Truman Capote, George Plimpton

I’ve never read any of Capote’s books. I’ve only seen him on old Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett shows. His voice and flamboyance stick out the most.. which many of his friends in this book stated that’s the first thing they remember about him when meeting him for the first time. Capote – the writer of In Cold Blood, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.. that’s what I knew. This book is all interviews with hundreds of friends of his. Direct quotes from them on his life from the day he was born until the day he died at the age of 60.

He was superstitious (ex: he would not allow 3 cigarette butts in the same astray, etc.. it's endless; he wore very interesting apparel; he grew up next to the famous writer Harper Lee and they were friends, had a good relationship; writing in cold blood – visiting Kansa and writing the book; the executions of Dick and Perry which Capote attended (they were hanged); the reaction to In Cold Blood by the general public; his Black and White Ball; his debacle with high society after Answered Prayers sections appeared in Esquire; Studio 54; the downfall of drugs and alcohol on him; dying at Joanne Carson’s house. He was a sad man… longing for attention, the willingness to out his friends to get noticed. Social life swallowed him. He was 86’ed from high society NYC.. something he thought would never happen. And after it did, he couldn’t come back. He existed in tiny vignettes of limited dimensions and his ego got the better of his talent. He sold himself – his talent along with his health  - for money and publicity. Unfulfillment can rip you apart inside and out.. and it did here.