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5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Insights Into Truman Capote's Rearing, October 6, 2000
This review is from: The Southern Haunting of Truman Capote (Hardcover)
Ms. Rudisill is Mr. Capote's aunt, and lived with him during the first 7 years of his life. In this fascinating book, she recounts the connections between those years and later episodes to four of Mr. Capote's works (A Christmas Memory, The Grass Harp, "Children on Their Birthdays," and Other Voices, Other Rooms), as well as a feud and later reconciliation between she and her husband and Mr. Capote. Fans of Mr. Capote will find these new details of his life of interest both as biography and as context for his writing. Scholars, literary critics, and biographers will find much rich material here, as well.
Mr. Capote was raised by his aunts in his aunt Jenny Faulk's house in Monroe, Alabama. This town is located about half way between Montgomery and Mobile. His mother decided that she simply could cope with him shortly after his birth, and dropped him off in Monroe before returning to her husband in New Orleans. Although initially abandoned by his mother (who sounds like she had a personality much like Mr. Capote's), he found lots of love in Monroe. His aunt Nancy (Sook) was totally devoted to him, and took care of him daily. She was one of those capable spinsters of that era who provided lots of connection for families. As "forgotten people" by others, they found lots of affection with each other.
Mr. Capote used Sook as a character in his writing, and she was the model for Dolly Talbo in The Grass Harp. One of her major activities each year was making her "dropsy medicine" which provided a lot of her spending money. Although her family was used to Sook, she also was eccentric in many ways and probably helped to encourage Mr. Capote's eccentricities. His lifelong ability to have close friendships with women probably dated back to his relationship with Sook.
There is a wonderful story in the book about how Sook helped him get his way about having a fantastic treehouse staircase that you will enjoy. Every child should have such an aunt!
The book is organized into four chapters, each of which connects the author's memory to one of Mr. Capote's works. Two of the connections actually occur outside of Alabama in New York and Dallas, but also contain Alabama roots.
But to me the most interesting part of the book was in the lengthy introduction where the author tells the story of her relationship with Mr. Capote in later years. He had become fascinated with antique crystal paperweights, and carried them with him on his travels. They made him feel at home in impersonal hotel rooms. On visiting his aunt, he discovered that she also collected these and had a consignment of them from Baccarat. He began taking vast quantities of them which she did not own, and she remonstrated. Mr. Capote promised to return them soon.
Well, he never did. This caused great problems for the author and her husband because they did not have the money to pay for the paperweights. This marked the end of her paperweight business, and caused a lot of embarrassment for her and her husband. Mr. Capote would either promise to send them right back or ignore them. Finally, her husband began sending nasty telegrams to Mr. Capote signing her name to them without her knowledge. Mr. Capote became quite peeved, and let it be known that he was feuding with her. They eventually reconciled when the details became known, and in his final days he asked her to handle his funeral arrangements.
There is a moving story about her conversations with Joanne Carson, whom Mr. Capote was with when he died, that you will enjoy. In the introduction, she also recounts how he led his publishers on about what he was or was not working on, much as he did with her about the paperweights. Interestingly, he had planned to return home to Alabama just before his death as research for writing a new book about his childhood.
Ms. Rudisill obviously has a lot of affection for Mr. Capote despite his mistreatment of her. She also seems fairly objective for someone who is a family member. It is probably easier to describe someone as that person's aunt than as his mother, so she did have a little distance to work with. As a writer herself, she surely respects Mr. Capote's craft.
Having read about the unconditional love from his aunts, it is easier to understand his confusion when his "kiss and tell" writing caused him to lose his friends late in life. He probably thought they would forgive him anything, as well.
After you finish reading this book, I suggest you write down your recollections of fascinating details about deceased family members. Your children and other relatives will probably enjoy seeing those reminiscences, and gain greater understanding as a result. I had a great grandmother (Edith Foster) who played the Sook role for me, and I loved her dearly. I am sorry that my children never had the chance to meet her. In fact, my wife is a lot like her, which she does not realize. I will follow my own advice and share these connections.
Enjoy your family!
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