I ordered this book after first reading the story in a collection of Capote stories from the library. I knew I wanted to own it and share it. I ordered one for myself and one for a friend who loves Christmas so she could enjoy it and share it with her friends and family. I haven't listened to the CD that comes with it, but that was a nice surprise. The only thing I didn't like about the book are the illustrations. After having read more about Capote and seeing photos of him and his aunt, the pictures just didn't seem to match. They seemed too charming to me, not conveying the reality. For someone without a preconcieved idea of what the characters should look like it won't matter and this book is actually geared towards children, whereas the original story was not. I enjoyed my initial reading the most being able to create the scenes in my mind with his beautiful descriptions and my own experience with elderly relatives. I plan to search for version with no illustrations.

A Christmas Memory is short but it is so rich that you will not end feeling deprived. The writing is so beautiful. I wanted to just crawl into that story and be there with them.

We had this for a book group and it received a unanimous thumbs up. Only one other book has done that.

It's a shame Janet Schulman's 10 Trick-or-Treaters arrived too late for more timely October Halloween mention: all we can say is, it's sure to maintain interest over the next year and beyond, offering a blend of zany, bright drawings by Linda Davick paired with a Halloween-theme counting book based on the adventures of ten little trick-or-treaters. Truman Capote's classic A CHRISTMAS MEMORY receives Beth Peck's warm holiday drawings, a cd narrated by Celeste Holm and returns the 50th anniversary of a classic holiday story to print. A Christmas ritual of baking fruitcakes symbolizes the story of Buddy and his eccentric, elderly cousin. It first appeared in 1956 as a memoir of Capote's childhood but makes a simply love story for new generations.

I refer to the short story "A Christmas Memory". Simply put: one of the most moving, well written and memorable short stories ever written in the English language

The answer is in this book. You will be surprised to find that reading this book is like unwrapping the brightest gift under the tree and discovering your childhood soul inside.