Swan Song: Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019

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A vivid debut … based on ten years of research, this is a dazzling read that’s been worth the wait Image Magazine

The Story of Truman Capote famous for being an American writer who wrote “Breakfast At Tiffany’s and “ Cold Blood”his is a production of the play As You Like It (by William Shakespeare) by Royal Shakespeare Company, 6th September 1977 (press night), at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon". Theatricalia. Theatricalia. A whirlwind of a first novel. There is great pathos in the Swans' woundings and in their inevitable decline. And the character of Truman himself shimmers through the novel in a wonderful blaze of eccentricity and excess. Outstanding." -- Rose Tremain I’m constructing this book like a gun, there’s the trigger, the barrel and finally the bullet .And when it’s fired it’s gonna come out with a speed and power you’ve never seen - WHAM” And it was a pampered, self-obsessed life, but Greenberg-Jephcott beautifully captures the pain and poignancy alongside the privilege.

Greenberg-Jephcott brilliantly captures those occasions, how Capote’s charm sprinkled everything with “magic dust”, how they’d be “wrapped in the cocoon of conversation, doubled with laughter at his witticisms”. Until, fatally, he overstepped the mark and revealed in print what they confided in private. Theirs was a shimmering set, dressed in Dior, heading to Europe on yachts and private jets, lunching in the best restaurants and sharing secrets with Capote, whose Southern cadences seduced them into telling stories they shouldn’t. The real skill of Swan Song is the kaleidoscopic portrait it paints of its raddled hero. The narrative moves through time from Capote’s tawdry childhood and friendship with Harper Lee to his withered end in Fu Manchu pyjamas. This is a first novel of extraordinary skill, a book of which Capote – even at his best – would have been proud.I have to admit that prior to reading Swan Song, I knew almost nothing about Truman Capote; I had, of course, heard of his two most famous books, his much-loved novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s and his non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood, but that was about the extent of my knowledge. And thus it was that for me, Swan Song was not only a riveting read, but it too was an informative insight into one of the twentieth century’s most renowned literary darlings. When he writes his next book “Answered Prayers” his friends can not wait to hear what it is going to be about. Truman says “ It’s called Answered Prayers and if it all goes well, it’ll answer mine”

Author: El-Arifi’s heritage-raised by a Christian Ghanaian/British mother and a Muslim Sudanese/Arab father-is said to be “intrinsically linked to the themes of her stories”. She spent her childhood in the Middle East and, on reaching her formative years, moved to a village outside Sheffield. She initially specialised in theatre directing but now works at Pinewood Film Studios as global senior manager for comms and social media. The Final Strife was longlisted for The Bath Novel Award 2020. A whirlwind of a first novel. There is great pathos in the Swans' woundings and in their inevitable decline. And the character of Truman himself shimmers through the novel in a wonderful blaze of eccentricity and excess. Outstanding .' ROSE TREMAIN Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself.”― Truman Capote. This book had me wanting to know more about Truman and I found myself Googling him and watching interviews he did on chat shows. For me that is a sign of a good book as you got under my skin and I wanted to know more!! I am in two minds about this book: while I thought there were moments of brilliance, overall I found it indulgent, tedious, and way too long. Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcotts sets out to retell Truman Capote’s final years from the perspectives of his ‘Swans’, high society ladies he first befriended and then betrayed.

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Truman could best be epitomized by the four Cs (those who knew him most intimately would likely add a fifth): camp, catty, course and clever. Though his cleverness notoriously deserted him when he imprudently and very publicly besmirched the reputations of those he had come to rely on so completely as sources of inspiration, influence and adoration. His greatest mistake was betraying their trust by publishing in Esquire two episodes from his uncompleted novel, Answered Prayers, in which many old friends were revealed in all their grotesque prodigality, barely disguised with fictitious names. However, this doesn’t feel like an examination of a complex man, nor a fleshing out of his enigmatic ‘swans’. Rather, it resembles a painfully drawn out gossip column. Honestly, my predominant thought throughout was thus: If the Mail Online’s sidebar of shame had existed in the 70s, it would have read like this book. I hoped it might offer a feminist, insightful view of these people; one that defied expectations and gave the women agency. Instead, it all felt incredibly vapid, reinforcing every socialite trope there is. Perfect holiday novel, Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott. Truman Capote’s struggle with art and society reimagined Linda Grant, author of THE DARK CIRCLE The day Somebody McSomebody put a gun to my breast and called me a cat and threatened to shoot me was the same day the milkman died.” Hannah’s mother, Elizabeth, left when Hannah was small and the father and daughter never mention her.