Truman Capote

The Barnes & Noble Review December 1997He was the most gracious of hosts and the most coveted of guests; his rapier wit and sartorial flair formed a cult of personality that now defines what it means to be a member of the literati. Truman Capote was a self-made, absolute original who could at turns be charmingly lovable and artfully cruel.The brilliant author of ‘In Cold Blood’ and ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ made it fashionable and indispensable for people to know him, for he became the very nexus of the exciting worlds of politics, fashion, Hollywood, the arts, and high society – a status best exemplified by his legendary Black and White Ball.Now the people he surrounded himself with tell his remarkable story to bestselling author and literary lion George Plimpton. Using oral biography, a technique that aptly portrays his social subject, George Plimpton blends the voices of Capote’s lovers, haters, acquaintances, and colleagues into a captivating and highly readable narrative.We are treated to the full scope of Capote’s life – his southern childhood and his early days in New York; his first literary success with the publication of ‘Other Voices, Other Rooms’; his highly active love life; the groundbreaking excitement of ‘In Cold Blood’, the first “nonfiction novel”; his years as a jet-setter; and his final days of flagging inspiration, alcoholism, and isolation.All his famous society friends and enemies are represented in this veritable cocktail party of Capote’s life – Katherine Graham, Lauren Bacall, Gore Vidal, Joan Didion, William Styron, KurtVonnegut,Norman Mailer, Lee Radziwill, John Huston, John Knowles, William F. Buckley, Jr., and dozens of others.Complete with a chronology of Capote’s life and biographies of the contributors – a veritable Who’s Who of 20th century letters – ‘Truman Capote In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career’ resonates with Capote’s infectious wit and spirit, eliciting the impish genius, his writing, and his indelible effect on the glittering array of personalities who surround him.And no one could better weave these voices together than George Plimpton famous for living the story before writing it.