I know several people on our
staff who raved about Melanie Benjamin’s The Aviator’s Wife so I was very curious to read her newly released The
Swans of Fifth Avenue. It is set primarily in the 1950’s and 1960’s and
focuses on Truman Capote’s friendship with Babe Paley and other society
figures, the “swans” of the title.
As such, the book is an
interesting, gossipy look at that life and explores the idea that appearance matters
most. Once again, Melanie Benjamin has chosen to focus on an unhappy women who
is overshadowed by her husband. I did not know very much at all about Babe Paley
or other socialites (like Pamela Churchill, C. Z. Guest, and Gloria Guinness) before
reading this book and I found myself frequently flipping to Wikipedia or
the internet for background and images as I was reading.
Truman Capote, of course, is
more well-known and seems to be experiencing a revival of sorts due to his friendship
with Harper Lee. In The Swans of Fifth Avenue he is portrayed as
very insecure and Benjamin stresses this again and again (and again), along
with Babe’s unhappiness in contrast to their glamorous lifestyle. With tales of Capote’s famous Black and White
Ball, references to contemporary figures like Kenneth, and cameo appearances by
stars like Lauren Bacall, this novel will certainly entertain those who
remember the era. Overall, though, a fifty year old “scandal” seemed muted and I
wished for a somewhat faster pace. The
Swans of Fifth Avenue received a starred review from Library Journal.
