nicht weniger fern als in New Orleans.
Nur dem schwarzen Dienstmädchen Zoo kann Joel sein Herz öffnen, das wie im Andersen-Märchen zum Eisklumpen erstarrt ist. Doch Zoo hat nicht vor, den Rest ihres Lebens auf diesem Anwesen zu verbringen.
Und dann ist da noch Idabel Thomkins (deren Vorbild Harper Lee ist), eine Göre, die gleich mit ihrem ersten Auftritt unter Beweis stellt, dass sei reif für die Besserungsanstalt ist - zumindest nach damaligen Standards. Sie trägt niemals Mädchenkleider, ist ein rechter Wildfang und hat an Weiblichkeit zu wenig, was Joel zu viel hat. Idabel könnte als Komplementärstück zu Joel passen, doch sie ist mit sich selbst und ihrer verhassten Schwester Florabel beschäftigt und wird ebenfalls Noon City verlassen. Und für eine Freundschaft Junge / Mädchen ist sie ohnehin nicht gemacht:
„Sohn", sagte sie und spuckte zwischen ihre Finger, "was du in der Hose hast, ist mir nicht neu und geht mich nichts an: verdammt, ich hab seit der ersten Klasse immer nur mit Jungs gespielt. Ich denke nie, dass ich ein Mädchen bin; das darfst du nie vergessen, sonst können wir keine Freunde sein."
So faszinierend Zoo, Idabel und Randolph auch sind, spielen sie doch untergeordnete Rollen im Roman, in dessen Zentrum alleine Joel und seine Einsamkeit stehen. Joel fühlt sich so ungeliebt und alleine, dass er nicht einmal beim Gebet die Worte über die Lippen bekommt "Gott, gib, dass ich geliebt werde" (während Zoos Wünsche sich sehr viel handfester präsentieren: "Hast du´n Mann, und der Mann ist fern, BETE zum Herrn, bete zum Herrn").
In späteren Jahren vergisst man oft, über welche Lebensklugheit und emotionale Tiefe Kinder bereits verfügen. Obwohl Joel in vielen Aspekten noch ein kleiner Junge ist, schildert Capote sein Innenleben enorm reich und intensiv: "Jetzt im Alter von dreizehn war Joeĺ einem Wissen vom Tod näher als in irgendeinem künftigen Lebensjahr".
ANDERE STIMMEN begleitet Joel auf seinem Weg vom Kind zum jungen Erwachsenen, den er ohne Vater gehen muss, vom versteinerten Jungen zum jungen Mann, der lernt, dass er seinen eigenen Weg gehen muss, wenn er nicht untergehen will. Denn es gibt kein Mindestalter, um von den Geistern der Vergangenheit verfolgt zu werden. Insofern ist ANDERE STIMMEN auch ein Southern Gothic Roman. Von diesem Spuk bezieht der Roman auch seinen Titel:
"Aber Little Sunshine blieb da (im verfallenen Hotel am Leichenteich): es war sein rechtmässiges Zuhause, sagte er, denn wenn er fort ging, wie er es einmal getan hatte, hallten durch seine Träume andere Stimmen, andere Räume, düster und verloren."
ANDERE STIMMEN kann mit etlichen äußerst skurrilen Szenen aufweisen, die lange im Gedächtnis bleiben. Ob es sich um die schon surrealistisch anmutenden Tischgespräche zwischen Amy, Randolph und Joel handelt, das aus einem absurden Theaterstück entliehen sein könnte, um die vorgenannte Gottesdienstszene oder um den Jahrmarktsbesuch, der in einem Unwetter seinen eigenartigsten Höhepunkt findet: Truman Capote präsentiert sich als großartiger Erzähler, dessen Erzählton in seinem Reichtum an Poesie, Genauigkeit und Bildhaftigkeit so immens ist, dass es dem Leser manchmal regelrecht den Atem verschlägt; und es ist schwer vorstellbar, dass es sich um den Roman eines Vierundzwanzigjährigen handelt, soviel Lebensweisheit findet sich darin. Manchmal kommt sie etwas altklug daher, aber das sehe ich dem jungen Erzähltalent ebenso nach wie seine gelegentlich zu üppig daherkommenden und manchmal auch manieriert wirkenden Metaphern und Formulierungen (z.B. "Er ging im Staub der Dornen durch das Dunkel").
ANDERE STIMMEN ist eine so poetische wie melancholische Forschungsreise durch das Land der Jugend, auf das die geisterhaften Schatten von Vergangenheit und Erinnerung fallen; Randolph formuliert es so:
"(D)ie wahren Geliebten dieser Welt sind in den Augen derer, die sie lieben, erblühender Flieder, Schiffslichter, Schulklingeln, eine Landschaft, erinnerte Gespräche, Freunde, ein Sonntag in der Kindheit, Stimmen aus der Vergangenheit, der Lieblingsanzug, der Herbst und alle Jahreszeiten, die Erinnerung, ja, denn sie ist das A und O des Lebens, die Erinnerung. Eine nostalgische Liste, aber schließlich, wo lässt sich ein nostalgischeres Thema finden?"
Ich habe Joel auf seiner Reise gerne begleitet, allerdings waren die letzten 40 Seiten des Romans, auf denen sich die Geschichte ihrem lyrisch-phantasmagorischen Höhepunkt nähert, ein Fiebertraum mit surrealen Jahrmarktsattraktionen, einem Unwetter und der Frage "sind die Toten ebenso einsam wie die Lebenden", auch eine Herausforderung an den Leser. Das endliche Erwachen aus dem Delirum ist überambitioniert erzählt und für den Leser nicht weniger anstrengend als für Joel. Das und der zu Zeiten erzählerische Schlingerkurs führen zu einem Punkt Abzug für einen ansonsten enorm starken und lesenswerten Roman.

[Janel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Other Voices, Other Rooms is a coming-of-age novel but I felt there was no real plot or point; I struggled to understand what was happening for half the novel. I’d finally feel I got to grips with it and understood what was happening, only to turn the page and feel lost all over again. I feel like this novel was meant to be a profound piece of literature but it felt a bit like Capote tried too hard, tried to be too poetic and mysterious and totally lost me, as a reader, along the way.

My favourite parts of this novel were Joel Knox’s interactions with Idabel, mainly because Idabel was such an interesting character – in a world were ladies are supposed to be ‘proper’, she was a tomboy that wanted to run free.

Now this is where real life gets more interesting than fiction; after finishing this novel, I was thoroughly confused so I decided to read the Introduction, written by John Berendt, hoping it’d shed some light on the novel. I found out that Capote and Harper Lee, the very Harper Lee who wrote ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’, were childhood friends. Capote based the character of Idabel on Harper Lee [which probably explains why I liked her character], in return she based one of her characters in ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ on him.

Throughout this read, I took a particular disliking to Joel’s stepmother, Miss Amy, mainly because she said things like:

“Just a hotbed of crazy nigger-notions, that girl.”

“Her mouth worked in a furious way. ‘Niggers! Angela Lee warned me time again, said never trust a nigger: their minds and hair are full of kinks in equal measure.’”

I just didn’t care for the language; this novel was first published in 1948 so I completely understand language is used in this text that wouldn’t necessary be used today but Miss Amy was just so vulgar in her speech at times, always thinking she’s better than everybody else. As I read the Introduction, it turned out Miss Amy was based on one of Capote’s relatives.

The plot thickens…. Capote always denied this book was somewhat autobiographical, despite himself sharing so many similarities with Joel, for example, they were both born in New Orleans and longed for their fathers, they were both sent South to live with relatives, both took their mother’s surnames. Later Capote said he was not aware, except for a few descriptions, that he had made the book so autobiographical.

Berendt in the Introduction, also mentions that for Capote’s career his real life would go on to interest people more than his written works. So, while this book didn’t hold my interest because I wasn’t sure what was happening half the time, I certainly found its comparison to Capote’s real life interesting.

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5***

Capote’s debut novel is a semiautobiographical coming-of-age story. After the death of his mother, thirteen-year-old Joel Knox leaves New Orleans to travel to rural Alabama, and the home of the father who abandoned him at birth. Skully’s Landing is his stepmother Amy’s dilapidated mansion, set far in the woods, and without electricity or indoor plumbing. Among the residents of the estate are a centenarian Negro, Jesus Fever, his granddaughter Missouri (known as Zoo), who keeps house for the family, and the mysterious cousin Randolph. The person who is obviously missing is Joel’s father. Nearby live two sisters, Florabel and Idabel, the latter a tomboy who provides a glimmer of love and approval to the lonely Joel.

This is a classic Southern Gothic novel, full of ghosts, haints, superstitions, secrets and closed off rooms. There are real dangers aplenty as well: poisonous snakes, quicksand, and people with guns. Joel is isolated not only by the remote location, but by the lack of connection with these people. He is confused and cautious, and his loneliness and despair are palpable.

Capote’s writing is wonderfully atmospheric. Here is what Joel sees on his journey to his new home:
Two roads pass over the hinterlands into Noon City; one from the north, another from the south; the latter, known as the Paradise Chapel Highway, is the better of the pair, though both are much the same: desolate miles of swamp and field and forest stretch along either route unbroken except for scattered signs advertising Red Dot 5c Cigars, Dr. Pepper, NEHI, Grove’s Chill Tonic, and 666. Wooden bridges spanning brackish creeks named for long-gone Indian tribes rumble like far-off thunder under a passing wheel; herds of hogs and cows roam the roads at will; now and then a farm-family pauses from work to wave as an auto whizzes by, and watch sadly till it disappears in red dust.

Like Joel, I felt somewhat lost in unfamiliar surroundings. Was Capote trying too hard to be atmospheric? Was he forced by the standards of the day to be so circumspect regarding his message of awakening homosexuality? It makes Cousin Randolph’s statement all the more poignant: ”The brain may take advice, but not the heart, and love, having no geography, knows no boundaries;... any love is natural and beautiful that lies within a person's nature; only hypocrites would hold a man responsible for what he loves, emotional illiterates and those of righteous envy, who, in their agitated concern, mistake so frequently the arrow pointing to heaven for the one that leads to hell. ”

[Ginny_1807 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bellissimo romanzo di formazione, disseminato di riferimenti autobiografici, che l’autore riveste di una fitta rete di simboli di innegabile fascino.
Il viaggio del tredicenne Joel Harrison Knox verso un luogo sperduto nella campagna del profondo Sud degli Stati Uniti, per incontrare il padre che non conosce, è innanzi tutto la toccante vicenda di un adolescente assetato di affetti; insieme, però, è anche una rappresentazione paradigmatica del processo di crescita, ovvero dell’abbandono definitivo dell’ingenuità ovattata propria dell’infanzia per l’acquisizione dell’autonomia e di una fiera consapevolezza finalmente adulta.
Sia nei temi che nei toni, il racconto mutua elementi caratteristici dei generi letterari più disparati: dal gotico al fiabesco, dall’avventura al mistery; con imprevedibili esiti di straniamento e di suspense.
Il protagonista, nel suo candore e nel suo sgomento, viene proiettato in un ambiente ignoto, imprevisto e sconcertante; una specie di non-luogo, lontano dalle consuetudini del mondo civilizzato e abitato da personaggi eccentrici e ambigui. In questa atmosfera come sospesa tra realtà e sogno (o incubo?) si acuiscono le sue paure e si dilata il suo senso di solitudine; mentre sullo sfondo prende forma un paesaggio di chiara eco faulkneriana, che riflette al contempo la magnificenza e il declino di un mondo e delle sue presunte certezze.
Grande letteratura.

[Robbin · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know Truman Capote's famous quote about how he felt that he and Perry Smith grew up in the same house, and then one day he got up and walked out through the front door, while Perry left out the back? Also, you know the unnecessary speculation that Capote actually wrote his friend Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird? I really enjoyed this book with its odd, closely observed detail and gothic, Southern, open claustrophobia. Still, it kind of feels like this book and To Kill a Mockingbird incubated together, and if Lee's book shows the front door, this eccentricity is probably the back.