Book Review : Summer Crossing by Truman Capote

A shocking end to an awry romance and a romance that you perhaps wished, never ignited in the first place.

If like me , you too were allured by the rosy cover, dreamy title and the credible author then perhaps our sentiments would match.

After the raving success of his Non-Fiction Crime novel, In Cold Blood and the darling endeavors of Breakfast at Tiffany's, one hardly expect anything less from Mr. Capote and his ability to enrapture you in a tale simple yet magnificent.
So just like me, you pick this book excitedly dreaming of another masterful story that leaves you longing for more, only to have your expectations sorely hurt.

Feel free to weep your disappointment or swear profusely if you must - I'm not ready to do that just yet.
It's not long before the reader understands the difference between Grady McNeil and Clyde Manzer. A young high society girl and her steamy affair with a working-class gentleman, set in New York soon after World War II (honey, it's never going to work).

Obviously, their relationship is rampant and reckless with barely any room (left) for character development or any ambition. Clyde Manzer seems insipid, Grady made me roll my eyes and before you know it, disaster has struck speedingly chased by tragedy (quite literally).

At this point, every Capote fan would be shaking their heads in disapproval wondering why would anyone want to publish this?
Don't dismiss it just yet. As many flaws and faults, there may be, this is where we see the literary skill of  19-year-old Capote and some skill did he have.

It's simple, well-strung and absolutely gorgeous if you pay attention to the language.  Capote knows how to convey sentiments and emotions with just the right adjectives and trust me when I say, it's a real treat. You can almost see why Capote would have been ashamed of this book since it doesn't really live up to the mark as some of his most renowned work.

For no real reason, I found myself oddly comparing Summer Crossing to Brooklyn by Colm Toibin - both the female leads were filling the empty voids in their lives with, let's say, romance from men not quite from their alley and life doesn't seem to get better from there for either.

My suggestion would be to hang on until the end of Summer Crossing if you could endure it. An author's maiden novel almost always says more about themselves as individuals than the story itself. It's almost like a quick glimpse into their own character before they pursue more successful ventures and I'm certain genuine Capote fans would appreciate this little insight.

Overall Rating: 3/5

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Book Review: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Pardon me if my reviews seem to be on the shorter end lately. As we are already towards the end of August,  my commence toward the book challenge is at snails pace and I REALLY need to get on it.

Pages :  268

Read on : Paperback

Goodreads Rating : 3.34/5

Review: This book is not for everyone. In fact it's not for most people unless you are a literature major or something along those lines. The story follows the humiliation and sufferings of Hester Prynne in the 17th Century. Yup, it's pretty dated. Well-known in the literary world as a stand-out for it's strong outlook on the puritan society and a fair glimpse about what would happen to a woman, if she committed the most heinous crime ever, adultery.  

For a feminist, it's a piece of work that can't be dismissed. Hester Prynne is dis-owned by her towns folk and is branded with a scarlet letter 'A' embroidered on her chest, she's with child and refuses to name the man who she had relations with.  

Despite being a good natured and pious woman, the moment of weakness where she did indulge begins to define her life and starts affecting her child quite adversely. Innocent questions are being asked where Hester has no proper answer to and the townsmen are quick to point fingers at her.  

It took me a good while before I could get past the language. I haven't had much experience in grasping old english other than a few lessons in school and a failed attempt at reading Huckleberry Fin. You'll probably end up needing some references from SparkNotes or other reviewers who are more seasoned than I am. However, the honour element and will to carry out the punishment for as long as she could is commendable. The story did drag on for a good while, it also helped reflect on the burden of having the scarlet letter etched on her bosom. Her 'crime' was unforgivable even though several years had passed by. 

The main reason as to why people read The Scarlet Letter is to understand how progressive it was for something written in 1850. i'm not going to lie, the sole purpose for me to read the book was for that very reason. I didn't enjoy it as my other literary adventures but it was something that needed to be done. I did get bored in a lot of the parts and I guess that would be the reason why Hester's punishment felt endless. 

Not something I would recommend to anyone. I honestly read it just for educational purposes.

Final Rating : 3/5

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Book Review: Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller

Pages :  117

Read on : Kindle

Goodreads Rating : 3.45/5

Review:  This is my first time reading a play other than the ones we read in school. For the longest time I had Arthur Miller in my kindle yet never got to it.

I knew 'Death of A Salesman' was a short story about a man who's life revolves around the notion of his 'success' or what he could do once he would get that success. Willy Loman, delusional, kept chasing that dream of making it big someday despite that fact that he was already well into his 60s.  He lives in his created bubble world where he feels everything is going well and that there is still time to achieve that greatness that he dreams of ever so often. Even though in reality, it's quite the opposite. 

I wouldn't call it a split personality disorder, but more a psychological issue that has gotten to him so much that he doesn't realize what is happening around him. Excepting the truth is not something that has happened till late in his home. His wife, Linda, and sons, Biff and Happy play along to his 'perfect salesman' alter ego until one day everything comes crashing down. Willy has lived his life solely for his career, a career that didn't give him anything but travesty. His family, pretends to be happy and jovial around him. Except his son Biff, who years ago found a secret about his father who he idolized, causing him to despise the man.

Due to the obsession of living the ' American ' dream of success, Happy and Biff feel pressurized leading them to alter facts about their lives too, so that their father doesn't see them as a let down.

I loved it all. It's the perfect tale that will make you think, that even in this day and age what happens when you let work or the idea of achieving monetary success will rob of you of everything good around you. On several occasions in the book, you will notice the boys mentioning how they want to simply enjoy the day, the natural beauty around them without really being worried about money or a 9 to 5 desk job. After all of Willy's big ideas and woven dreams, nothing is left behind. 

Since this is a play, getting to know who the characters are, the flashback scenes and timeline was confusing to me. I got the idea of the story, what it was trying to convey and everything else. Just not the best in terms of placement. May be because it's my first time reading a play.

The great thing about reading a short story/play is that the focus is more on the plot and emotions than the descriptive language, which you know I love. For me this was a much needed change to get more variety in my reading. The language is typical American classic, I could imagine the vintage cars, Linda's dress, Willy's suit, hat and briefcase, the boys' side slicked and lightly coifed hairdo. It definitely was something different for me compared to what I usually read. I would recommend this to readers of all age groups. 

Final Rating : 4/5

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