Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. – A PSS Book Review
Who: Everyone and everything involved in making the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s!
By: Sam Wasson
Why: I knew the movie was iconic and made Audrey Hepburn shoot into platinum star status, but reading this book made me realize how much the movie reflected (and even influenced) the changing times of the modern American woman. Raised hemlines, sexual freedom, even the invention of the LBD (Little Black Dress, and yes, it got its start on Breakfast at Tiffany’s!) were all in tandem with the birth of this controversial “new” film in its era.
Fun Fact: I had no idea Truman Capote wrote the book the film was based on! Or that he modeled Holly GoLightly after his own flaky mother. Or that Holly was originally much more of a hooker than the movie lets on – in fact the storyline was quite drastically censored and reshaped from the book version in order to be acceptable to audiences–and the censor board. Even still it was met with shock and outrage by most critics!
Another fun fact: George Peppard (you know…”Fred”) was nearly universally hated on the set (by actors and crew alike). He was apparently a huge snob, and a total diva.
How It Reads: Surprisingly easy to read, this non-fiction book reads like a novel. Wasson has a great talent for weaving facts and chronological data into a plotline, a story with twists and turns, revealing details incrementally. It’s also not a terribly long book, so it’s nothing to wade through for weeks (unless you read a page a day).
Here’s a link to it on Amazon. If you are going to read it or already have, leave a comment letting us know!
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now that you've told me, i feel that i must =) have been missing out on leisure reading!!
Looks like a great read! Have put it on my wishlist on Amazon and will probably order it for my September beach holiday.
For another fun Audrey read, try "What Would Audrey Do?" by Pamela Clarke Keogh.
Have a great weekend!
Great post! Love your blog btw so I subscribed!
xoxo
http://www.rachaeldiab.blogspot.com
I've just reserved it and the movie from the library it sounds interesting. Thanks for the recommendation.
I just bought this book this morning!
I just read about this book recently. I'm pretty enamored with the movie, so I'm not sure if I should pick up this book. (The book version almost ruined the movie for me a few years ago!) I will say that I am so sorry to hear about George Peppard being a jerk. He's my 1960s crush!
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