"He is the most perfect writer of my generation, he writes the best sentences word for word, rhythm upon rhythm. I would not have changed two words in Breakfast at Tiffany's" - Norman Mailer on Truman Capote

Were I to type up a list of books I know I should've gotten round to reading but somehow haven't, Breakfast at Tiffany's would've figured pretty high. Until this weekend, that is. Having found it for three quid in a charity shop, I ploughed through it very quickly indeed (it is only a novella, after all, and the writing flows in such a way as to make the act of reading it effortless). Part of the reason I'd avoided Truman Capote in the past was his dismissal of Jack Kerouac (he suggested that Kerouac's work "isn't writing at all; it's typing." The comment always stuck in my craw). But having actually sat down to read him, I've inevitably had to revise my opinion. At first, Holly Golightly comes across as either elusive of just plain unlikable, the type of character who isn't so much as eccentric, but schizophrenic. However, once you understand a bit more about her and her upbringing, she becomes a somewhat tragic figure, one who has created a new identity for herself to disguise past hurts. A third of the way in, I had no expectations of Capote being able to turn me around on her, so full credit to him for pulling it off. It's slight (the unnamed narrator is every bit as insignificant as Nick Carraway proves to be in The Great Gatsby), but it's beautifully written, and certainly worth spending a few hours of your time with.