Truman Capote: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Will anyone help me understand why this book is so popular? Why did they make a movie based on it? Why do you have to read this book in one seating? I simply can’t put my finger on it.

The story’s told by a nameless narrator and it centres on Holly Golightly – a young actress living in New York of early 40ties, constantly going out and charming rich men in order to find her place in the world, the place where she belongs. Until then she’s travelling. We don’t know much about the main characters, the narrator remains nameless, we only know he’s a writer still waiting to be discovered. We don’t know much about Holly’s past and future. Although the past is slowly revealed the main focus remains on the present – the unusual selection of people Holly attracts and their interests in staying close to her. All this in the light of the interesting and touching relationship between her and our narrator.

In a way it’s a sad story of a girl looking for her destiny not really knowing where it might be hiding. She compares herself to a wild animal or to a hawk whose nature doesn’t let him settle in one place, with one person.

And there’s the movie of course. With lovely Audrey Hepburn, with the beautiful Moon River song. I still don’t know why but both the book and the movie have charmed me so much that I think I’ll put the movie on this evening, just to hear the song again, just to live in that New York again. And would you believe that this whole story, all this charm, all this real and non-happy ending tale is covered on less than 100 pages? And I already miss it and I still don’t know why…

My rating: YYYYY

Michael Cunningham: The Hours

I haven’t read anything by Virginia Woolf nor know much about her apart from what I saw in the movie version of this story. And even that was quite a long time ago.

This book is a uniquely written story, almost difficult to believe it was written by a man. It’s a story of three women each living in a different city and at different times – London of the 1920s, Los Angeles of the 40s and New York at the end of twentieth century. Even though they live in such different times they share similar dilemmas about lives they are living – kind of “is this really it?” feeling.

“There's just this for consolation: an hour here or there when our lives seem, against all odds and expectations, to burst open and give us everything we've ever imagined ... Still, we cherish the city, the morning; we hope, more than anything, for more.“

We meet Virginia Woolf as she’s living in Richmond writing her book and trying to recover her health. Clarissa is the new Mrs Dalloway from Woolf’s book, only living in New York and in new times, watching her friend slowly die of AIDS. And Laura Brown is a pregnant mother of one who’s trying hard to be a good housewife. Though that isn’t exactly who she feels she’d like to be.

I’ve read a few reviews around before reading the book and seen comments that crying over a cake which is not perfect or throwing a party to a dying friend is just pathetic but how true it is! I think it is a perfect picture of how weird and messed up woman’s nature can be sometimes. And that’s one of the reasons I find it hard to believe that it was written by a man.

Full of interesting characters, especially in the New York episodes, The Hours it interesting to read, it does makes you think about things you appreciate in your life. I truly enjoyed reading this book although I don’t think I would like to read it if I was feeling a bit down as I don’t think it would pick up the mood in any way!

My rating: YYYYY