Summer Crossing

A Novel

By: Truman Capote

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

In late 2004, a trove of Truman Capote's abandoned papers went up for auction at Sotheby's. Included in the lot was the handwritten manuscript of Summer Crossing, a novel Capote began writing in 1943, and continued to tinker with on and off for a decade. Since the time of his death in 1984, Capote scholars and biographers had long believed this manuscript lost, never to be recovered. They were wrong.

Set in New York just after World War II, Summer Crossing is the story of 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. 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.

Summer Crossing is a precocious, confident first novel that displays the flawless narrative sense of one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. Its immaculate turns of phrase, hard irony, and insight into the subtleties of class distinction will point to Capote's future triumphs. Worthy of a spot on any reader's Capote bookshelf, this is, in every sense, a lost treasure found.

©2006 The Truman Capote Literary Trust (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Beautifully written

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

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.

Adore him

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

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.

Summer doldrums

I found this book to be a bit tedious. The writing is good with very nice descriptions of setting, but it never seemed to be going anywhere. I found myself wishing that I had used my precious credit for something better.