| Title | : | Travessia de Verão |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 9722031872 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9789722031875 |
| Language | : | Portuguese |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 130 |
| Publication | : | First published October 25, 2005 |
A noção de amor e de juventude tenaz está mais que viva na espantosa história que encerra este manuscrito esquecido. Passado em Nova Iorque, logo a seguir à Segunda Guerra Mundial, Travessia de Verão é a história de uma jovem abastada e descontraída, Grady McNeil, que os pais deixam por sua conta no apartamento com terraço de família na Fifth Avenue durante todo o Verão. Largada à sua sorte, Grady deixa subir a temperatura no caso secreto que anda a ter com um judeu nativo de Brooklyn, veterano de guerra, que trabalha como vigilante de um parque de estacionamento. À medida que a estação passa, o romance torna-se mais sério e moralmente ambíguo, e Grady acaba por ter de tomar uma série de decisões que irão afectar para sempre a sua vida e as vidas de toda a gente em seu redor.
Travessia de Verão Reviews
-
Two decades after Capote's death, along came Summer Crossing, his unpublished first novel, written when he was barely out of his teens. It was supposedly left behind in his abandoned Brooklyn flat after the huge success of In Cold Blood. In the afterward of this book there is uncertainty as to whether he wanted it published at all. In 2005 after Philip Seymour Hoffman portrayed Capote quite brilliantly, there was a surge in reading him again, so it's unsurprising that the deceased author's publishers decided to cash in. It bothers me somewhat when unfinished drafts are published after the writer is no longer here, unless of course a forgotten masterpiece is unleashed upon the world. Sadly, this short novel is far from being that, but there are flashes of the marvelous writer he turned out to be.
His prose here and there is glorious, and the seventeen-year-old central character of Grady McNeil feels like a lighter drawn version of Holly Golightly: dazzling in the eyes of those around her, but spiraling into a mode of self-destruction.
Grady is inebriated by a great freedom as well as by booze, after her parents travel abroad to check out their villa on the Riviera, leading Grady on a path to every parent's worst nightmare: a teenager gone wild. After hanging out with childhood friend Peter Bell (who wishes he could marry her) she falls for someone who is clearly of a completely different class, a poor Jewish car-park attendant from Brooklyn named Clyde, who also happens to be a homophobic macho war veteran. And it's here that Capote really struggles as to how to portray Clyde, who is a world from the likes of Grady and Peter. There is a moment when one is trying to seduce the other in her parent's swanky Fifth Avenue apartment but it all comes across as rather unsexy in the end. Over the course of the summer we meet family and lower-class friends of Clyde, who can be seen as caricatures, revealing Capote's disdain for the class which he sprang from. One thing Capote does excel on though, is his sensuous evocations of New York at the time, with the wonders of Broadway, the clubs, the parties, the feeling this really is a city that never sleeps.
As a first try at fiction, overall, it wasn't bad at all. But if Breakfast at Tiffany's is a lively cocktail you would want to drink again and again, then Summer Crossing would be something more along the lines of a weak sparkling wine: bubbly, sharp, but not memorable on the palate. -
This novel, found by chance and published posthumously, is chronologically the first novel by Truman Capote.
Why did young Truman not want to publish this initiatory tale written in his youth?
The writing style is already daring and poetic. The author combines, in turn, the initiatory quest, social tragedy and intimate drama. In addition, he shows great finesse in the psychological analysis of the characters.
This novel exudes a skin-deep sensitivity that moves. However, it lacks a bit of depth and intensity to convince. -
Summer Crossing: Truman Capote's True First Novel
Summer Crossing appears to be Capote's true first novel which he abandoned. In fact, the manuscript was among papers left in an apartment in the care of a house sitter. Capote instructed the house sitter to put all papers on the street to be picked up as garbage. The anonymous house sitter recognized the value of what Capote considered trash, holding on to the caches of papers, including this novel for more than fifty years until his death.
A relative of the house sitter who also recognized the value of the lost Truman papers swiftly carted them off to Sotheby's. Through Capote's Literary Trust and some negotiation with Sotheby's, the Trust successfully protected the publication rights to all papers.
The sale would be limited to physical possession of the documents, but the purchaser could do nothing by way of publication of any of the documents. Ironically, not one person bid on the Truman papers, thanks to the legal maneuvering of the Truman Literary Trust. Today the papers are in their proper place with other known Capote papers at the New York Public Library. "Summer Crossing" was published in 2004 by Random House.
The big question is why didn't Capote want "Summer Crossing" published. Robert Linscott, Capote's editor at Random House told him it was too conventional, that it was good, but it did not reach the level of excellence Capote had achieved with his short fiction. In fact, Linscott told Capote that any writer could have written it.
Perhaps the deciding factor was Capote's lover's opinion. Jack Dunphy told him that the novel was "thin," a word that sends a chill up the spine of any writer. Capote told Linscott he had torn the novel up. The further I read in Clarke's biography,
Capote, the more I become convinced that truth was a very relative word to Capote. At times, Capote seems to have invented his life story as he went along.
"Summer Crossing" refers to two distinct crossings during a long hot summer in New York. Lucy and Lamont McNeil are making an Atlantic crossing to see what the Germans have left of their European holdings.
Crossing on the Queen Mary
Oh, yes. They're quite wealthy. They have a penthouse apartment on 5th Avenue. While away, Lucy intends on the finest fashion designers to make their daughter Grady's Debutante dress.
The second crossing is Grady's from adolescent to woman. She is seventeen. Going to Paris is of no interest to her whatsoever. Mrs. McNeil thinks that young Peter Bell is the reason for Grady's reluctance to leave the city for the Summer. However, Grady only considers Peter her best friend.
Why, oh why, couldn't Grady be more like her older sister Apple, married, with child, nice house, go getter husband? Apple, which happened to be the only thing Lucy could eat during her pregnancy, leaves her supposedly older and wiser daughter to look after Grady. So it goes.
The Second World War is over. New York is an exciting place to be.
A girl has lots of opportunities.
Being the rebellious sort, Grady falls for Clyde Manzer, a parking lot attendant where she keeps her baby blue convertible Buick, a veteran who bulges with every muscle he built during the war, a full head of wavy black hair, and a way of showing his appreciation for a good looking girl. Taking a girl to the Central Park Zoo will do it every time.
Clyde invites Grady to meet his family to attend his nephew's bar mitzvah. Oh? I didn't tell you he was Jewish? And you were wondering where the conflict was coming in. Let's call it cultural.
Clyde's family can't figure out why he's bringing a shiksa blonde home with him. Conflict ensues when Clyde's sister Ida invites Clyde's nice Jewish fiancee, Rebecca, over to join the party. There, that should liven things up. Yes, it sure does.
Clyde moves into Grady's parents penthouse apartment. Hormones and pheromones are erupting left and right. Bodily fluids are exchanged on a regular basis. In that maddening state of love, what's a star-crossed couple to do but go over to Jersey and get married at 2a.m.?
Then, what should Grady discover but she is PREGNANT! Mother and Father are due back in less than a month!
Apple suggests they call a doctor to fix things. However, Grady reminds her of a friend they lost who bled to death on a public toilet.
What to do, what to do?
Ladies Home Journal, January, 1946
Yes! Never underestimate the power of a woman! But can this marriage be saved? I'm not going to tell you. You'll just have to read it yourself.
Just know that Grady has many rivers to cross.
The Queensborough Bridge
You may consider my review a bit flippant. I suppose it is. Grady's naivete can be grating. But this book is worth the read. Hmmm, this might be considered the first Truman Capote Summer Beach Read!
Here are the halting beginnings of a master observer of human behavior. Capote was only nineteen when he submitted the draft to Random House. I understand Capote keeping it under wraps. He knew he could do better. But, I daresay, if not for the booze and the drugs, Capote would have returned to this one, one day. It would have been a helluva book, too. Yet, even in her naivete, I can see the character of Holly Golightly taking shape that would explode from the pages of
Breakfast at Tiffany's.
In a way it is fitting that "Summer Crossing," a novel Capote did not want published, and
Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel serve as odd bookends to a remarkable literary life.
This one draws a 3.5 rating. -
"You published that mess?! Oh darling no..." is probably what Capote said from his grave about Summer Crossing, a posthumously published early work. This sketch about a confused young girl's misguided love needs polish, a whole lotta polish. There are lines within a generally beautifully written Summer Crossing that stick out for their clunky dullness. Thus it reads like the first draft that it is, a first draft written by a master wordsmith, mind you! But as Hemingway said, "The first draft of anything is shit."
-
Like Harper Lee, her friend Truman Capote had a book that he drafted and then abandoned, never meaning for it to be published. As with Ms. Lee, someone decided to publish Capote's unfinished business anyway. It's short and quickly over, so little time to fret over it.
I greatly enjoyed it. There isn't much plot or character development, but that man knew how to put a beautiful sentence together. The ending is one I didn't see coming and left me wondering what will happen next, until I realized I knew without a doubt. -
I adored this book. It may not be as polished as many of his later works, and some of the characters not half as developed, but it's a nice little novella to read on a warm, sunny afternoon, and there are some moments within it that are simply magical, written so beautifully that the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
Although some may argue that there are not nearly enough of these moments to make reading the book worthwhile, I would argue that its rough and ready nature is what makes it so alluring.
Grady McNeil is something a bit different by way of a heroine, and she seems to have very little knowledge of what she wants and what she needs, but she is enticing enough for the reader to be completely absorbed in her world.
The ending is confusing, and not quite in keeping with the rest of the novel, but maybe this could be because Mr. Capote had no idea where to take it, and so he just allowed it to reach a rather literal dead end.
We will never know, but although hardly his best work, there's something abit magical in every page of this book. -
«Lasciarono che nella stanza calasse l'oscurità: la superficie morbida e flessibile delle loro voci si muoveva e sospirava attorno a loro, e anche se dicevano cose del tutto prive d'importanza era già tanto che potessero usare le stesse parole, applicare gli stessi valori”.
Grady O’Neil, diciassettenne figlia di una delle più prestigiose famiglie newyorkesi, approfitta dell’assenza dei genitori, partiti per una vacanza estiva, per stare con il fidanzato Clyde Manzer, parcheggiatore ebreo con cui ha instaurato una relazione segreta. I giorni trascorrono rapidi, l’estate va avanti e tanti sono i risvolti di questo amore burrascoso, morboso e indecifrabile. Infantile, ingenua ed immatura, Grady, è preda di emozioni che non sa gestire, di una voglia di vivere e di assaporare che non ha confini tanto che finisce col ritrovarsi invischiata in situazioni al limite. A complicare il tutto si aggiunge la presenza di Peter Bell, amico di famiglia, di lei da sempre segretamente innamorato. In appena un centinaio di pagine il libricino prende forma caratterizzandosi per l’essere una perfetta fotografia di quella società newyorkese illuminata dalla scintillante Central Park ed offuscata dalla squallida quotidianità di Brooklyn, e distinguendosi per la presenza di questi personaggi eclettici e peculiari. Se la giovane è mossa dall’inquietudine, dalla bramosia, dalla fame di vivere, i due ragazzi, Peter e Clyde, sono gli opposti della sua esistenza, individui che prendono forma e sostanza soltanto quando presenti nel suo cono di luce, nonché sintesi delle contraddizioni che la medesima incarna e rappresenta.
Seppur breve presenta uno spaccato di letteratura da conoscere ed apprezzare per la sua essenza e la sua storia. -
Un roman ușor, frumos și numai bine de citit vara!
"Vara, care înseamnă umbră și mușchi verde, catifelat, pulsa prin venele frunzelor de violete și Grady și-a strivit de obraji răcoarea lor parfumată." -
Shocking ending for seemingly like a romantic comedy. This has more verve and is more direct than his
Breakfast at Tiffany's (4 stars). The slow build worked for me. While reading, I was taking this book lightly because I almost always doubt this manuscript-of-a-dead-famous-writer-found-in-the-cellar/attic-of-his-house thing. It is either there really is a manuscript but it is unfinished, e.g.,
Suite Française (1 star) or maybe the author did not really want his book to be published. In either case, the book would only appeal to eager beaver fans of the author.
However, I still prefer Breakfast over this one because this has a thinner plot, less interesting conflicts and fewer memorable characters. Capote did not want this to be published because he thought that this was "thin, clever, unfelt" (Source: Wiki). After all, this was his first written novel. His first published work that made him known was his
Other Voices, Other Rooms.
Grady is a 17-y/o girl who decides not to join her parents and sister to the family's annual vacation. This time, in France. The reason? She is eyeing this good-looking boy who mans the parking lot. She is pretty (tall, cropped blond hair, flawless skin) so she is not thirsty for attention. In fact, she foregoes of Peter who is equally handsome and lovable. Grady fancies the parking attendant more whose name is Clyde.
Sounds like a Harlequin book, right? Yes, that was the reason why, up to that part (halfway of the book), I took it lightly. You see, I am in this quest of completing all the Capote books. I am his fan and I'd like to be his completist, i.e., a reader who has read all of the author's main/published works. This is my second to the last Capote.
But the ending is jaw-dropping. I did not expect it. I was loving the common local touch of Capote and I thought that this was his version of
Bonjour tristesse (3 stars) because Capote was 24 when he wrote this novel with a 17-y/o as the female main protagonist. However, Capote is Capote and he is better, in my opinion, than Francoise Sagan and Capote proved it by giving the final punch towards the end of the novel. Sagan got knocked out. The ending decides the winner.
Nicely done. -
"E o senzaţie magică să poţi urmări persoana iubită dormind, inconştient că e privit, eliberat de sub orice control, îţi dă impresia, preţ de un dulce moment, că-i ţii inima în mână ; vulnerabil, oricât ar părea de iraţional, în clipele acelea este tot ce-ai crezut tu cândva că este . bărbatul pur, tandru ca un copil."
”Când schimbăm marca țigărilor pe care le fumăm, când ne mutăm în alt cartier, când ne abonăm la alt ziar, când ne îndrăgostim sau punem punct unei legături, nu facem decât să protestăm, în felurite chipuri, ușuratice sau profunde, împotriva monotoniei, cu neputință de nediluat, a vieții de zi cu zi. Din nefericire, toate oglinzile sunt la fel de trădătoare și, la un anumit punct al noii aventuri, reflectă acceași față vană și nesatisfăcută; și, de obicei, când te întrebi 'ce-am făcut?', îți spui de fapt, 'ce fac?” -
Summer Crossing
Summer Crossing è il primo romanzo di Truman Capote
Un romanzo che iniziò a scrivere a soli 19 anni, a cui continuò a lavorare per un decennio, ma che non volle mai pubblicare.
E poi?
E poi ,per caso, è stato ritrovato nella sua vecchia casa di Brooklyn, tra lettere e scartoffie, scritto a mano su dei quaderni ...
e quindi pubblicato ,solo pochi anni fa !
Romanzo giovanile, dunque, anche per tematiche,
che racconta l'incontro d'estate ,in una New York afosa e affascinante, tra Grady e Clyde.Grady è una ragazza viziata, ribelle, con la smania di crescere e di fare nuove esperienze di una impulsiva diciassettenne,Clyde è più grande, ha 23 anni,è un veterano di guerra, uno che sbarca il lunario come posteggiatore , con l'aria da duro , più esperto, ma in fondo...
Romanzo acerbo?
Forse.
Ma non nella scrittura, molto piacevole , affilata, esatta, sicura ,già matura .
Altro protagonista della storia Peter, l'amico d'infanzia di Grady (a me è piaciuta molto la descrizione della loro complicità :) )
Lasciarono che nella stanza calasse l'oscurità:la superficie morbida e flessibile delle loro voci si muoveva e sospirava attorno a loro, e anche se dicevano cose del tutto prive d'importanza era già tanto che potessero usare le stesse parole, applicare gli stessi valori.Grady disse :" Da quanto tempo mi conosci,Peter?"
E Peter : "Da quella volta che mi facesti piangere: eravamo a una festa di compleanno e tu mi rovesciasti un sacco di gelato e di torta sul vestitino alla marinara.Oh eri una bambina molto cattiva."
"Sono diversa adesso? Tu sei sicuro di vedermi come sono in realtà?"
"No" ,disse lui, ridendo,"e nemmeno lo vorrei."
"Perché potrei non piacerti?"
"Se pretendessi di vederti come sei in realtà vorrebbe dire che ti ho liquidata, che ti trovo noiosa e senza spessore"
PS. vedi ,a volte ,a riordinare lo scantinato? :D -
Whilst Truman Capote’s Summer Crossing was the first novel which the author penned, it was discovered posthumously, and was first published in 2005. The executors of his will were in two minds about whether it should be made readily available to the public, and I for one am so glad that it was. I feel privileged to be able to read Capote’s work in all of its forms, but there is something about Summer Crossing almost being hidden from public eyes which makes me all the more thankful to have been able to engross myself into the story.
Summer Crossing is set in post-World War II New York. The focus is upon a seventeen-year-old girl, ‘a young carefree socialite’ named Grady McNeil. Her parents go off to England – thus taking the ‘summer crossing’ of the novel’s title – and leave her alone in their Fifth Avenue penthouse for the summer. The blurb succinctly described how this impacts upon Grady’s life: ‘Left to her own devices, Grady turns up the heat on the secret affair she’s been having with a Brooklyn-born Jewish war veteran who works as a parking lot attendant. As the season passes, the romance turns more serious and morally ambiguous, and Grady must eventually make a series of decisions that will forever affect her life and the lives of everyone around her’.
Even before I began to read, I was expecting to find a heroine like Breakfast at Tiffany's quirky Holly Golightly. There are similarities between Grady and Holly, of course, but Grady is also something wholly original – she is a distinct character in her own right, who has been built to perfection and comes to life before the very eyes. She is a vivid creation, and one who dances around in the mind for weeks after the final page of her tale is closed. Capote launches into her family dynamic immediately, and so much is learnt about the characters in just the first few pages in consequence. The friction which exists between Grady’s parents, and her elder sister Apple, has been perfectly portrayed – so much so that we are aware of it straight away. The social and gender inequalities which he points out as the plot gathers speed help to ground Grady’s story in place and time. Capote’s understanding of the human psyche comes across as intelligently as is possible on the page.
I adore the premise of Summer Crossing, and would have been thrilled to come across it if it had been by another author. The mere fact that it was penned by Truman Capote, however, put it on something of a pedestal to me, and I was so excited to see how such an intriguing storyline would work when coupled with his beautiful and distinctive writing in its earliest stages. The Modern Library edition’s blurb calls it a ‘precocious, confident first novel’; to an extent it is, but upon reading it, it feels like so much more. Whilst it is slim – the edition which I read ran to only 126 pages – it touches upon so many themes, and its plot is constructed of a weight of layers, each of which comes together beautifully upon its conclusion.
As I invariably am, I was struck by Capote’s writing throughout Summer Crossing; his descriptions particularly hold such beauty: ‘whose green estimating eyes were like scraps of sea’, ‘bones of fish-spine delicacy’, ‘dream-trapped faces’, ‘joyful dark’, and ‘evening effigies embalmed and floating in the caramel-sweet air’ are just a few examples. The way in which Capote uses words is masterful; he builds scenes in such a stunning manner, and ensures that everything he describes is as vivid as it can possibly be. For a debut novel, Summer Crossing feels incredibly polished, and wonderfully wrought. I was swept away into the story from the very first page. It is fascinating to see how Capote has developed as a writer from these beginnings, but this novel is just as strong, surprising and well-plotted as his later work. -
I adored this book.
Beautifully written.
Sparkling, poetic, lyrical prose.
Grady is a witty heroine who I loved.
Wonderful setting of 1920's New York.
Although there was an underlying sense of dread as the book reached it's climax!
A little gem of a book which will become a favourite of mine!
So glad it was published. -
Cortísimo pero de una intensidad brutal. Me ha gustado mucho pese a que ha habido momentos que me parecieron duros.
-
`ما تمام آن ساعته�� را در تابستان،از زندگی دزدیدیم`
زبان رمان ساده و بیان آن با توجه به ریتمی که نویسنده با جملات کوتاهش تدارک دیده پرکشش و جذاب است. همانگونه که شخصیتها خواننده را مجذوب خود میکنند. «دزدان تابستان» شاید شاهکاری فراموش ناشدنی نباشد، اما هم ارزش خواندن دارد و هم اینکه شخصیت اصلی آن گریدی، این دختر جوان که سودای تجربه کردن عشق در اولین تابستان آزادِ زندگیاش را دارد، تا مدتها در خاطر خواننده میماند.
طعم جملات زیر دهان میماند،جملاتی پیچیده اما آراسته از یک نویسندهی ۱۸ ساله که آن را در دههی چهل و پنجاه نوشته و هیچوقت در طول عمرش آن را لایق انتشار ندانسته اما سال ها بعد از مرگش در سال ۲۰۰۵ دنیا از وجود آن باخبر میشود. -
I can easily say this is definitely the best book I've ever read that was rescued from a trash can (Confederacy of Dunces was under his bed, right?). This was a novel Truman abandoned in 1943 to write his debut Other Voices, Other Rooms. After his success with In Cold Blood he moved out of his Brooklyn apartment for Manhattan instructing the remaining contents of his apartment be put out on the curb for collection. The Super salvaged a box full of papers that included this manuscript. Nobody knew about this until it came up for auction in 2004 and was subsequently published. It's a quick six chapters about a small but intense cast of mentally unstable characters set during a New York summer ("as the heat closed in like a hand over a murder victim's mouth, the city thrashed and twisted but, with its outcry muffled, it...sank into a coma"). I think this qualifies as a genre that I'm slowly becoming aware I've constructed for myself and deeply enjoy (Franny & Zooey, Leon The Professional, etc.). If you already love Truman Capote you've probably already read this and so forget it...
I immediately had a sense of recognition while reading these two passages:
"What infinite energies are wasted steeling oneself against crisis that seldom comes: the strength to move mountains; and yet it is perhaps this very waste, this torturous wait for things that never happen, which prepares the way and allows one to accept with sinister sincerity the beast at last in view..."
"Most of life is so dull it is not worth discussing, and it is dull at all ages. When we change our brand of cigarette, move to a new neighborhood, subscribe to a different newspaper, fall in and out of love, we are protesting in ways both frivolous and deep against the not to be diluted dullness of day-to-day living. Unfortunately, one mirror is as treacherous as another, reflecting at some point in every adventure the same vain unsatisfied face, and so when she asks what have I done? she means really what am I doing? as one usually does." -
Buvo manoma, kad sio romano rankrastis yra dinges. Jis buvo atrastas atsitiktinai 2004-iais, ruosiantis Sotheby's aukcionui. Capote pradejo ji rasyti 1943-iais, vis grizdamas prie jo iki pat mirties, bet taip ir nepanores isleisti...Tai trumpas, elegantiskas pasakojimas apie viena jaunos merginos vasara, kuri pakeis viska....
Siaip jau, maniau, kad tai toks lengvas skaitalas, bet tik iki pakutines frazes, istartos Grady... -
Exactly how much trouble can a filthy rich, spoiled Manhattan teenaged girl get into when her parents leave via ocean liner for summer in Europe? Our young lady with impeccable WASP credentials hooks up with a Jewish parking lot attendant from Brooklyn. Chaos ensues. This sounds like a grade-B movie from the 1950's but the clash of class, the violence, alcohol and drugs are modern and it reads like 2010. This was the first novel Capote worked on, starting in 1943, but he never felt it was finished. It was published posthumously, and probably incomplete, in 2005.
-
Δείτε επίσης και στο
Chill and read
Το «Καλοκαιρινό Ταξίδι» είναι ένα από τα πρώτα δείγματα γραφής του Τρούμαν Καπότε που όμως έμελλε να είναι και το τελευταίο του που εκδόθηκε. Εκτός αν βρεθούν κι άλλα χειρόγραφα καταχωνιασμένα σε κάποιο συρτάρι. Ο διάσημος συγγραφέας έγραψε ένα βιβλίο ενηλικίωσης με ηρωίδα μια κοπέλα της κοινωνίας που γνώριζε καλά.
Καλοκαίρι στη Νέα Υόρκη και η οικογένεια Μακ Νιλ ετοιμάζεται για ένα ταξίδι στην Ευρώπη. Ευκαιρία να δουν σε τι κατάσταση έχει αφήσει ο πόλεμος το σπίτι τους στη Νίκαια. Βέβαια, η μεγάλη κόρη Μακ Νιλ δε θα ακολουθήσει τους γονείς της. Θα περάσει το καλοκαίρι με το σύζυγο και τα παιδιά τους στο Ανατολικό Χάμπτον. Όμως φέτος, ούτε η μικρή κόρη Μακ Νιλ θα ακολουθήσει τους γονείς της στην Ευρώπη. Θέλει να περάσει το τελευταίο καλοκαίρι πριν το ντεμπούτο της στη Νέα Υόρκη. Όχι ότι σκέφτεται σοβαρά να κάνει το ντεμπούτο της, αλλά είναι καλύτερα να το λύσουν αυτό το θέμα με τη μητέρα της, όταν οι γονείς Μακ Νιλ επιστρέψουν από την Ευρώπη.
Η Γκρέιντι θα περάσει το καλοκαίρι της στο τεράστιο αλλά τόσο γνώριμο διαμέρισμα της οικογένειας Μακ Νιλ με θέα το πάρκο. Θα έρθει αντιμέτωπη με παιδικές φιλίες που ωριμάζουν, μια αρκετά περίεργη και άστατη ερωτική σχέση και το γεγονός πως έχει γεννηθεί, μεγαλώσει και θα συνεχίσει να υπάρχει μέσα σε ένα περιβάλλον ασφάλειας και σιγουριάς για το μέλλον. Αυτό που της εξασφάλισε ο πατέρας της και το όνομα αλλά και η περιουσία που δημιούργησε.
Σίγουρα δεν είναι το πιο ώριμο έργο του. Δεν είναι κάτι παραπάνω από ένα πρώτο δείγμα γραφής που βρέθηκε σε τέσσερα τετράδια και που οι επιμελητές της έκδοσής του φρόντισαν όλο αυτό να βγάζει νόημα, αφήνοντας το κείμενο όσο πιο παρθένο γινόταν. Αν η επιμέλεια ήταν πιο διεξοδική, θα κατέληγε ένα κείμενο ξένο στα γραπτά του Καπότε και κανείς δε θα το ήθελε αυτό. Μέσα από αυτό το πρίσμα μπορεί κανείς να δει και να αντιληφθεί πως μπορεί να μην πρόκειται για το καλύτερό του βιβλίο, έχει όμως τη φωνή του, ίσως αυτή την πιο πρωτόγονη φωνή του, που δεν την έχει διορθώσει ούτε καν ο ίδιος.
Η ιστορία που θέλει να πει έχει το ενδιαφέρον της. Είναι τα χρόνια μετά τον Δεύτερο Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο. Είναι η κοινωνία στην οποία ανήκει η ηρωίδα του, αυτή με την οποία συνδιαλέγεται αργότερα και ο ίδιος και φτάνει να τη γνωρίζει καλά. Οι άνθρωποι που τους ανήκει η Νέα Υόρκη, αν όχι ο κόσμος όλος. Μια κλεφτή ματιά στη ζωή τους στην εποχή για την οποία γράφει ο Καπότε, πολύ φοβάμαι πως δεν απέχει πολύ από μια σημερινή ματιά. Και είναι όλα αυτά που θέλει να πει μιας και ο ίδιος δεν απέχει και τόσο πολύ από την ηλικία της ηρωίδας του όταν γράφει αυτή τη νουβέλα. Δεν ξέρω αν η απόφαση να εκδοθεί το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο είχε να κάνει καθαρά με το κέρδος ή αν ήταν μια απόπειρα να διαβάσουμε ένα «φρέσκο» γραπτό του συγγραφέα είκοσι χρόνια μετά το θάνατό του. -
Mr. Truman will probably throw a fit in his grave if I tell him that his first novel wasn't nearly as entertaining as Ms. Novik's. So he is a great writer, I don't doubt that. And for a first novel, Summer Crossing is probably better than most.
Doesn't mean I have to like it, and I didn't. It didn't make sense to me, which is probably more a question of age than of writing. But the book did nothing to me: I wasn't particularly interested in what was happening, I didn't seem to like the characters or understand their motives, I wasn't shocked, provoked, intrigued, sad or anything. I would probably have put the book away if it had been any longer. Well, at least now I can say I have read it, and isn't that what reading the classics is all about anyway? *g* -
"Non si lasciano le persone, si lascia solo se stessi"
Grady McNeil, diciassettenne, è la bella figlia di un facoltoso newyorkese. Clyde è un ventitreenne un po’ frivolo di famiglia modesta, veterano di guerra senza un soldo che lavora in un parcheggio. I due si incontrano, si scoprono e quasi per gioco si innamorano. E quando Grady riesce a rimanere a New York da sola tutta l'estate i due si godono, senza più i limiti imposti dai genitori perbenisti, la loro storia d’amore. Mentre Clyde si ritrova in un lussuoso appartamento con una ragazza intelligente e sveglia, Grady scopre la genuinità di Clyde, che proviene da un ambiente in cui i sentimenti valgono più del conto in banca.
Con lui Grady trascorre l’estate, anche se "era sempre stata consapevole che lui non poteva essere cucito nella trama concreta del suo futuro. Anzi, forse era proprio per questo che aveva scelto di innamorarsi di lui: quella storia doveva essere il fuoco dell’anno prima, destinato a riflettersi sulla neve che presto sarebbe caduta".
Impossibile non collegare Grady con Holly, la protagonista di “Colazione da Tiffany”, di cui possiede alcuni tratti caratteriali, quali l’amore per la trasgressione e la ribellione alle regole.
Grady a un certo punto dice ”che non le è nemmeno venuto in mente di domandarsi se sposerà Clyde,” perché pensa che questo genere di cose riguardi la gente adulta: "Il matrimonio era una cosa che poteva verificarsi solo molto più avanti, quando sarebbe cominciata la vita grigia e seria, perché per lei, ne era assolutamente sicura, la vita vera non era ancora iniziata; in quel momento, invece, vedendosi triste e pallida nello specchio, si rese conto che era già cominciata da un pezzo".
Capote, che ha scritto questo romanzo all’età di diciannove anni, ha la capacità di prendere un soggetto complesso, indagarlo e descriverlo con una prosa perfetta, mettendo in luce i lati più nascosti dell’animo umano con semplicità, senza drammatizzare e giudicare. Grady è la protagonista indiscussa della vicenda, essendo esempio di immaturità, incoscienza ed infelicità.
"la maggior parte della vita è così noiosa che non vale nemmeno la pena di parlarne, e ciò è vero a qualsiasi età".
E’ il primo romanzo di Capote, ma nonostante metta già in mostra le capacità dello scrittore, non è certamente il suo romanzo migliore. È un romanzo romantico, triste e amaro con un finale duro, anche se un po’ troppo rapido. -
Роман служит прекрасной иллюстрацией к тому, что, раз автор не хотел публиковаться, значит, у него были причины.
Тек��т очень и очень слабый, вот прямо видно, что это черновик. Местами попадаются очень хорошие, ограненные абзацы, а за ними - опять мелодрама и скелет из клише. Герои не прописаны, а просто вбухнуты в текст кусками. Их поступки текстом романа не мотивированы никак. Симпатичная девочка из богатой семьи, которой мама предположительно везет из Парижа невиданной красоты платье дебютантки, влюбляется в парковщика, ветерана войны, а потом оказывается, что и еврея, ай-яй-яй, что скажет семья. Какой-то ворох драматических деталей про обоих никак не связывает этих двух людей между собой, нет никаких оснований для любви и интриги. С чего вдруг они полюбили друг друга? Даже используя популярную теорию про противоположности, их роман выглядит натужно и нелепо. Самый цельный персонаж - Питер, девушкин друг детства, про которого есть примерно три абзаца - ярких, остроумных, красивых три абзаца.
Что касается языка - иногда в тексте проскальзывают хорошие куски, но их очень мало, в основном - мелодрама и высокопарные фразы с загадочным смыслом. Вот даже это «Нельзя бросить другого человека — бросить можно только себя» - оно что вообще означает? Паоло Коэльо заплакал от зависти.
В общем, теперь всем молодым авторам, наверное, должно быть понятно, что без труда и переписывания хорошего текста не получится (и к чести Капоте, сам-то он видел, что текст "thin, clever, unfelt"), а публиковать случайно найденное можно, только если вы порылись в ящиках у Сэлинджера, который даже в стол, говорят, писал не навскидку. -
This book is interesting because while it was Capote’s first ever novel, it wasn’t actually published until after his death when the manuscript was discovered and sent to auction. It’s described as “the lost novel that inspired Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and that’s a pretty accurate description. There are a lot of similarities between the main character here and Holly Golightly, but Grady McNeil also stands herself as a great invention.
The plot here isn’t really important, because it’s more of a character study and an investigation of what it meant to make your “debut” in society as a young woman. The best part of it is really the dialogue, and that’s just because Capote was always so good at writing it. I enjoyed this one quite a lot for what it was – it’s pretty good! -
Capote’s buried first novel. I couldn’t make it into the second half since there doesn’t appear to be a story here, an interesting character, or any particular reason to keep reading another long comma-infested, mid-clause-POV-shifting sentence of upper-class Manhattanite banality. Authors suppress books for a reason. When will publishers learn?
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What a beautifully imperfect book. This is Capote's first novel written sometime in the 1940s and not published until 2004. Why the big gap? He left his apartment and told his landlord to throw it away.
Thankfully the landlord kept it. Eventually it landed in the hands of Sotheby's for auction. They notified the lawyer in charge of Capote's Trust. He gave the transcript to the New York Public Library, and he also had the book published.
Summer Crossing tells the story of Grady McNeil, a debutante in New York City, as she experiences her first summer in the city instead of going to France with her parents. It is a love story and a tale of self-discovery. While I haven't read Breakfast at Tiffany's I have seen the movie, and this book clearly lays the groundwork for that plot.
It talks about the clash of the classes in New York City and the reality of what those classes meant. Capote tackles sensitive subjects with beautiful language and care. It is truly a masterpiece of a book despite its obviously unpolished feel.
You must read it. It is short and a very easy read that will keep you turning pages. A great read for the summer. -
This early Truman Capote novel is the only one I haven't cared for. (In this I am not alone, as the book was out of print for many years before its recent return.) It's not outright bad, but just too glossy, too magazine-ish. Capote wrote so many wonderful things, both fiction and non: IN COLD BLOOD, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, THE MUSES ARE HEARD, OTHER VOICES OTHER ROOMS, THE GRASS HARP -- the list is long. Best to go there first. "Summer Crossing," by the way, refers to a Transatlantic passage by ship in warmer, calmer weather.
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This is a nice short character study of a novel. Just like Capote's other works, it impeccably well written. Since this book is about the characters, not much really happens in it (until the end), so there's not much to say. I enjoyed it.
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Не е най-доброто от Капоти, но все пак е Капоти, което значи, че хубаво, дори само заради усещането от неговото писане. И пак Ню Йорк, обичам го и него, и Капоти завинаги!
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En tule muistamaan tästä postyymistä teoksesta mitään enää ensi viikolla. Ymmärrän, että Capoten tuntijoille kiinnostava, mutta kaltaisilleni ei tarjoa paljoakaan hullaannuttavaa. On nuoruus ja nuoren sydämen oikut, on luokkia ja niihin liittyvää, mutta ei kuitenkaan mitään poikkeuksellista.
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"Arriva sempre un momento in cui ci si domanda, cosa ho fatto?,e per lei era arrivato quel mattino a colazione, quando Apple leggendo ad alta voce la lettera di Lucy, era giunta al punto in cui si parlava dell' abito; dimentica di non averlo voluto affatto, conscia che ormai non l' avrebbe più indossato, aveva scelto le scale di un nuovo e misterioso dolore: cos' ho mai fatto? Il mare le poneva la stessa domanda, e i gabbiani facevano eco al mare. La maggior parte della vita è talmente noiosa che non vale la pena nemmeno di parlarne,e ciò è vero a qualsiasi età.Ogni volta che cambiamo marca di sigarette, traslochiamo in una nuova casa, ci abboniamo a un altro giornale, ci innamoriamo e ci disinnamoriamo, in realtà non facciamo che protestare in modo più o meno frivolo contro l' insormontabile noia della vita quotidiana.Purtroppo però tutti gli specchi sono bugiardi, e a un certo punto, nel bel mezzo di qualsiasi avventura, ci rimandano la solita faccia vuota e insoddisfatta; perciò mentre si domandava cos'aveva fatto,Grady si domandava in realtà cosa stava facendo, come al solito."
Si può dire tutto di Capote , di certo non era un santo, di certo era una gran carogna (nella eccezione positiva del termine naturalmente),ma aveva una capacità di osservazione e comprensione pazzesca...
E la verve del giornalista, solo che era solito osservare sopratutto i difetti, le debolezze, i vizi delle persone e riportarli ...
E questo non ha fatto piacere a più di uno.
Anche in Summer Crossing il piccoletto non si smentisce, e sebbene al suo primo romanzo, già dimostra di saperne una più del diavolo sulle persone...
Protagonista del romanzo è Grady McNail figlia di una delle personalità più illustri e ricche di New York.
Grady è una ribelle a suo modo (non sono d' accordo con chi la paragona alla più tardi Holly Golightly di "Brekfast at Tiffany's" i lati in comune sono davvero molto pochi)si taglia i capelli cortissimi, malgrado il parere della madre, non vuole partecipare al ballo delle debuttanti e sopratutto intrattiene una relazione all' insaputa di tutti con il parcheggiatore ebreo Clyde Manzer,aiutata anche dal fatto di avere casa totalmente libera per un' intera estate (dato che i suoi vanno a Parigi), una specie di gioco per lei, ma dal quale senza nemmeno accorgersene viene risucchiata, fino al inevitabile epilogo finale...
^^ C’era della gioia nei colpi stordenti sferrati dai pugni di Clyde, e mentre l’auto sgommava lungo la Terza Avenue, schivava i pilastri della sopraelevata e ignorava il rosso dei semafori, lei li fissò in silenzio come un uccello intontito dal continuo sbattere contro muri e finestre. Perché quando monta il panico la mente si aggroviglia come il cavo di srotolamento di un paracadute, e allora si continua a precipitare. L’auto svoltò a destra sulla Cinquantanovesima e sbandò sul Queensboro Bridge; sovrastando le rauche sirene del traffico fluviale, in un mattino che per lui non avrebbe fatto cambiare il cielo, Gump gridò: "Dannazione, così ci ammazzi!" senza riuscire a staccare le mani di Grady dal volante, e lei disse: "Lo so".^^
