Summer Crossing

By: Truman Capote

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

“Witness the coming together of Truman Capote’s voice, the electric-into-neon blaze that is surely one of the premier styles of postwar American literature.”—The Washington Post Book World

“A great breezy read . . . with Capote’s trademark wit, but also with genuine youthful awe at the exhilaration of late-forties New York.”—New York

A lost treasure only recently found, Truman Capote’s Summer Crossing is a precocious, confident first novel from one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers.

Set in New York just after World War II, the story follows a young carefree socialite, Grady McNeil, whose parents leave her alone in their Fifth Avenue penthouse for the summer. 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.©2006 The Truman Capote Literary Trust; (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Truman Capote is the most perfect writer of my generation."
-Norman Mailer

Adore him

I'm from the south so may be partial but his writing is poetic and beautiful. Loved Grady!

Beautifully written

Just wish it hadn't ended so soon, it felt a bit unfinished

This Book Was Okay

As others have noted, Capote is an excellent writer, and his writing flows easily. I had trouble staying with the story and had to listen to parts over again because I zoned out. The book made me think of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, with a woman is caught in her surroundings.

quality writing

i would have to say Capote is a nice writer. though this is perhaps not his top form, it was very good and there is a quality to his writing that i can't quite define other than to say a smoothness. somewhat a coming of age type story i guess, or young love or rebellion. and i'm always interested to see what items were current culturally at the time, little things you don't think about. I would have to say that, of course it's a completely different type of "novel", but In Cold Blood was a masterpiece and totally riveting. i would go on to more Capote.

Early Capote

A coming of age story for a rich New York girl. Excellent descriptions. Short and sad. Published after Truman Capote's death.