Tell me -- What is your greatest fear?

There was a long silence. No sounds but the low hum of the pool filter, the faraway grazing of a lawn mower, and the determined "clip clip" of a gardener on the other side of some tall azalea bushes, trimming away.

"That someone will see," Babe whispered, while at the same time, Truman murmured, "That someone will find me out."

"That no one will love me," Truman added after another moment. While at the same time, Babe admitted, "And that I'll never be loved, truly."

In her latest novel, Melanie Benjamin peeks behind the curtain of the famous friendships (and infamous exploits) of Truman Capote and his "Swans" -- the best-known New York socialites of the early and mid 1960's, including Babe Paley, Slim Keith and others. For years Capote and his Swans, particularly Babe, were inseparable, until Capote published a scathing short fiction piece in Esquire magazine that was a thinly-disguised portrait of the most embarrassing aspect of the Swans' lives. After publication, a schism developed between Capote and the group, and he was ostracized from their circle for good.

I found this book to be fascinating. On one level, it could just be read as a story of the glitterati gallivanting around the big city (and the world) doing nothing more than spending money and being "fabulous." But I looked at it as more as a character study -- both of the individuals involved and of personality types in general -- and a tale of love and friendship.

I know a bit about Truman Capote, but I haven't read about him extensively or seen any of the biopics about his life. Benjamin describes for us a man who is simultaneously overconfident about his talent and importance, yet still desperately longing for approval and acceptance.

"If he only told the best stories, dished the most delicious gossip, dropped the grandest of names.

Then, perhaps. Then. Would he truly belong?"

Why would Capote, who seemed to find pure (though platonic) love with Babe Paley, turn around and betray her in such a public way? Was it hubris? Did he think that they were so close she'd forgive him? Did he think he was so smart that no one would know who he was writing about? I don't know. It's a question as old as time -- why does any friend betray another?

I knew nothing about the famous 1960's socialites, but their worries and concerns are the same the world over, particularly for women obsessed with beauty, who think they're going to be "traded in" for a newer model when their husbands get bored.

"Blond, brunette, tall, short, European or Californian, they were still the same; only the exteriors were different. And they devoted their lives to maintaining this difference, striving to shine, be the one jewel who stood out. Yet at night, they took off the diamonds, and gowns and went to empty beds resigned to the fact that they were just women, after all. Women with a shelf life."

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

There are two perfectly suited readers for this audio book that I got from the library’s Overdrive collection, Paul Boehmer and Cassandra Campbell.
Listening to this book, I could just hear my Mom, back in the day when we watched old movies together, responding to the many names of yesteryear in that nostalgic way, “Oh Noel Coward, I wonder what became of him.” And then she would relay some personal tidbit like, “His sister was my best friend Anne’s frequent lunch companion when we were in college.” (I’m making that up, but you get the gist.) That’s not the only reason I enjoyed this book. I had not heard of many of these people and found their pride and their vulnerabilities all very human and compelling. And yes, it did make me sad that the glamour, elegance, and standards of earlier decades have been so thoroughly supplanted by the informalities of subsequent generations.
( )

Although this was a fictionalised account of New York society, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will seek out some non fiction about the subjects. Very good! ( )

After years of seeing Babe Paley, Slim Keith, C.Z. Guest, etc., name-dropped in Vogue as style icons, I was interested to learn more about these women, but this just felt more gossipy and intrusive than insightful.

I did feel like this book captured the glamour of the era, but maybe reading about real life people in fiction isn’t for me, or I guess if a novel does feature real people I’d prefer to feel as though there was more fact mixed into the fiction. I spent too much of this reading experience questioning whether conversations happened (like would the head of CBS really have let Truman Capote’s swipe at Lucille Ball’s age and talent go unchecked?). I also wondered how anyone could begin to guess at what went on in their bedrooms (or frankly why their sex lives would be any of my business?). I just don’t know that this account was any more fair to these women than the contentious short story Truman wrote.

The only swan depicted here with a modicum of depth is Babe. I had moments where I felt for her, but there were also many moments where I struggled with her depiction, could someone really be such a naive doormat yet also rule the New York high society roost? That didn’t entirely add up, the Babe I met in this book didn’t seem savvy enough or steely enough to marry her way up or stay on top as long as she did. It just seemed liked there had to be more to Babe, and really more to all of these women than this story imagined. ( )

DNF. I am not interested. I don’t like the writing style, although I generally like this authors books, and I was bored by the Truman Capote/ swans story. ( )