There is something about someone saying good things about someone else that makes me immediately appreciate the someone else in question. That is how I knew I would like Holly Golightly and Truman Capote’s most acclaimed novella, Breakfast At Tiffany’s.
Through the eyes of the unknown young writer and narrator, we can see how a nineteen-year-old girl with a captivating personality, was able to make acquaintances with people from different paths such as the bar owner Joe Bell, the Italian mafioso Sally Tomato and even the millionaire Rusty Trawler and find in all of them a source of admiration.
The story of Holly or Lulamae does not build up very steeply, probably because it was not written in the first person, but mainly because the events are not the focus, but herself and her ideas. No matter how simple she looked, she was real. To me, that is one of the most interesting aspects of a person, their authenticity.
She, like most youngsters, is trying to find her identity but is doing so in a genuine manner, looking for beauty along the way and following her instincts. It is only so often you see her mentioning how she is trying to find what is truly hers, her cat, her street, her apartment, her place in the world.
One of my favorite quotes from the book is when she refuses an opportunity to work in a film that could have made her a star. She’s talking to her wannabe agent, O. J. Berman, from New York:
“‘She says, this is Holly, I say, honey, you sound far away, she says I’m in New York, I say what the hell are you doing in New York when it’s Sunday and you got the test tomorrow? She says I’m in New York cause I’ve never been to New York. I say get your ass on a plane and get back here, she says I don’t want it. I say what’s your angle, doll? She says you got to want it to be good and I don’t want it, I say well, what the hell do you want, and she says when I find out you’ll be the first to know.’”
Holly is proof that being open to the universe, to the hardships, to the criticism, to adventure and to love is inspirational and it pays off.
I found this to be an easy, quick, and pleasant read and Capote got it right to have this piece written with such a simple, light, and charming aura, that is so Holly Golightly.
Have you ever read it? What did you think?
Your friend,
Ana Zarb
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