A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote - A Review

A Christmas Memory

Author: Truman Capote

Illustrator: Beth Peck

Publisher: Knopf Books For Young Readers

Publication Date: First published in 1956. Audio book published October 28, 2014



About the Author
Truman Capote was born in 1924 and died in 1984. Based on his own boyhood in rural Alabama in the 1930s, A Christmas Memory was originally published in Mademoiselle in 1956 and later was included in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

"As for me, I could leave the world with today in my eyes.”  
Truman Capote remembers a cherished Christmas in the 1930s. Young Truman is 7-years-old and lives in a home with a family of distant and elderly cousins in a small town in Alabama. 

Truman's best friend is his cousin Miss Sook Faulk. She is in her sixties but is child-like in her ways. She calls Truman "Buddy", in memory of a boy who was formerly her best friend. The other Buddy died in the 1880s, when he was still a child.

Sook's first Christmas tradition of the season is making fruitcakes. When Sook happily exclaims, "It's fruitcake weather," Buddy knows that Christmas is not far away. Even though they have very little money, Sook is able to collect all the ingredients she needs to make delicious fruitcakes. Queenie, their beloved dog, is their constant companion.

“It's bad enough in life to do without something YOU want; but confound it, what gets my goat is not being able to give somebody something you want THEM to have.”   Cousin Sook

 Sook is good at stashing away a little pocket change  but there is no money for gifts. Sook and Truman make handmade gifts for each other. They decorate a Christmas tree with handmade art work. 

Favorite Quotation

“My, how foolish I am! You know what I've always thought? I've always thought a body would have to be sick and dying before they saw the Lord. And I imagined that when He came it would be like looking at the Baptist window: pretty as colored glass with the sun pouring through, such a shine you don't know it's getting dark. And it's been a comfort: to think of that shine taking away all the spooky feeling. But I'll wager it never happens. I'll wager at the very end a body realizes the Lord has already shown Himself. That things as they are, just what they've always seen, was seeing Him. As for me, I could leave the world with today in my eyes.” Cousin Sook

My Thoughts
This is a classic Christmas story that is appropriate for children and adults. The theme of this story is friendship and love, the greatest gifts of all. Young Truman cherished his handmade gift from Sook and the wonderful times they spent together more than anything money could buy.

The last two pages of the story are poignant and heart-wrenching. Like life itself, time moved forward and things changed. I don't usually like stories with sad endings (especially when dogs are involved), but the end came in a way that accentuated the love and joy that Truman remembered from his past.

This was the last Christmas that Truman and Sook had together. Truman was sent off to military school, poor Queenie was killed by a neighbor's horse and Sook's health declined. But the memories lived on. 

Highly recommended for all ages. 

MY RATING - 5 Stars Out of 5

FYI - I purchased a print copy of this book from the quarter shelf at a Friends of the Library Sale. This book includes a CD narration of the story but I have not listened to it.

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Christmas Family Traditions

Many years ago my Aunt Katherine, my dad's sister, wrote down her family Christmas memories from the 1920s and 1930s.  I would like to share an excerpt from her writings and a glimpse of a Luehrman Family Christmas long ago when my father was a child.

Now for the family Christmas celebration! Santa Claus always brought our Christmas tree after we were in bed on Christmas Eve. Since we had no electricity, candles on holders helped decorate the tree. Several evenings after Christmas we were allowed to light the candles very cautiously while Mom and Dad stood ready to put out a fire or even carry the tree out of doors if necessary. The "stars" on that tree were brighter to our childish eyes than any electric lights could ever be. The tree always stood on the sewing machine in the dining room. The dining room and the kitchen were the only rooms ever heated in the winter unless we had lots of company. The dining room table was always set up with a plate for each member of the family. On this plate, Santa always put candy and an orange or two. We kids made a game of seeing who could make his Christmas candy last the longest, so we ate it very sparingly. We'd probably not have candy again until next Christmas.

Our Christmas gifts would be placed next to our plates. Sometimes there was something too large for the table such as a little red wagon which had to be shared by the three of us. I remember getting doll furniture, roller skates (a real treat after we had seen some "town kids" skate at Grandma's house.) Usually there were clothes also...gloves, sweaters, caps, etc. One year we received a ping-pong set but no table so we played on our knees on the floor. Dad often played with us.

The most exciting Christmas of all was the year that Santa Claus brought us a new Kimball piano. I never did figure out how Santa ever managed to get it into the living room by himself. What a thrill it was for me to begin to play this wonderful musical instrument.

We always had Christmas dinner at Grandma's and Aunt Emma went all out to have a sumptuous meal. One year Aunt Emma dressed up and played Santa for all the kids. I was old enough to be wise to it, but how well I remember the excitement that it created for the "little ones".

We always had to gather around the piano and sing Christmas carols sometime during the afternoon. How proud Grandma was of her family!

Christmas evening supper around the table was filled with the love of family and the Christmas spirit within our hearts. We thanked God for the blessed event of the first Christmas as Dad read again to us the Christmas story from the Bible.

Written by Katherine Luehrman Dryer

*The picture is from an antique picture postcard from the early 1900s.

Do you have precious memories of family Christmas celebrations?

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.