Truman Capote Enfant Terrible

Description

A close look at the genesis of one of America's great modern writers Robert Emmet Long presents a full account of Truman Capote's early life, making use of Capote's unpublished papers. Topics covered include his strange relationship with his beautiful but immature mother (she was sixteen years old when capote was born) as well as his friendships with a series of rich and talented women. Combining biographical insights with literary criticism, Truman Capote, Enfant Terrible presents a grand overview of a complex and fascinating author: one who remained a child in appearance and behavior; a southerner who strayed from the south; a celebrity while living in the most solitary realm of his vast imagination.

Robert Emmet Long is a recognized critic of American and British literature, and a commentator on the performing arts. He is author or editor of some 30 books and he has contributed over 400 articles to many journals and magazines, including The Nation, Commonweal, and Saturday Review.

"Truman Capote's offbeat heroine Holly Golightly tells us that she'd "rather have cancer than a dishonest heart." If her creator was theatrical and flamboyant, he was also honest, courageous, uncompromising in his fictions, vignettes, sketches, essays. Robert Emmet Long honors his subject by way of a masterful ability to cut through to the generative poetic centers of the work. Truman Capote: Enfant Terrible is a penetrating and seamless study that illuminates Capote's texts even while dramatizing his presence." - William Heyen, author of Shoah Train: Poems, National Book Award Finalist 'Robert Emmet Long brings his deep cultural knowledge and critical talent to bear on the life and work of an exciting writer. Capote was a major character as well as a creator of characters, and Long makes this showmanship and will and eccentricity a large part of his story. Without making extravagant claims, Long shows how Capote enriched our literary Gothic strain, entranced us with his lyricism, pioneered the non-fiction novel, and left his wit and verve on the essay form. Long's sleek and readable account of all this is memorable.' - David Castronovo, author of Edmund Wilson, a New York Times Notable Book "Robert Emmet Long's Truman Capote--Enfant Terrible is a lively and lucidly written portrait of the artist and his work. Combining literary scholarship with a sensitive, clear-eyed exploration of Capote's life, Long's analysis is insightful and enlightening. Truman Capote enthusiasts as well as those seeking an introduction to his work will find this an engaging, perceptive and richly rewarding book." - Peter Quinn is the author of Banished Children of Eve (An American Book Award winner) "Prolific critic Long presents a concise but compelling journey through the works and life of a unique writer in American literature. He begins with a brief and rather shallow sketch of Capote's early life, highlighting his tragic childhood and the relationships the eccentric author maintained with various members of New York's elite. Long draws heavily from Capote's unpublished papers and from Gerald Clarke's Capote: A Biography. This brief sketch, however, sets the stage for a compelling analysis of the effect of the author's tragic life on the gothic nature of his prose. Long brilliantly places each piece in the context of the author's life and of the culture at the time of its release. The book ends with a retrospective contemplation of Capote's influence and place in American letters. Each chapter represents a cogent and concise snapshot of Capote's genius in a specific period, while the entire book becomes a journey through Capote's life, work, and demons placed within the context of American literary culture. Recommended for most libraries." --Library Journal "Long (a prolific author and journalist) stays away from the controversies raised by recent films dealing with Capote at the time of In Cold Blood (e.g., Capote, 2005). He treats Capote as an important writer and avoids the sideshow that followed the author after his early success...Long's analyses combine textual and autobiographical readings. He is indebted to Gerald Clarke, for writing Capote (1988) and editing Too Brief a Treat: The Letters of Truman Capote...Using Clarke, Long writes about Capote's early life and discusses in detail the early stories, their literary influences, and life experiences that blend into storytelling. Long's readings are fresher than those in Helen Garson's Truman Capote: A Study of the Short Fiction (1992). Summing up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, general readers." -A. Hirsh, CHOICE, December 2008 "A primer for someone unfamiliar with Truman Capote....These discussions...compelling in how they bring in themes and influences of other American writers, such as Hawthorne and James...Long's enthusiasm for Capote's writing is evident." - The Gay & Lesbian Review/Worlwide -- James Polchin * G I A Quarterly *