In a season too often focused the latest toy or gadget, Capote鈥檚 lightly fictionalized tale of his own childhood on a Depression-era Alabama farm is a powerful reminder that the greatest Christmas gift of all is simple human affection. Capote鈥檚 story recounts the deep friendship between the young Buddy and Sook, a childlike older cousin who becomes his surrogate caregiver. The story unfolds in Capote鈥檚 deeply poetical style, and within this heart-tugging tale of Buddy and Sook鈥檚 inventive efforts to make a memorable Christmas in a hardscrabble household, there鈥檚 plenty of humor, too. Sook鈥檚 search for whiskey to season her fruitcake is, in Capote鈥檚 telling, a jewel in itself. The opening of 鈥淎 Christmas Memory鈥� starts the holidays as decisively for me as each year鈥檚 first strains of 鈥淛ingle Bells鈥�:
"Imagine a morning in late November. A coming of winter morning more than twenty years ago. Consider the kitchen of a spreading old house in a country town. A great black stove is its main feature; but there is also a big round table and a fireplace with two rocking chairs placed in front of it. Just today the fireplace commenced its seasonal roar."
You can find 鈥淎 Christmas Memory鈥� in a Modern Library edition of Capote鈥檚 collected holiday tales: 鈥淎 Christmas Memory, One Christmas, & The Thanksgiving Visitor.鈥�
