Customer Reviews

Breakfast at Tiffany's

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The other day, I received a question on facebook "Which scene do you like the best in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's ?" At that time, I felt the desire to see this movie again shooting through my body. So I went to see it. The temptation to compare the movie to the original book entered my mind. So I read it in Japanese again too. It was an amazingly translated one by a famous university professor. Eventually, the desire to read the original book in English drove me to buy this book from Amazon.com.

This book throws deep questions to me about freedom. Holly Golightly's cat had no name. It was only called "cat". To have a name means to be identified; defined and stipulated as one concrete existence. It means to lose one's freedom in a sense. Holly avoided being restricted by something. So she printed on her card: Miss Holiday Golightly, Traveling. I could discovered a part of a song from the musical Oklahoma! which Holly sang on the fire escape.

Don't wanna sleep,

Don't wanna die,

Just wanna go a-travelin'

Through the pastures of the sky

Holly brings me an enigmatic expression: reds. Judging from the conversation with Fred at her home party, the reds mean the horrible mental status different from the blues. She says "No, the blues are because you're getting fat or maybe it's been raining too long. You're sad, that's all. But the mean reds are horrible. You're afraid and you sweat like hell, but you don't know what you're afraid of. Except something bad is going happen, only you don't know what it is. You've had that feeling?" Of course I don't know the expression "reds". I have never had the opportunity to feel the "reds". And this is why I have felt so extremely interested in this novel and its movie.

As for the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's, I admire the work of its production staff. They portray the important scenes and phrases of this original novel accurately and honestly. I heard that turmoil occurred after Audrey Hepburn was appointed to the lead role Holly instead of Marilyn Monroe.

Though the scenario was rewritten in a short time, I recall the circumstances of the birth of the Magic Flute by Mozart, the movie conserves author's idea and wears sophisticated atmosphere. The song Moon River is just in the movie and a song from the "Oklahoma!" is more befitting to this novel.

My family loves this movie and my mother loved the Holly's hair style at the Forty-second Street public library and she delighted in adopting the same hair style for herself which she wore for her children.

I praise the genius of Truman Capote, I admire the work of its movie production staff and I express my thanks to Ms. Betsy Lewis of BOOK RESCUE LLC who searched this one for me running frantically to and fro between her book barns and gave me the opportunity to read this original novel.

Victor Truemann, Japanese