AUDIO

The Swans of Fifth Avenue

by Melanie Benjamin
10 CDs. 12:46 hrs. Books on Tape. Jan. 2016. ISBN 9781101922774. $45. digital download. F
COPY ISBN
Benjamin (The Aviator's Wife) here fictionalizes the relationship of writer Truman Capote with fashion icon Babe Paley. Through Babe, he meets other society women whom he calls his swans. He convinces Babe and her high-class friends that each is special and he is devoted to her. This does not stop him from using personal information and gossip gathered from each swan in his writing. When Esquire publishes his short story "La Cote Basque 1965," he is shunned by his upper-crust friends and begins the downward spiral that ultimately led to his death several years later. Cassandra Campbell brings Babe to life, and Paul Boehmer does the same for Truman, though having two narrators can be distracting as they have different vocal interpretations.
VERDICT Recommended for fans of historic fiction, New York society, and Truman Capote. ["Benjamin convincingly portrays a large cast of colorful historical figures while crafting a compelling, gossipy narrative with rich emotional depth": LJ 9/1/15 starred review of the Delacorte hc.]
Reviewed by David Faucheux, Lafayette, LA , May 01, 2016
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