Rating: 
Summary: Was this ever turned into a movie?
Review: Vivid images, lyrical descriptions, emotions so real you felt them along with the protagonist. This novel is actual in topic and writing. It stood the test of time. It would make a great screen play. Peter Whitman's talent certainly contributed to the pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: Why?
Review: Why this book isn't better known is beyond me. It is Capote's best work and it is one of the few complete and satisfying books on the market, even if it was written decades ago. The story is told by a child narrator (think Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, or McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD) and we follow the story as he allows us to. The characters are just brilliant and well-developed without pages and pages of background. I read somewhere that the critics blasted Capote for his "Gothic" book, so many years ago when it came out. One example of things they had trouble with was a red tennis ball that the ill father used to drop down the stairs when he wanted to communicate with the others in the house. How is that gothic? At any rate, this is a concise book that is perfect in form, length, and content. Please, please, please do youself a favor and add this to your list of "must haves."Also recommended: Gerald Clarke's bio on Capote and McCrae's Bark of the Dogwood--a tour of Southern homes and gardens.
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