I’m a big Audrey Hepburn fan but I was never much of fan of the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” There didn’t seem to be anything to it, just a lightweight romantic comedy. I read an essay about the book, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” though and how it wasn’t really anything like the movie. It was darker, with an edge. That is more of what I would expect from Truman Capote. So this book has been on my TBR list for some time.

The book is really a novella. And indeed it is darker. Holly Golightly is basically a prostitute. I mean she accepts money from men as a price for her companionship, lots of men (about $35 to $50, to “tip the lady’s room attendant.”) She also gets paid about $100 a week for about an hour of work visiting a crime boss in Sing Sing and giving and receiving coded messages. The book is about the friendship between her and an unnamed narrator over the course of a year or so. They are both tenants in a brownstone. They guys like Holly and they spend some time together and she is a fun girl to be with.

Anyway, she gets in trouble because of the business with the crime boss, and the book ends pretty suddenly and no loose ends are tied up.

I loved the book. It has an edge to it. I just can’t see Audrey Hepburn playing a prostitute though.

I give the book at 3.5 stars out of five. Give it a shot. Your library has it. Won’t cost you a thing. I’ll be reading more Truman Capote. He is most famous of course for “In Cold Blood.” I am not sure that I’m up for it quite yet.