ALYS' THOUGHTS: Breakfast at Tiffany's vs Breakfast at Tiffany's

This Saturday I finished reading Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. My sister loves the movie but has never attempted the book. The opposite applies to me, so once I finished the book, I tracked my sister down to the bathroom. Her love for rom-coms and happy endings made me say, "I expected that to have a happier end."
She, in the middle of her shower, responded, "It does have a happy end."
"It does?" I tried not to sound too surprised for her sake. After all, I did ruin The Great Gatsby for her. "What happens in the end of the movie?"
"They kiss and fall in love." She paused. "Don't they?"
"Oh," was all I got out before darting from the bathroom. I wasn't going to ruin another novel for my little sister.
With these contradicting conclusions, I decided to give the movie a try. By Saturday evening I was able to compare the book and its movie reincarnation.

For starters, I enjoyed both but for entirely different reasons. Audrey Hepburn makes Holly Golightly all that more lively and slightly more pleasant than her book form. Her initial scene in front of Tiffany's make her appealing right off the bat.There's a list of a features I didn't appreciate in Holly, but she's a human-being. She's flawed, not some perfect, cookie-cutter heroine, and I get that.

The protagonist was also more likable in the movie, but I feel like that's more because I actually heard his name more than once in it. In the book, I knew him as Fred, because that's what Holly constantly called him. The movie helped him come to life and make a greater impact.

All around, the characters in the movie were better, but for the plot, I have to hand it over to the book. The movie flowed well enough but the book was more precise and gave more depth to everything, such as Mr. Golightly and Sally Tomato. What I especially liked in the book was the end. I hated it, but I loved it. Happy endings are no longer a requirement for me because I know we're never guaranteed them in real life. Unlike the movie, Holly and Paul don't find the cat moments after she abandoned it in the middle of New York City and kiss passionately in the rain. No, Holly flies off to Brazil, Paul finds the cat on his own accord, and he never hears from Holly again after her initial letter. There's no blossoming love story, no kiss in the rain, and I'm perfectly fine, even pleased, with that.

So I'm going to have to say, I have no preference here. The movie was good, the book was good, all was good--not great. But I'll probably re-watch the movie with my sister sometime soon and hopefully remember not to spoil anything.

Book Rating: 4/5 stars

Movie Rating: 8/10 stars

DISCLAIMER: PHOTOS AREN'T MINE. SEE BELOW

Breakfast at Tiffany's book cover art by Kate Berry https://www.behance.net/gallery/19601085/Breakfast-at-Tiffanys-book-cover

Movie still from Breakfast at Tiffany's by Blake Edwards (director) and Jurow-Shepherd (production company)