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    The Early Stories of Truman Capote
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    The Early Stories of Truman Capote
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    The Early Stories of Truman Capote
    Audiobook3 hours

    The Early Stories of Truman Capote

    Written by Truman Capote

    Narrated by Scott Brick, Nancy Linari and Sarah Scott

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The early fiction of one of the nation's most celebrated writers, Truman Capote, as he takes his first bold steps into the canon of American literature

    Recently rediscovered in the archives of the New York Public Library, these short stories provide an unparalleled look at Truman Capote writing in his teens and early twenties, before he penned such classics as Other Voices, Other Rooms, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and In Cold Blood. This collection of more than a dozen pieces showcases the young Capote developing the unique voice and sensibility that would make him one of the twentieth century's most original writers.

    Spare yet heartfelt, these stories summon our compassion and feeling at every turn. Capote was always drawn to outsiders-women, children, African Americans, the poor-because he felt like one himself from a very early age. Here we see Capote's powers of empathy developing as he depicts his characters struggling at the margins of their known worlds. A boy experiences the violence of adulthood when he pursues an escaped convict into the woods. Petty jealousies lead to a life-altering event for a popular girl at Miss Burke's Academy for Young Ladies. In a time of extraordinary loss, a woman fights to save the life of a child who has her lover's eyes.

    In these stories we see early signs of Capote's genius for creating unforgettable characters built of complexity and yearning. Young women experience the joys and pains of new love. Urbane sophisticates are worn down by cynicism. Children and adults alike seek understanding in a treacherous world. There are tales of crime and violence; of racism and injustice; of poverty and despair. And there are tales of generosity and tenderness; compassion and connection; wit and wonder. Above all there is the developing voice of a writer born in the Deep South who will use and eventually break from that tradition to become a literary figure like no other.

    With a foreword by the celebrated New Yorker critic Hilton Als, this volume of early stories is essential for understanding how a boy from Monroeville, Alabama, became a legend in American literature.

    Praise for The Early Stories of Truman Capote

    "Succeeds at conveying the writer's youthful rawness . . . These stories capture a moment when Capote was hungry to capture the rural South, the big city, and the subtle emotions that so many around him were determined to keep unspoken."-USA Today

    "A window on the young writer's emerging voice and creativity . . . Capote's ability to conjure a time, place and mood with just a few sentences is remarkable."-Associated Press

    "Blueprints of the august, confident, and delightfully acerbic writer-to-come."-The Los Angeles Review of Books

    "Dazzling."-The Columbus Dispatch

    "[These stories] stand in their own right as lovely vignettes of the lives of the lonely, broken and troubled. . . . Breathtaking in their precocity, craftsmanship, simplicity and the tenderness [Capote] became renowned for."-The Independent (U.K.)

    "These ten-plus stories were written when Capote was a teenager and young man and will shed light on his subsequent work while remaining sharply observed pleasures in their own right."-Library Journal

    "[A] gathering of the great American prose stylist's earliest pieces, published for the first time . . . Students of both Capote and the short story will find this instructive and entertaining."-Kirkus Reviews


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 27, 2015
    ISBN9780147526113
    Unavailable
    The Early Stories of Truman Capote
    Author

    Truman Capote

    Truman Capote (1924-1984) es uno de los mejores escritores norteamericanos del siglo XX. Anagrama le ha dedicado una Biblioteca Truman Capote: Otras voces, otros ámbitos, Un árbol de noche, Desayuno en Tiffany’s, A sangre fría, Música para camaleones, Plegarias atendidas, El arpa de hierba, Retratos, Tres cuentos, Los perros ladran, Cuentos completos y Crucero de verano.

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    Reviews for The Early Stories of Truman Capote

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      Truman Capote has a particular style that draws you into the telling. His descriptions of characters, in particular resonates in your head - you can see their behaviors clearly. Some stories such as Master Misery and Miriam give you shivers. The story "A Christmas Memory" is a beautiful tale which evokes images of a bygone era.
    • 4/5
      For the most part, I liked these stories. I'm not big on short stories but a friend gave me this book for Christmas and I thought it rude if I didn't read it. I'm glad I did. My favorite story in the book was "A Christmas Memory". I found the story very touching and myself getting emotional (which is wierd because that doesn't usually happen to me). The book is an easy read and enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      The arc of any collection that contains the complete output of short stories from one author (and is presented in the order in which they appeared) invariably falls into this patter – attempts, success, degradation. Few authors jump from Zeus’s skull full-formed. Similarly, few seem to reach their peak then instantly quit. This isn’t to say that some don’t start quite good, and others don’t stop while still expanding – there is just seldom greatness throughout the spectrum.There is a similar sense of this happening in this collection. However, it is quickly evident that the range of quality is much more consistent – the beginning starts at a very high level and the ending has little drop-off. At the outset, it doesn’t take long before the skill and talent (assuredly two different things) becomes evident. With “Jug of Silver”, Capote begins to explore his Southern past and provides us an engrossing story of a small town, a contest to guess the number of coins, and the strange child who insists he knows the answer. The stories grow from there including my personal favorites “Miriam” about a lonely lady and the child that discovers her, “Preacher’s Legend” about an old black man who only thinks he is so old he wants to die, and “Master Misery” about a man who is buying dreams. And, I can’t forget “Children and Their Birthdays” which starts by telling you exactly how it will end but, by the time you get there, you are still shocked (and I must admit I almost laughed out loud.) The famous stories are here also – “A Diamond Guitar”, “House of Flowers”, and “A Christmas Memory” – and it is interesting to note that these are almost at the end of the collection. Because, while it is true the last couple of stories may not be the strongest, they are still good.Which all speaks to the fact that the arc of stories for Capote is way too short. Yes, that means he jumped quickly to the heights of story-telling and there was little drop off, but how much more might there have been? Capote was an unusual man, and this collection exhibits the varying parts of his life (as told through fiction) that help build this strange little man. That he can span the gamut of those types speaks to how good he was.
    • 4/5
      The Short of It:This is a wonderful collection of stories. Meaningful and thought-provoking. Perfect for this time of year.The Rest of It:I really enjoy Capote’s writing. A book group friend of mine brought this for a book exchange one year, and it ended up in my lucky hands. I’ve been reading bits of it here and there for over two years now. It’s the type of book that you can pick up and put down and not really lose anything from it. Open to any page and you will be swept away. Some of the stories included are: * A Tree of Night * A Christmas Memory (my fave) * The Thanksgiving VisitorYou can actually purchase A Christmas Memory on its own and it would make a wonderful gift for a loved one. It’s about the love shared between two friends and is largely autobiographical. It’s touching and sad but wonderful too. It’s a gentle reminder of what’s special about Christmas. It’s my favorite story. I love it.If you aren’t sure what to get for that picky reader this year, pick up this collection. You can’t go wrong. There is something for everyone here.
    • 4/5
      The sentimental "A Christmas Memory" is a lovely semi-autobiographical Christmas tale featuring Buddy (Capote), 'my friend' ('Miss Sook') and Queenie (terrier), as do several more of the later stories, including the final 'One Christmas'. They capture a time and an emotion beautifully.I have read these over a long period of time, so only the last stories are memorable.
    • 4/5
      This is a book of Capote's short stories and he is a master at the short story. In each one there was "someone" I knew or I knew someone who had a "someone" in one of his stories. Wonderful. I would recommend this book to any and everyone. I loved it. I cannot wait to read more of his work.
    • 4/5
      Truman Capote’s favorite form was said to be the short story, and some of these stories stand out as nearly perfect examples of the genre. Arranged in chronological order, it is easy to see the evolution of his work. One of special interest is his career breakout story, “Miriam,” which was discussed breathlessly at cocktail parties when it was first published in 1945 (in the days when magazine fiction could elicit that kind of excitement). “Miriam” has a haunting quality, a hint of evil forces or madness that other stories share. Most are set in New York apartments, but my favorites were the ones set elsewhere, especially those that seemed to grow out of his southern boyhood, those that illustrate his brilliant mastery of voice (sometimes to humorous effect), and the memoir pieces, including "A Christmas Memory," "The Thanksgiving Visitor" and "One Christmas." This is an intriguing collection of stories from one of the great American writers.
    • 3/5
      I'm working through this at the moment. Capote provides lovely, startling descriptions of life in the American South in the 40s that jump out at me. Some of the stories, like "Miriam", are creepy ghost stories that could be X-Files episodes. Others leave me cold.