Music for Chameleons

I found Truman Capote somewhat late in life. After reading In Cold Blood (Modern Library 100 Best Nonfiction Books) I was hooked. Beautiful word man-ship that takes us on a journey into a world dripping with so much color and personality you can literally smell it. Capote is a natural and this book of short stories, to me anyway, highlights his genius. Some of the stories contain multiple pages of conversation that are just a delight. You always know who's speaking and Capote injects some random thought or "coloring in" into the conversation so you are always aware of the surroundings. Some question the authenticity of these stories as in, the names and places thrown around. This is understandable given the catalog of in/famous people he claims to have been in conversation with. For me it matters little as it really changes nothing. I'm dead set on reading pretty much everything he's written and am currently working through "The Grass Harp". It's a shame we lost him to self-abuse, which is eerie given Philip Seymour Hoffman, who played him on screen, went the same way.

Great read

The last new book that Truman Capote saw fully to press, MUSIC FOR CHAMELEONS is a hotchpotch of his writings from his later years, and includes many of his interview pieces (including one of Marilyn Monroe), his later short stories, and "Handcarved Coffins," one of his very finest pieces that alone is worth the price of the book. What unites all these pieces is that at some level they're all more like tales than anything else. A famous raconteur, Truman Capote loved holding an audience spellbound with stories that grew increasingly more improbably as he advanced in years, and these pieces all show his great love for the art of tale-telling. "Handcarved Coffins," which purports to be in the same "true-crime" mode as Capote's most famous IN COLD BLOOD, is actually a dazzling fictional piece that simply reverses the optic of the previous work. Whereas the 1966 book turned real-life murders into artistic form, this novella dreams up a sensational set of revenge murders and presents them as real events, with the effect that many people have believed this to be non-fiction despite the utter implausibility of the killer's crimes (which are each presented as individual works of art, much like the miniature carved caskets he sends each of his victims to announce their coming demises). There are other good pieces in here too, including "Mojave," a short story about a very wealthy Manhattan couple originally intended to go in Capote's final unfinished novel, ANSWERED PRAYERS but that he removed from that other work for being tonally different and published separately. (it is actually much better than any of the three pieces in ANSWERED PRAYERS.)

When my Red Queen died recently, I grabbed your 'Music for Chameleons' and hopped a plane to Paris. It was not the first time I had chosen to take this book of yours along as a traveling companion so to speak. Your journalistic novel of short stories and anecdotes had crossed the Atlantic with me over twenty-five years ago for a family reunion in London, and it got me through a few bumpy days. To tell you the truth, I thought your stories then were fascinating and sometimes hilarious, but this time around, and now that I am older than you today, I read what you wrote more slowly and carefully. I didn't realize what a compassionate man you really were, and how non-judgmental when it comes to those who are having a rough struggle of it all. Whether it was Marilyn Monroe (A Beautiful Child), or your old classmate who self-destructed in his middle years, as you held on to him for dear life after his true confessions (Hello Stranger). But, first I have to tell you that when I opened your novel again, it fell on 'Handcarved Coffins' (A Non Fiction Account of An American Crime). This title made me pause because the first task I had to do on arrival in Paris was to throw my bag into a hotel room, and dash across town to choose an elegant casket that would suit a beautiful woman, known for her exquisite eye, who had requested long before her time came, a small noble funeral in the capital city where she had lived for the majority of her life. All to say, I was paying much more attention to you now, not only as a great American author (your early short stories are among my favorites), but as an individual who is writing towards the end of his life. I will tell you here that although you knew you were ill and failing at the time, your skills were sharper, innovative and brilliant as ever. So this time around, I didn't laugh out loud at your humorous recollections although some of your close calls were pretty funny in retrospect, especially when your friend the great star, Pearl Bailey, comes to your rescue at the airport in Los Angeles (Derring-Do), or you find yourself at night stranded in the middle of nowhere, knocking on the door of a kind woman with permanent cats-on-nap (A Lamp in The Window). Walking with your friend, the professional cleaning woman in New York, on her daily beat was priceless, and at the end when the two of you find yourselves in church after a wild day - Mary: 'Are you praying?' You: 'I'm praying for you, Mary, I want you to live forever' - Mary: 'Don't pray for me. I am already saved. Pray for all those lost souls out there'. And, your quiet and chilling interview with Robert Beausoleil of the Manson Clan (Then It All Came Down). Usually, I am unable to read such material as the latter, but if ever there was a portrayal of a man who is simply a killing machine and whose remaining link with humanity is hanging on the string of a guitar, you were able to write about it. These are just a few of your stories that come to mind here, not least and finally your bout of insomnia when you are tossing and turning, and in the end your memories of childhood come back and your faith in God as well. If I had to sum it up, I would like to think of you today with your wise elderly cousin, Sook, two beautiful paper kites high up in the bluest of crystal skies, long forgiven for having killed a mocking-bird, and enjoying your grandmother's cold banana pudding from Alabama. Hats off to you, Mr. Capote.

J'ai découvert T. Capote à travers ce recueil de récits, à chemin entre la fiction et l'autobiographie au gré des rencontres étranges et parfois rocambolesques qui ont émaillé la vie de Capote. Certains de ces récits m'ont tenue en haleine ne me laissant de répit tant que je n'en avais pas achevé la lecture ! De pures merveilles infernales !

This collection of writings by Truman Capote contains some rather enigmatic short stories (my least favourite part of the book), a 'non-fiction novel' which is wholly gripping if a little inconclusive, and some 'conversational portraits' that vary in tone but are all quite amazing. This does not just contain a piece about Marilynn Monroe, but also how Capote met Willa Cather, and a range of, for example, multiple murders. The writing throughout is great and the content is (with the exception of some of the short stories) of great interest. Capote also seems to understand human nature - interesting reflections on how women who might not look wonderfully attractive can nonetheless not lack for romantic interest in their lives (both in the non-fiction novel and in the final short story). I would very strongly recommend this.

Det är intressant att se hur han använder språket på olika vis i berättelsen "My side of the matters" och sen i "jug of silver".

Leí este libro y el de A Sangre Fría para mi clase universitaria de periodismo. Quedé encantada con los cuentos y relatos ficcionalizados. Mucha gente lo compra por el "portrait" de Marilyn Monroe pero definitivamente va más allá. Es muy de Capote tomar algo de la vida real y darle un toque (como si fuera una foto que subiste a Instagram con un filtro) -le llama non-fiction a los relatos que disque son reales pero ese término tiene sus complejidades. Recomiendo mucho a Truman Capote ya que es uno de los escritores del siglo XX que son indispensables.

This little book only reaffirms my liking for Capote as a writer. What I most admire about his style is his frank and honest look at the world around him. His words are well chosen, and the descriptions sometimes verge on the lyrical. I enjoyed all the pieces contained in this collection, my favourites being ‘Handcarved Coffins’, ‘Mojave’ and ‘A Day’s Work’.