THE THANKSGIVING VISITOR and A CHRISTMAS MEMORY by Truman Capote

     After reading many works by Truman Capote, the most recent book being THE COMPLETE STORIES OF TRUMAN CAPOTE (which does not encompass all his works as some would tend to think due to the title, I think I would have titled the book differently), the stories I enjoy the most are the ones he writes about the people and places of the South. These are the stories that strike my heartstrings so much so that I have read A CHRISTMAS MEMORY every year at Christmas time, and sometimes the months in between, for some 26 years, and have cried every time I've read it.  Capote spent his childhood in rural Alabama and those southern characters, places, and attitudes he writes about have been ingrained into Capote since childhood. To me his words about that place and time convey a heartfelt intensity that his other work seems to lack.

     Here is a picture of the book Rich surprised me with back in the summer and I have been slowly finding time to read it.  But, my timing worked out fine because I just finished reading THE THANKSGIVING VISITOR, right in time for Thanksgiving.

This is the book I'm currently reading.  The cover shows a very young Capote, when his career as a writer was just beginning. The book contains 20 stories, including THE THANKSGIVING VISITOR and A CHRISTMAS MEMORY.  It also has two other great stories set in the South, MY SIDE OF THE MATTER and CHILDREN ON THEIR BIRTHDAYS.

             The autobiographical story of THE THANKSGIVING VISITOR was written in 1967 and tells of a Depression Era Thanksgiving dinner of 1932 when second grader Buddy (Capote) was living in the home of his three spinster cousins, one bachelor uncle and his beloved rat terrier, Queenie. One of the cousins whom Buddy affectionately called Sook, was his sixty some year old best friend. The story tells of Sook inviting Odd Henderson, who tormented Buddy on a daily basis just because he was a sissy, as Odd had once told Buddy, to Thanksgiving dinner. In Sook's innocent childlike view of others, she could not comprehend what Buddy told her of  how Odd treated him and of the anguish and dread that Odd brought to Buddy each day as he went to school.  She said they just needed to get to know each other better. The story is written so that both adults and older children can enjoy it and without revealing the humorous details of the story, I will say that the unexpected behavior of  Buddy, Odd and Sook will both entertain and teach a lesson.

     A line from the book that shows Buddy's dislike for Odd Henderson: "But nobody, I don't care who, looked as down-and-out as Odd-a skinny, freckled scarecrow in sweaty cast-off overalls that would have been a humiliation to a chain-gang convict."

THE THANKSGIVING VISITOR illus. by Beth Peck

Capote with his cousin Sook Faulk

 
















 
     "Oh my," she exclaims, her breath smoking the windowpane, "it's fruitcake weather!"  Sook proclaims the beginning of the holiday season with this line from A CHRISTMAS MEMORY. Capote's heartwarming snapshot of his Christmas's spent with Sook and the activities and bond they shared  makes this my favorite holiday story.  Although my childhood was not like his, the story has enough elements in it to remind me of the relationship that I had with my grandmother and our holiday rituals, which included making fruitcakes soaked with Brandy, that I return to this story year after year. The feelings of warmth and security that comes from loving an older relative and the shared joy of  that bond jumps off the pages of this story and fills my heart with my own memories of a childhood and grandmother now gone. This book can be enjoyed by grown ups and children alike. For the love of this story and the memories it brings to me of my granny, every year when the temperature's just right, I exclaim,  "it's fruitcake weather"!

A copy of my book A CHRISTMAS MEMORY illus. by Beth Peck

      
     Another Christmas related story by Capote is ONE CHRISTMAS. It tells the heartbreaking story of a Christmas in which Capote was put on a bus to New Orleans to spend the holidays with his father. I do not recommend this story for children, it is not a happy tale although you do get glimpses of the comfort Capote felt under the care of Sook, which is always a joy to read. The cover of my book has a picture of Capote and his father Arch Persons.  Capote has a different last name because in later years he took on the last name of his adoptive father.

ONE CHRISTMAS

     Of course there are many, many other books and movies that Capote is known for that I could have written about, but I only wanted to talk about my favorites for the holidays.  Here is a link for further reading:  http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/truman-capote/introduction/58/