Customer Reviews
Unanswered Gems - By: Martin A Hogan, 11 Apr 2007 
Although "Answered Prayers" can be read as dated since most of it's "characters" live in the 1960's & 1970's, there is still marvelous prose & stories that pique the interest. Capote had promised to complete several short stories for this tome, but this collection contains only three. All of them are marvels to read, but the last, "La Cote Basque", is a stinging expose of the New York Socialite clique. Not only does Capote mention real celebrities, but he also exposes the deepest & darkest secrets of high society with a thin veil. It's no wonder he was ostracized from this egregious group. Some of the events he describes are beyond scandalous, yet witty & viciously funny. He somehow manages to bring the `so-callled' social deviants to the same level as the most respected socialites, making it clear that money is the only difference.
The Editor's Note is the most intriguing part of the book, as it describes how Capote managed to promise to produce these stories for years without delivering & obtained millions from the publishers, enabling him to live with a high level of social activity. He was a celebrity as well as an author & a clever, if not conniving man. The biggest tragedy is that so many stories will never be read due to his early alcoholic induced death. Still, these three stories are inspired gems.
Sharp as knives. - By: , 19 Dec 2001 Capote was ostrichised by his high society "friends" for this novel when excerpts were published in Esquire. It is, you see, an expose of the lifestyles of the rich & famous, & though most of the names recounted in the book are psuedonyms, it isn't too hard to see who they are getting at (although it was for me, but then I'm thick)
Yes, sharp as knives, bitchy as hell.
Sigh: So Emblematic Of Capote's Wasted Talent - By: , 01 Jul 1998 
Although I've never considered Capote a great writer (or even capable of resembling one), he did write In Cold Blood, one of the finest non-fiction books of the 20th Century. In short, he had genuine talent, which he threw away with both hands (rather like Fitzgerald, though he certainly didn't have his genius). Answered Prayers is, to my mind, proof of this -- magnificently written in parts, but sloppy, disorganized & ultimately pointless. One questions the judgement & motivations in publishing this singularly unfinished piece.
Capote's unfinished masterpiece - By: , 16 Apr 1998 If the complete novel had ever been published, "Answered Prayers" would have been no doubt Truman Capote's masterpiece. The novel is nothing like "In Cold Blood" or "Other Voices, Other Rooms." The novel is autobiographical & details the lives of socialites & endless parties. Capote was very familiar with this lifestyle. He was a regular on the New York City & L.A. party circuit. All of Capote's escapades can be read about in Gerald Clarke's biography "Capote." "Answered Prayers" was worked on for more than twenty years, & it's ashamed that no more of the book was found after Capote's death in 1984. "Answered Prayers" is Capote's masterpiece.
