A Christmas Memory

"A Christmas Memory" and "The Thanksgiving Visitor" were inspired by Capote's early years with a family of distant relatives in rural Alabama. These two childhood tales pay loving tribute to an eccentric old-maid cousin, Miss Sook Faulk, who became Capote's best friend. In "A Christmas Memory," Miss Sook, Buddy (the narrator), and their dog, Queenie, celebrate the yuletide in a hilariously tipsy state. In the poignant reminiscence "One Christmas," six-year-old Buddy journeys to New Orleans for a reunion with his estranged father that shatters many illusions. And in "The Thanksgiving Visitor," Miss Sook invites an unexpected guest to the holiday meal: the school bully, Odd Henderson, whom Buddy calls "the meanest human creature in my experience."

Distinguished by Capote's delicate interplay of childhood sensibility and recollective vision, these three classics are gems that celebrate the unique bonds of friends and family.