Capote

von Gerald Clarke

One of the strongest fiction writers of his generation, Truman Capote became a literary star while still in his teens. His most phenomenal successes include Breakfast at Tiffanys; In Cold Blood; and Other Voices, Other Rooms. Even while his literary achievements were setting the standards that other fiction and nonfiction writers would follow for generations, Capote descended into a spiral of self-destruction and despair. This biography by Gerald Clarke was first published in 1988-just four years after Capotes death. It was the basis for Capote, the 2005 film starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won an Academy Award for his performance. Clarke paints a vivid behind-the-scenes picture of Capotes life-based on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with Capote himself and the people close to him. From the glittering heights of notoriety and parties with the rich and famous to his later struggles with addiction, Capote emerges as a richly multidimensional person-both brilliant and flawed.