Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffany's

Author: Truman Capote

Title:  Breakfast at Tiffany's

Published: 1958

Publisher: Random House

Length: 111 pages (plus three short stories)

Genre: Literature

Target age: Adult (suitable for teen and up)
Why I picked it up: On my TBR list
Rating: 3.5 stars
Challenges: 2011 TBR Pile | 100+

Buy: Chapters | Barnes and Noble | Check your local bookstore!

I am happy to report that this book exceeded my expectations! I must admit, I was expecting a duller read as I tend to do with books published before the sixties or so. I read older books generally for the prose and because I feel like it's my duty to, so when I come across a book with a solidly good story or characters, such as this one, I always feel pleasantly surprised. 

The vibe I got from Breakfast at Tiffany's is very similar to the one I get when reading a John Green novel. I feel like Holly Golightly is the Margo Roth Spiegelman of the fifties. I love that, I love the idea that there were people writing about girls like these ages ago, that they've 'always existed'. In this way, the story felt very modern and relatable for me and that was something I wasn't expecting. The plot also felt very fresh and intriguing. I was actually invested in the story, I wanted to know what happened next and was often surprised by what did. Essentially, this story has a solid character that appeals to me and a solid plot that kept me interested.

Similar again to John's style, there were a few lines that instantly stood out to me. All were spoken by Holly, in that casual or not revelatory way characters like her speak occasionally. This made me laugh out loud, mainly because my thoughts immediately preceding this excerpt were 'Is his story about lesbians?':

 "Is that the end?" she asked, waking up. She floundered for something more to say. 'Of course I like dykes themselves. They don't scare me a bit. But stories about dykes bore the bejesus out of me. I just can't put myself in their shoes. Well really, darling," she said, because I was clearly puzzled, "if it's not about a couple of old bull-dykes, what the hell is it about?"

And another quote (I'm paraphrasing and condensing it a bit here) that made me pause and think.

 "...If you let yourself love a wild thing. You'll end up looking at the sky... Believe me, dearest Doc - it's better to look at the sky than live there. Such an empty place; so vague. Just a country where the thunder goes and things disappear."

This next quote is from very near the end of the book and while it isn't really a spoiler, it does sum up the 'theme' or purpose of the story you might want to skip reading it.

 "But what about me?" she said, whispered and shivered again. "I'm very scared, buster. Yes, at last. Because it could go on forever. Not knowing what's yours until you've thrown it away. The mean reds, they're nothing. The fat woman, she nothing. This, though: my mouth's so dry, if my life depended on it I couldn't spit."

I love that quote, it seems very fitting for my life at the morning...I love it when a story comes along and it turns out to be just the sort of thing you need.

 

I may not be explaining why I like this book properly since I'm basically just comparing it to John Green. But John Green is what I love and know and so to make note of this story in that way makes sense to me. If you're not a fan of books from this era, I'd recommend you give this a shot. After all, it's technically a novella and not a too difficult read ;P

Pearl and the Beard - Killing the Darlings

 Artist: Pearl and the Beard

Album: Killing the Darlings

Year: 2011

Length: 32 minutes, 51 seconds

Genre: Folk rock
Why I picked it up: Loved the band's first album

Favourite tracks: Reverend, Sweetness

Random lyric:
Purchase: Vinyl, CD or digital from The Family Records

My first purchase of music released this year! Just a few days after I bought label-mate Lacrymosa's album, Pearl and the Beard released their much-anticipated (for me, at least) follow up to their 2009 album, God Bless Your Weary Soul, Amanda Richardson. The Family Records is a small indie record-label based in New York that manages four artists and has another two on their label. Of the four they manage, I adore Lacrymosa, Wakey!Wakey! and Pearl and the Beard (Casey Shea isn't really my style). I came across the label a few years ago, through AmieStreet (RIP), and am very happy that I did.

From their bio:

Pearl and the Beard is three voices, one cello, one guitar, one glockenspiel, one melodica, several drums, one accordion, ninety-six teeth, and one soul.

There are three main reasons why I adore this band:

1. Use of percussion and cello - hooray for tambourines and hand clapping and toe-tapping beats! Do tambourines and hands count as percussion? In my head they do. As for the cello, who doesn't cello? I like how its played here, either totally into the song or adding to some chill beats (I don't know what I'm talking about either.)
2. Vocals - Jocelyn, Emily and Jeremy have three voices that seem to match/complement each other perfectly in a way I'd never heard before. Their voices really do make it sound as though they share the same soul. They are very nice to listen to.
3. The feeling that you get, that they're just three people having fun making music together and nothing more. It's a refreshing feeling to get from music.

The only 'complaint' I have about this album is the mood of the songs, and that's just a personal preference thing. Most of them are a lot quieter, seemingly more melancholic and introspective than the songs on God Bless. The songs themselves are still very lovely, but I prefer the fun upbeat Pearl and the Beard.

Something I've been thinking a lot about lately is album length. This album is 10 songs, but it's only 32 minutes. I have it in my head that if I'm going to pay $10 for an album that I should get an hour of music. This is most likely a ridiculous demand. Musicians put so much work into crafting their songs. Consider the effort that goes into making a single song, let alone ten. What right do I have to demand more music? As a listener, I should be content with and be able to appreciate whatever a musicians creates for me. I understand all this logic. But still. I can't help but feeling half an hour is not a very long time. I have a lot of albums that come in around the one hour mark. All of my Depeche Mode albums, for example, time between ~45 to ~62 minutes, although granted, that's a totally different style of music. I feel satisfied after listening to an album that length. When an album is less than 35 minutes, I feel like I've been left hanging. Is that just me? Is there an ideal album length? Do I have any right to suggest one? These are questions that I've been thinking about a lot lately. This album spurred a lot of these thoughts, so I thought I'd make note of that.

All in all, though, this is an album probably worth your $8, though I'd recommend you buy their debut album first over this one. Final words, just support the lovely little trio that is Pearl and the Beard.