A Christmas Memory: One Christmas, and The Thanksgiving Visitor (Modern Library) (Hardcover)

by Truman Capote (Author) "Imagine a morning in late November..." (more)
Key Phrases: Odd Henderson, Santa Claus, New Orleans (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
A Christmas Memory is the classic memoir of Truman Capote's childhood in rural Alabama. Until he was ten years old, Capote lived with distant relatives. This book is an autobiographical story of those years and his frank and fond memories of one of his cousins, Miss Sook Faulk. The text is illustrated with full color illustrations that add greatly to the story without distracting from Capote's poignant prose. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
Grade 3 Up-- This tiny gem of a holiday story, although a memory, is told in the present tense, which gives it a certain immediacy. Written by Capote as if a backward glance at his childhood while in college, the story traces a month of pre-Christmas doings in his parentless, poor household. The seven-year-old and his "friend," a distant, eccentric, and in those times elderly (mid-sixties), cousin prepare several dozen fruitcakes and mail them to people they admire. Gathering the pecans from those left behind in the harvest, buying illegally made whiskey for soaking the cakes, getting a little tipsy on the leftovers, cutting their own tree, and decorating it with homemade ornaments are some of the adventures the two share. The outside world barely intrudes on this portrayal of a loving friendship which wraps readers in coziness like the worn scrap quilt warms the old woman. Reminiscent of Lisbeth Zwerger, Peck's watercolor-and-ink full-page illustrations greatly enhance the text. Her use of lighter shades, tawny colors, and fine lines plus a background wash which suggests rather than delineates detail is perfect for this holiday memory of Christmas celebrated in rural Alabama in the early 1930s. --Susan Hepler, Arlington Public Library, VA
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: The Modern Library (November 12, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679602372
• ISBN-13: 978-0679602378
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #229,539 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warm & Heartfelt, December 5, 2001

By	Sandra Mitchell "Sandra Mitchell" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Truman Capote does an amazing job of telling us three delightful stories of a young boy's favorite Christmas & Thanksgiving memories. Told with the candor and innocence that only a child can hold, you'll fall in love with Buddy and his favorite Aunt Sook. Buddy's love and affection for his dear Aunt Sook are evidenced in how he refers to her throughtout the stories...always calling her "my friend." Buddy & Sook will feel like your friends too! Plagued by a painful childhood and seemingly drawn on Capote's own life, Buddy is the victim of his parent's bitter divorce and custody battle and ends up living with his spinster aunts & hermit like uncle. It is during his time living here, that he recalls some of his most cherished memories. You'll remember the troubles of your youth as well as be amazed at this young boy's insightfulness. A great holiday tradition would be to re-read this book once a year.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three polished and charming stories, January 26, 2001

By	Mike Christie (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The three stories in this little book--it's a hardback only slightly bigger than a paperback, and barely 100 pages--are skilfully told and charming; all are based on Capote's southern childhood. "A Christmas Memory" is the most straightforwardly nostalgic, told in the present tense, and covering the Christmas rituals the narrator, a little boy, shares with Miss Sook Faulk, an eccentric little old lady who appears in all three of these tales. The narrator of "One Christmas" is six years old and the child of divorced parents. He travels to New Orleans by bus to spend Christmas with his father, and the story is about his coming to terms with reality, as much as he can. The third story, "The Thanksgiving Visitor", is the tale of how Miss Sook invited the school bully to Thanksgiving dinner one year, and what happened.

All three are perfectly formed short stories. The first two are sad, or at least nostalgic; the third, the longest of them, is surprisingly upbeat. Capote was witty, precise and talented, and these three stories are a wonderful showcase for his talents. Recommended.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Timeless Treasure, November 12, 2001

By	The SMART Patrick "patrickrs" (Castaic, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Christmas Memory (Hardcover)

"A Christmas Memory" is truly one of the most enduring and heartwarming holiday tales ever to grace the pages of American literature. This soothing bit of classic Americana written by Truman Capote is as warming on a cold winter night as a steaming cup of hot, mulled cider in front of a crackling fire under my grandmother's afghan. The touching and refreshing friendship between Buddy and his "friend" is not only delightful but something to cherish as one teaches the other of the old timeless traditions of the past and the new wonders of the future. Buddy's total acceptance of his "friend" and her somewhat offbeat perspective on life and the changing world around them is what drives this story throughout it's moments of childlike magic to it's ultimate bittersweet conclusion. The belief in love and the bond that can exist between two people of completely different generations and the hope that wherever we go and however many miles may come between us, that bond can never be broken is the foremost message of this precious tale. Given the events of resent months, a story like this helps to heal as well as entertain and is more then just another book to be put away on the shelf. "A Christmas Memory" is a blessed gift to be read again and again, year after year and to be welcomed into home and hearth as a dear, old friend unexpectedly visiting on a chilly Christmas morning.