In their perfectly-balanced companionship young Buddy and his much-older female friend create a harmonious world for themselves filled with loving traditions. I know he was a great writer but I can't help feeling somewhat prejudiced against him since he once said of Joyce Carol Oates that she's “a joke monster who ought to be beheaded in a public auditorium.” Putting aside his personal insecurities and bad behaviour, in this story he perfectly evokes a holiday spirit of cheerful sentiment, friendly goodwill, the evocative warm scents of Christmas baking and a melancholy longing for loved ones we've lost. This is the most lovely Christmas story and unusually sweet for Capote who was such a troubled and viciously distempered individual. In order to carry the tradition on and share this good feeling, I've made a video of myself reading Capote's story aloud which you can listen to here: It was a lovely way to unite people from all over the US and globe who can't physically meet this year because of the pandemic. Though he hasn't held his party for many years, this year he organized a video call with eighty or so guests to watch as he recited the story again. Martin worked professionally as an actor so he's especially good at dramatising and doing the voices in the story. At one point in the party he'd gather everyone around who'd listen in rapt attention while he read aloud Truman Capote's beautiful short story “A Christmas Memory.” This was a decades-long tradition and I was lucky enough to attend one year. Although not written for children, I do think it can be shared with them, with the proviso that parents and guardians be aware that there is loss here, especially in the conclusion.My cousin Martin used to throw a Christmas party in his Boston apartment every year. Recommended to fans of the author, and to anyone looking for short stories set at Christmas. The accompanying artwork done by Beth Peck is absolutely lovely, capturing the close emotional bond between Truman, Cousin Sook, and the lively Queenie. I appreciated that, and I appreciated the poignant conclusion. It is clear that Cousin Sook, in addition to her physical ailments, has some sort of developmental disability, but to the seven-year-old Truman, who considers her his best and only friend in a family of distant (and seemingly cold) relatives, this is entirely irrelevant. I certainly was engrossed in its pages, by turns amused and moved by its narrative. Despite being well familiar with Truman Capote's name, I had never before read any of his work, so A Christmas Memory was my introduction to his writing. This new edition from 2014 contains that artwork, as well as a CD with the narration of Celeste Holm. Declaring, at the end of every November, that "it's fruitcake weather," this childlike grownup, her young boy cousin, and their dog companion Queenie set out to gather the pecans and to purchase the other necessaries for the many cakes they will make and mail.Apparently first published in 1956, this beautifully descriptive and emotionally resonant short story was made into a picture-book, with the artwork of Beth Peck, in 1989. Celebrated American novelist Truman Capote looks back to his childhood in this lovely short memoir, recalling the Christmas customs he observed with his best friend and distant grown relative, Cousin Sook.
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