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
