Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Capote, Truman (Vol. 19) - Gordon Merrick

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GORDON MERRICK

There is nothing [in Breakfast at Tiffany's] for anybody in search of a "major" novelist but at his best, Capote is very, very good, as is illustrated by the fragment called "A Christmas Memory" which appears at the end of this collection…. It is full of kitchen smells and tastes, of outdoor excursions to gather nuts and holly, of the world of things and of childlike human warmth. One is tempted to quote, but it is contrived of so many small touches that one would be obliged to quote it all to convey its whole flavor. It is nostalgic but the observation never blurs or softens, it is affectionate but never sentimental. It is also very funny. One would like it to go on and on but it soon stops. The public image of the author, wan and recumbent, comes to mind and one is grateful that he has found the energy to write this much.

On the other hand, there is the "short novel" which gives this book its title. I think it is fair to assume that...

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1. Introduction
2. Carlos Baker
3. Leslie A. Fiedler
4. Virginia Bennett
5. Granville Hicks
6. Richard Hayes
7. Eric Bentley
8. Henry Hewes
9. Paul Darcy Boles
10. William Goyen
11. Gordon Merrick
12. John Hollowell
13. BENJAMIN DeMOTT
14. Stefan Kanfer
15. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
16. Helen S. Garson
17. Copyright

1. Truman Capote