Answered Prayers - The Unfinished Novel

Answered Prayers - The Unfinished Novel
by Truman Capote
Too bad that this is an unfinished novel. I could have given this at least 4 stars.
According to Wiki, Capote was not able to finish this novel because he got busy with the stardom In Cold Blood (4
stars) gave him. In 1966, he signed a contract with Random House to write this book with January 1st 1968 as the
delivery date. He missed the date and the contract was renegotiated in 1969 with 1973 as the new delivery date.
He missed again so it was moved further to 1974. Missed again so on to 1977. Missed again so it was moved to
1981. Then he died of liver cancer in 1984. He was 59 years old.
But he was able to finish these 4 chapters and they got published in Esquire. One of the four, "Mojave" was moved
to his earlier book Music for Chameleons (3 stars) and only 3 got compiled in this book that was first published in
1986, the year of his death.
The story revolves around P. B. Jones the 30ish masseur who is also the narrator of the story. Jones is also an
aspiring writer so he always looks forward to meeting writers and entertainment personalities. Not contented with
his income, he is lured to also sell his body as a male prostitute catering to the needs of rich gays and lonely
matrons.
Capote's original plan was to make this book the modern counterpart of Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time.
The whole idea was to write his own experiences including the lives of the rich and famous in the high society but
changing the names of his characters to protect them. Well, he did that in these 3 chapters and the result, for me,
was very promising: the prose is well-written, the exposes are intriguing and the telling is frank and no-holdsbarred. I do not know all of these people mentioned in the book except those famous ones whose real names
Capote used such these three: here Montgomery Cliff is being touched by the drunk Dorothy Parker and Estelle
Winwood is telling Dottie to stop but she continues: "Sensitive. So finely made. The most beautiful young man I've
Capote used such these three: here Montgomery Cliff is being touched by the drunk Dorothy Parker and Estelle
Winwood is telling Dottie to stop but she continues: "Sensitive. So finely made. The most beautiful young man I've
ever seen. What a pity he's a cocksucker."
Kate McCloud (2nd chapter) or Ann Dillon (3rd chapter) are housewives of rich businessmen who they killed
apparently to get their inheritance and marry their respective lovers. Well, another reason why Capote was unable
to finish this book was that the characters in this book were his friends and upon publication of the stories, they
started to stay away from him. An example of this is the chapter "La Cote Basque" that readers are saying to be a
resemblance of what happened to Capote's benefactor, CBS Mogul Bill Paley and his wife Babe. Another Wiki
entry says that Kate McCloud was in fact a real person who shot her husband in the shower thinking that he was a
burglar. She went unpunished, got her inheritance but later killed herself. Their two kids also committed suicide
some years later.
These juicy exposes that Capote told in elegant fashion make this book really an entertaining read. Behind the
posh and glamour of the American and Parisian societies are stories of prostitution, drugs, alcoholism, deceit and
murder. However, the book does not end up like those showbiz gossip magazines, Capote is too brilliant to allow
his last book to be like those.
An example is this scene when Woodrow Hamilton is asking P. B. Jones about the novel that the latter is trying to
write. Jones says that the title is Answered Prayers.:WH: "Answered Prayers. A quote. I suppose."
PBJ: "St. Teresa. I never looked it up myself, so I don't know exactly what she said, but it was something like 'More
tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.'"
WH: "I see a light flickering. This book - it's about Kate McCloud, and gang."
PBJ: "I wouldn't say it's about them - though they're in it."
WH: "Then what is it about?"
PBJ: "Truth as illusion."
WH: "And illusion is truth?"
PBJ: "The first. The second is another proposition."
WH: "How so?"
PBJ: "As truth is nonexistent, it can never be anything but illusion - but illusion, the by-product of revealing artifice,
can reach the summits nearer the unobtainable peak of Perfect Truth. For example, female impersonators. The
impersonator is in fact a man (truth), until he recreates himself as a woman (illusion) - and of the two, the illusion
is the truer."If that is not brilliant writing, I don't know what it is.|.Answered Prayers: Truman Capote's unfinished
novel of life among the low and high side of life
More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.--St. Teresa of Avila
Capote's Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel began as a series of notes in 1958. It was a project Capote kept
under close wraps. It was not until January 5, 1966, Capote approached Random House signing a contract with an
advance of $25,000 with a delivery date of January 1, 1968.
Capote described the novel as a Proustian bildungsroman of a contemporary nature, a kite string of characters
drawn from real life. Capote, the great dissembler, had his Random House editor, Joe Fox, believing that as
deadlines passed, he was progressing steadily on the book. Why, he was over half done. He described in detail
chapters to be included in the book. Random House repeatedly raised advances in exchange for new completion
dates. Ultimately, Capote was offered a Million Dollar advance with a completion date in October, 1978. The
calendar's page was flipped and no novel produced, nor any advance paid.
dates. Ultimately, Capote was offered a Million Dollar advance with a completion date in October, 1978. The
calendar's page was flipped and no novel produced, nor any advance paid.
Joe Fox, Random House Editor
Only three chapters of "Answered Prayers" are definitely known to exist. Random House in conjunction with the
Truman Capote Literary Trust decided the three chapters possessed enough structure to be published. And
published it was in 1987.
However, that was not the first appearance of the infamous three chapters. Capote struck a deal with Esquire
Magazine to publish the three chapters. Fox and Capote argued endlessly over that amount of pre-publication
exposure. However, Capote, ever assured of how to promote his own material insisted. It would be his downfall in
New York High Society.
Capote dressed as an assassin on the May, 1976, issue of Esquire
SYNOPSIS, Chapter One, "Unspoiled Monsters"
Our protagonist is P.B. Jones, Capote's stand in. However, Capote was inclined to call him his evil twin. With his
parents and stepfather dead, Capote viewed himself now as a true orphan. He portrayed himself as being born in
a theater, abandoned by his mother, and raised by nuns in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Jones learned the art of massage from a professional masseur and described himself as a Hershey Bar whore who
would do anything for a piece of chocolate. Jones traveled to New York and successfully published a first novel
titled, guess what, "Answered Prayers."
Jonesey, as he came to be called by his growing circle of friends, was sought out as a lover by the famous and
infamous. He became an employee of the Self Agency, a service that provided sexual favors to men and women.
Jonesey assured his employer he would do anything but "catch" as he suffered from hemorrhoids. Jonesey had no
problem whether the client was male or female. His first client was a Mr. Watson. Watson first wanted Jonesey to
walk his English Bull Dog in Central Park before retiring to bed for more recreational pursuits.
Although Capote never revealed the identity of Mr. Watson, Tennessee Williams disclosed his own identity by
claiming that Capote was a Goddamned liar and he didn't even have an English Bulldog. Capote never said he did.
Perhaps Williams borrowed the dog
Another client,was Alice Lee Langham, actually Katherine Anne Porter. Capote based the sections on the
exploitation of Ms. Porter by another writer Bill Goyen whom Capote's biographer Gerald Clarke described as a
writer of mediocre talent but whose reputation was boosted by his attachment to Ms. Porter.
Quite differently from his other works, Capote is frankly sexual in "Answered Prayers." From his visit with Ms.
Langham:
"That's better better and better Billy let me have billy now that's uh, uh, uh, it that's it only slower slower and
slower now hard hard hit it hard ay ay los cohones let me hear them ring now slower slower dradraaaaagdrag it
out now hit hard hard ay ay daddy Jesus Jesus goddamdaddyamighty come with me Billy come! Come!
How can I when the lady won't let me concentrate on areas more provocative than her roaring roiling
How can I when the lady won't let me concentrate on areas more provocative than her roaring roiling
undisciplined persona?"
Katherine Anne Porter
Jonesey is then offered his first trip to Europe complete with ticket on the Queen Mary by Denham Fout, who was
known as "the best kept boy in the world." Denham frightened Jonesey because of his addiction to drugs which
ultimately snared Capote.
The Best Kept Boy in the World
Ironically Fouts died taking a cure for his addiction. He suffered a heart attack at age thirty six. His death was
further undignified by the fact that he spun off this mortal coil while perched on the John.
Capote closes out "Unspoiled Monsters" in a spirit of disaffection for the life he has led.
Synopsis: Kate McCloud
Of all his heroines, perhaps Kate McCloud was closest to Capote's heart. Older than Holly Golightly, Kate is a wild
thing that cannot be held. Capote originally modeled her on Pamela Churchill, a well known socialite. However as
his chapter grew he adapted Cappy Badrutt, an infamous gold digger of the sixties and seventies.
Capote's Kate McCloud, Cappy Badrutt
"Kate! McCloud! My love, my anguish, my Gotterdammmerung, my very own Death in Venice: inevitable, perilous
as the asp at Cleopatra's breast."
Jonesey is first introduced to Kate as a masseur. She drops her thin negligee and lies naked on the massage table.
As Jonesey goes about his work he has to excuse himself for a quick trip to the john to relieve himself. When he
returns, Kate' coyly asks, "Feeling better?" And it is in this chapter we learn that the perfect way to maintain a firm
jaw line is to suck cock.
Jonesey is not unaware of Kate's faults. He exclaims, "Christ, if Kate had as many pricks sticking out of her as she's
had stuck inside her, she'd look like a porcupine."
"Kate McCloud" turns into something of a suspense thriller when Jonesey becomes her bodyguard to kidnap her
child being withheld from her by a German Count named Jaeger. The chapter ends on a whimper, leaving the
reader to wonder what happened to the concluding chapter.
Synopsis: La Cote Basque
This chapter is a piece totally set inside La Cote Basque, operating from the 1950s to its closing in 2004. Upon its
closing, the New York Times described it as the former high temple for high society with a yen for French cuisine.
60 55th Avenue, New York, New York
Capote blew the lid off high society with the final installment of "Answered Prayers." While having lunch with
"Lady Ina Coolbirth," actually longtime friend Slim Keith, who had been stood up for lunch by the Duchess of
Windsor, Capote is treated to all the secrets of the rich and famous in the room, from a philandering husband who
has sex with a menstruating woman while his wife is away and finds there are no clean sheets to pointing out a
possible murderess who killed her husband with a shotgun, alleging she believed he was a burglar.
Secrets are best kept from Slim Keith
Upon the release of the chapter, the alleged murderess committed suicide by taking an overdose of Seconal.
Capote was on the outs. He was ostracized.
In Clarke's biography, he attributes to Capote the following: All a writer has for material is what he knows. At least,
that's all I've got--what I know.
But at night, when he had been drinking, he would break into tears. "I didn't mean to hurt anybody. I didn't know
the story would cause such a fuss."
Yes, in truth, more tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.
There remains an unsolved mystery surrounding "Answered Prayers." What happened to the rest of it? The
theories are plentiful. It's locked in a safety deposit box waiting to be discovered. Capote destroyed it. Capote
never completed it after the furor resulting from the publications of the excerpts in Esquire. A lover stole it out of
revenge. It is a question that may never be answered. Perhaps it is an unanswered prayer.
|Truman (in)acabado
Obra inacabada, fruto de constantes atrasos e renegociações com editoras. Sucessivamente ultrapassada por
outros livros como ”In Cold Blood” – A Sangue Frio, tornou-se um ícone do voyeurismo social bissexual tornado
narrativa.
Envolto em espectativa e polémica desde a sua génese, gerou tanto alarido quanto a cativante Holly Golightly
(”Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, A Boneca de Luxo), sem nunca atingir a sua genialidade ou glamour.
”Answered Prayers” - Suplicas Atendidas é uma sucessão de três capítulos de uma obra dita maior, cujas páginas
não publicadas nunca foram encontradas e/ou tornadas públicas.
Truman alterna entre a (média) eloquência e a verborreia controlada, transpõe vivências sociais de um meio que o
comum dos mortais pouco conhece e dispara em todas as direcções, sem aparente fio condutor.
Torna-se por demais difícil acomodar na mesma estante literária, e lado a lado, este "Suplicas Atendidas", "A
Sangue Frio" e mesmo "A Boneca de Luxo". Por muito que seja um “romance” não terminado, parece-me que a
balança penderia mais para o lado do “pioraria ao longo dos restantes capítulos” do que para o prato do
“endireitaria a caminho do estatuto de clássico”.
A linguagem de Truman aqui é outra, a musicalidade, classe e elegância também…
”Prefiro”, disse-me Miss Langman, “ter só dois garfos realmente bons do que uma dúzia apenas boa. É por isso
que há tão poucos móveis nestas divisões. Só consigo viver com o melhor, mas não tenho dinheiro suficiente para
o fazer.”
“Resmungou sarcasticamente como todos os bêbados piegas, não sentia compaixão. “Que tal se fossemos a isto?
Volta-te e afasta-me essas nádegas”. “ Desculpe, mas não apanho bolas. Lançar, sim. Apanhar, não”.
"Chocantemente repugnante e completamente difamatório.", Tennessee Williams
"Capote morde as mãos que o alimentam.", New York Magazine
Nota: 2.0/5.0
|Truman Capote classificou “Súplicas Atendidas” como “um equivalente contemporâneo da obra-prima de Marcel
Proust Em Busca do Tempo Perdido”.
Na página 68, numa conversa sobre o escritor John Cheever, podemos ler:
“Porque quando qualquer coisa é verdadeira não significa que seja convincente, quer na vida real ou em arte.
Pensa no Proust. Em Busca do Tempo Perdido teria o impacto que tem se fosse historicamente literal, se Proust
não tivesse transposto sexos e alterado acontecimentos e identidades? Se ele tivesse sido absolutamente factual,
teria sido menos credível, mas – isso era o que eu pensava muitas vezes – mas talvez fosse melhor…A questão é a
seguinte: é a verdade uma ilusão, ou a ilusão verdade, ou são ambas essencialmente a mesma coisa?
Pessoalmente estou-me nas tintas quanto ao que os outros dizem de mim, desde que não seja verdade."
Quem fala assim é o narrador, P.B.Jones, bissexual , escritor ou aspirante a tal, acrescentando que está a preparar
um romance - “Se jamais o acabar. Claro está que nunca acabo nada.”-, cujo título será “Súplicas Atendidas”
baseado numa frase de Santa Teresa:
“Mais lágrimas são choradas por súplicas atendidas do que por aquelas que não o são.”
P.B.Jones, boémio com uma vida de expedientes e incapaz de parar quieto, relata-nos a vida social de uma época
com pormenores sobre a vida sexual e privada de artistas, milionários e até membros de famílias reais famosos,
sem ocultar a sua verdadeira identidade.
Livro incompleto (o que tem as suas vantagens, pois podemos dar largas à nossa imaginação), publicado depois
da morte de Capote, gerou uma enorme controvérsia e contestação como se pode confirmar por três comentários
publicados na revista Esquire:
"Chocantemente repugnante e completamente difamatório."
Tennessee Williams, dramaturgo
"Capote morde as mãos que o alimentam."
New York Magazine
"Aquele serzinho desprezível e sujo nunca mais vai colocar os pés nas minhas festas."
Nedda Logan, atriz
Não me fez esquecer Breakfast at Tiffany´s , mas gostei de ler- é um livro muito masculino que me lembrou um
outro escrito num tom muito diferente: “Paris é Uma Festa” de Ernest Hemingway, tanto mais que o velho Papa no
seu livro alerta o leitor nos seguintes termos:
“Se o leitor preferir, poderá considerar este livro como uma obra de ficção. Mas existe sempre a possibilidade de
semelhante livro lançar alguma luz no que se escreveu como realidade.”
Por sua parte, Truman Capote é considerado como o iniciador de um género denominado pelo autor como
“romance não ficção”.
Para terminar a resenha, gostaria de referir que adorei a primeira e última páginas de “Súplicas Atendidas”.
Excerto 1ª página:
“Se pudesse fazer qualquer coisa, iria para o meio do nosso planeta, a Terra, e buscaria urânio, rubis e ouro.
“Se pudesse fazer qualquer coisa, iria para o meio do nosso planeta, a Terra, e buscaria urânio, rubis e ouro.
Punha-me à procura de Monstros em Estado Bruto. A seguir, iria viver para o campo. Florie Rotondo, oito anos de
idade.
Florie, minha querida, sei exactamente o que queres dizer…Porque eu cá estive no meio do nosso planeta- passei,
em qualquer caso, pelas tribulações que uma jornada dessas pode infligir. Procurei urânio, rubis e ouro e, no
caminho, observei outros nessa mesma busca. E ouve-me bem, Florie – encontrei Monstros em Estado Bruto! E
mimados também. Mas a espécie não estragada é avis rara:trufas brancas comparadas com as pretas- espargos
selvagens amargos em oposição aos cultivados em jardins. A única coisa que não fiz foi mudar-me para o campo.”
Excerto última página:
“Reinava um ambiente de luxuosa fadiga, como uma rosa quase murcha com as pétalas a cair. Tudo o que me
esperava lá fora era o entardecer de Nova Iorque.”
|Why do people see shrinks? To tell someone their most secret woes and stories. They don't expect (or get)
answers. They just wanna Let Go. Famous People, it seems, revealed all to Capote and were not happy when he
put their "tales" in a book. He was blacklisted by Society after some chapters appeared in Esquire, and never
finished what would have been a sensationally good novel. Capote was mortal. He cared what people thought.