Wow, what a story! Reads more like a spectacular novel than biography...
An absolutely fantastic insight into elite society's beloved (and soon after, elite society's abhorred) and eccentric Puck who enrapts everyone in his midst with wild tales, crazy antics, and just the peculiarities of his odd character. For many years, Truman enjoyed the intimacy of friendship, and, supposedly confidence, with (the wives of) presidents, kings, business moguls and Hollywood's nobility of which Clark has researched and presented with wonderful insights from Truman's closest friends, great nay-sayers and, at times, even enemies. The biography sexually links Capote with such notable artists as Tennessee Williams, Gore Vidal--and perhaps Albert Camus--to Errol Flynn, and Marlon Brando! Naturally, one knows of the homosexuality present in the artistic community, but to see it on paper, seems almost lascivious if not for Capote's frailties. Not only Capote's writings, but his grand orchestrations of spectacular peoples' lives, garnered glamorous attention in the US as well as around the globe, but unfortunately, he never escapes his desperate need of love and attention formed through an abusive childhood and eventually it becomes his undoing.

I bought this book partly because I so enjoyed Gerald Clarke's biography of Judy Garland, "Get Happy," and Clarke does not disappoint. "Capote" is meticulously researched and yet reads like the most entertaining novel, it's so interesting and filled with such extraordinary characters. I've always been fascinated by Truman Capote, and Clarke has done a wonderful job of bringing him to life in a very balanced, human way.

I found this excellent biography entertaining in two ways: for the true and hard way Capote's life was captured, highs and lows and everything in between, and for the prose itself that was very fine, I thought. I am a Southerner myself, from very close to Capote's South Alabama, and can vouch for the authenticity of the portrayal of his early years. I think this book is a must-read for fans of southern lit or southern writers, a wonderful companion to Plimpton's latest on Capote. Capote was lucky to have this biographer; he would have been pleased.

Every sentence in this book is like a jewel on a necklace. Capote was famously charming in life, and his charm translates to the page, for this is one of the most charming books I've ever read. While I did not like the recent movie version of this book, I would like to relate that the director chose to direct it after he asked a movie-friend, "What is the greatest novel you've ever read that has never been made into a movie?" The movie-friend said, "THE GRASS HARP." That movie-friend had taste in books. There are rumors that Harper Lee never wrote a second book after TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, because Truman Capote more or less wrote TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD for her! And without Capote by her side, she couldn't really "write" another book. A GRASS HARP has the same kind of charm that MOCKINGBIRD did, so that story is almost believable. (Capote was a close friend of Harper Lee's since childhood, and was the prototype for the character Dew in MOCKINGBIRD.) THE GRASS HARP is a famous book, but not as famous as it should be.

Truman Capote was best known for Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood. However, his real gifts to the world are among the less well known. When Capote writes stories that have their origins and influence from his childhood, his pen is like a magic wand that transports the written word into a thing of exquisite beauty that lifts a gossamer curtain so that the reader gains the miracle of the musical vision that this most gifted writer was able to create. His tale, The Grass Harp is simple and true, achingly revealing of the needs of the human heart. Give yourself the favor of reading this gentle and moving visit into the heart of one of our gifted legends: Truman Capote.

If you were one of those people who had someone in your childhood speak to your heart, if someone showed you the stars and told you family stories and made you feel connected to a great huge human family, then you will love this book. If no one did this for you, then Truman Capote will. Take this book to a quiet place and let your heart soar. It is so beautiful it is hard to imagine somone knew how to make all the words fit so well to express such wondrous things.

The Grass Harp is a perfect and beautiful piece of American fiction. I have read this novel at least ten times, and each time it moves me. The language is rich and textured, the characters are real and true, the story is simple and touching. To read Capote is to fall in love with an American South that is no more- a time and place that can only exist in the imagination.

I read this one only in Japanese,but it has been one of my best storys. I think this is not as perfect as "Other voice,_" but,or therefor,I can feel something that I used to have,and now gone enywhere,from this novel.

I ESPECIALLY LIKED IT WHEN SISTER IDA CAME INTO TOWN.HER 15 CHILDREN NEEDED TO APPEAR MORE OFTEN.I WAS IN LOVE WITH THE CROSSED EYED TWIN

This short collection contains some of the greatest photos, and some of the most memorable, of marilyn monroe. the essay by truman capote was charming and showed us a good deal of the real marilyn. my only complaint is that it ended too soon.

This book features a wide variety of wonderful photographs of Marilyn Monroe. It spans her very earliest photographs before she was a star, up to some of the last ones ever taken of her. In between are movies photos, publicity photos, and some candid photos that show her in a more thoughtful mood. The text by Truman Capote is very touching to read and reveals how vulnerable, yet worldly wise, Ms. Monroe was. This book is a treasure trove of wonderful photographs!

I think that the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" is completely true in Marilyn's case. Just looking at the pictures you can see her real zeal for life and yet her horrifying sorrow. Her life speaks without words of the sad times before medicine was properly dispensed for depression and the like. She had many up's in her life, yet the sad is what remains in our minds for her. I really learned alot of the value that life holds and the cold value that the movie industry holds for life as well. I feel that learning even the sad lessons such as MM's is very important for everyone of any age.

They say that there is a very thin line between that of the genius and the maniac. As for Mr. Brando this is definetely true. The interview with Capote is very akward and he seems as cynical as Holden Caufield and this by itself is not a good thing. Marlon Brando : Portraits and Film Stills 1946-1995 by Truman Capote (Editor), Lothar Schirmer (Editor) is a wonderfull biography with very nice photographs and exceptional movie stills. Highly Recommended.

What an incredible book...I am not usually in the habit of buying books, but I couldn't resist when I saw the cover!! I am a huge Marlon Brando fan...an understatement to say the least. I have been hooked since I first watched "A Streetcar Named Desire." I don't think that there has been a more beautiful actor (and that even includes Paul Newman!) I have managed to get my hands on every Brando movie possible!! He had more than just a beautiful face though; there was a presence about him that was just mesmorizing! I get very upset when people speak of Brando's wasted talent, or what a sad joke his life has become..........we will always have his films and portraits to cherish! As it was stated in his biography, the world definitely "heard" from Marlon Brando!

Long before "In Cold Blood," Capote mastered the form of the non-fiction novel with this stunning little work. This story follows Truman to Russia on the first cultural exchange between our two countires - a touring company of "Porgy and Bess." This book is much lighter in tone and premise than "In Cold Blood." Capote is in perfect pitch here. If "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is one of your favorites, as it is most assuredly one of mine, you will adore this book. Don't miss it.

This short book originally appeared in two parts in The New Yorker during the mid-1950s. A masterpiece of reportage, it reads like a comic novel as Capote tells delightfully the true story of an American theatre company's travels to the Soviet Union during the cold war to perform the musical "Porgy and Bess." With Truman and his perfect prose as our guide, every satirical detail is vivid, every personal eccentricity is slyly chronicled, and the portrait of a freezing cold Russia is humane and indelible. We finish the book not only charmed and amused but also feeling that we were there. The book is a rare pleasure, and predates the author's more famous "nonfiction novel" ("In Cold Blood") by a decade. Incidentally, over the years "The Muses Are Heard" has also been reprinted in several larger Capote anthologies: "Selected Writings," "The Dogs Bark" and "A Capote Reader."

The book and the film, while both fantastic, are very different creatures. Both can stand on their own quite well. While I prefer the idea of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golighty, I like Holly herself in the book far better. She is a very frightened little girl (really, a girl-she is only 19), unsure of herself in a crazy, mixed-up world. She, of course, doesn't help the situation any. She is constantly looking for something-anything-to make her comfortable with herself and with her surroundings.

The book, unlike the film, has the correct ending. The first time I saw the film, I had not read the book. And, yet, I could tell that the ending-as sweet and fairy-tale as it is-could not possibly be the right one. Holly is searching for something that she will never and can never find. I often wonder what Capote thought of the film's ending. Did he like it?? Or did he find it a complete cop out??

I did my Junior Paper on Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood," and while doing research in the NY Public library, I came across this book. It was by and far the most helpful of the sources I found. This is a compilation of various essays from literary critics who comment on many of Capote's works. I firmly believe that this book gave me a solid foundation in the analyzing of Mr. Capote's novel as well as a better understanding and familiarity with the idiosyncrasies of his works. I would recommend this book to anyone who is attempting to gain critical input on Capote, as well as to anyone who is simply interested in Capote's writing. The obvious drawback is the stratospheric price, but if you can stomach it, this book offers nothing but quality.

Three very touching short stories by Capote that are sure to bring back memories of your own childhood in some way or another. Capote has the power to somehow make everyone relate to his experiences in a way some authors can't. So good that I own the book and "A Christmas Memory" makes me cry every time I read it...every single time. Touching stories about how little his family had but how much he was loved by Sook and how happy that love made him. Great book!

Truman Capote does an amazing job of telling us three delightful stories of a young boy's favorite Christmas & Thanksgiving memories. Told with the candor and innocence that only a child can hold, you'll fall in love with Buddy and his favorite Aunt Sook. Buddy's love and affection for his dear Aunt Sook are evidenced in how he refers to her throughtout the stories...always calling her "my friend." Buddy & Sook will feel like your friends too! Plagued by a painful childhood and seemingly drawn on Capote's own life, Buddy is the victim of his parent's bitter divorce and custody battle and ends up living with his spinster aunts & hermit like uncle. It is during his time living here, that he recalls some of his most cherished memories. You'll remember the troubles of your youth as well as be amazed at this young boy's insightfulness. A great holiday tradition would be to re-read this book once a year.

While as other reviewers have stated, these three stories unfailingly and unflinchingly touch the heart and celebrate the spirit in ways far too many holiday tales only aspire to, Capote's stories, like his longer finished works like IN COLD BLOOD, are also pure literary delights. The characters of Buddy, Miss Sook, Odd Henderson, and Buddy's New Orleans father are richly individual and fully realized, yet resonant of some of the most colorful characters in the vast and lovely muddy swamp of Southern literature. Capote has often been reviled as a dissipate, degenerate, and decadent social butterfly, but these tales show him to hold the highest moral standards, of such degree that his defamers could never mete. The appeal of his work is wide and varied. There is a bit of the Dickensian in his characters as well as echoes of Faulkner, Tenessee Williams, Flannery O'Connoer and his chum, Carson McCullers. Stylistically, if one listens carefully, Poe and Melville, even Hawthorne and Cooper, and especially Capote's beloved Proust ring through and true. Truly, a holiday treat. Read it annually.