Retro Reads discussion

December - week 2 short read! You can find this short autobiographical story by Truman Capote on YouTube and elsewhere online. It was first published in Mademoiselle magazine in 1956, and is set in Capote's childhood in the 1930's.

What impresses you most about this tale?

Also up for discussion: who likes fruitcake? :D

I have this edition on loan from Open Library. Picture of Capote & Sooks (his cousin) on the front.

I read the story in less than half an hour & it moved me to tears. So evocative. I also listened to part of the story on You Tube. I don't like being read to, but I loved hearing Truman's voice.

In the normal way I don't like fruitcake. My late Mother-in-law made wonderful fruitcake & it spoilt me for any other.

I'm impressed that he remembers it all with so much detail. It must have meant a lot to him. Loved that they made fruitcakes for people they did not know or barely knew.

Like Grinch, I’ve read this one before—though not nearly as many times—so maybe I’ll try for another audio version. Anyone know of a good one?

And no, it has never gotten me to re-try fruitcake. I’ll let you know if that changes this year, but I’m not too concerned.

I'd forgotten how Buddy and his friend's encounter with the whisky seller ended up. That was great. :)

I also like the comment in the Wikipedia article for this story: "The evocative narrative focuses on country life, friendship, and the joy of giving during the Christmas season, and it also gently yet poignantly touches on loneliness and loss." It sums it up well.

I think I would like fruitcake if it weren't for the candied fruit that's usually in it, which is awful, nasty stuff. I'm good with raisins, nuts and dried fruit.

Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ wrote: "I'd forgotten how Buddy and his friend's encounter with the whisky seller ended up. That was great. :)

I also like the comment in the Wikipedia article for this story: "The evocative narrative foc..."

That's how I make mine, Tadiana! I use dried fruit, including apricots and cherries; the base starts with applesauce and it has a tiny bit of cocoa in it (so you can say, "what is that hint of something?"). The recipe is in an old cookbook of my mother's. I don't make it every year, but it's fun when I do1

And I just remembered! My mom used to cut up gumdrops and put them in hers. Byack, yuk and I always picked them out! I have to admit that they were pretty, though.

Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ wrote: "I'd forgotten how Buddy and his friend's encounter with the whisky seller ended up. That was great. :)

I also like the comment in the Wikipedia article for this story: "The evocative narrative foc..."

I agree. But I expect that means making my own, which will not be on this year’s agenda.

Thank you for telling me about the youtube reading, Tadiana - just finished it, and really liked listening to Capote read it. My first impression was how similar it was to Harper Lee's prose.

“I could leave the world with today in my eyes.”

So sweet and poignant.




A sack of Satsumas - what a wonderful gift!

Oh, about Fruitcake - I do not like it. My Mother and or sisters make Fruitcake Cupcakes every year, and they love it. My Father loves it also.

I would rather save my calories allotted for treats for Lebkuchen or Shortbread instead.

What a wonderful story - I had such a good cry over it! There's nothing like the masterfully poignant description of someone else's holiday memories to bring on the sweet nostalgic pain of one's own. I loved the way it reflected how Capote and his friend were so completely wrapped together in their own world, and thought there was so much conveyed in this simple line - "Other people inhabit the house, relatives, and though they have power over us, and frequently make us cry, we are not, on the whole, too much aware of them."

I downloaded the Kindle version, which also contains The Thanksgiving Visitor but I'm going to save that for next year. It also contains another Christmas short story called One Christmas. It is a much darker but equally powerful story of Capote's memory of spending one Christmas with his father in New Orleans. In that one we learn the name of his treasured friend is Miss Sook Faulk. What a beautiful and well-deserved tribute he gave her.

"A sack of Satsumas - what a wonderful gift!."

I had to look up Satsumas - my first thought was that it was a type of nut, and even after he mentioned peeling them I didn't guess they were a kind of orange!

This cookbook could be interesting.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...

Christmas Carol ꧁꧂ wrote: "In the normal way I don't like fruitcake. My late Mother-in-law made wonderful fruitcake & it spoilt me for any other."

There is one fruitcake I like--the one I grew up with. Other versions--not so much. I suspect that is true for most people re: fruitcake.

I do wonder just how big (or small?) the fruitcakes were in the story. 31(!!) cakes makes me believe they were small.

I loved the story. Went through several tissues as I read, I found it packed an emotional punch for me.

Christmas Carol ꧁꧂ wrote: "This cookbook could be interesting.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8..."

Carol--thanks for the link. I like cookbooks with stories about the recipes.

The fruitcake making has begun here, and now I don't think I can smell or see it without thinking of this story.

Christmas Carol ꧁꧂ wrote: "This cookbook could be interesting.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8..."

I love cookbooks, especially Christmas ones, and I don't have this one - odd. One of my favorites is Christmas Memories with Recipes which features James Beard, Martha Stewart, and lots more. There's even a sort of California fruitcake recipe from Laurel's Kitchen that is good, but it's the stories from the chefs that I really love.It's James Beard's memory that started us putting bleu cheese on hot mince pie - so weirdly delicious...

I've only seen/tasted "bad" fruitcake - store bought, you know? so I don't know if I'd like a real one. but it sounds like it could be good.

this story was beautiful but made me cry.

Also, I don't think I've ever read anything else by Truman Capote, although of course I've heard of him.
What impressed me most about this story was the sweetness of the relationship between a little boy and his "friend"/family. Almost completely unsullied by the grownups they have to live with. Really, I would have liked to have had more as this was over so soon.