"The early stories of Truman Capote" by Truman Capote (Penguin, 2015)

He started writing seriously at 8. By then he knew he'd rather be a girl. These rediscovered pieces were written in his (early) teens. He felt that his best early work was when he was closely describing people and events. Being an outsider, he used single black females as a symbol.

• Parting of the Way - Young Tim has been tramping around with old Jake for a while. "Morning came gloriously, the large orange disc known as the sun came up like a messenger from heaven". He's amassed $10 now, enough to return to his mother (who thinks he's a travelling salesman) with some respect. Jake steals the money, then changes his mind when he sees that the boy's leaving anyway. The boy seems to change his mind about leaving - maybe Jake's not so bad.
• Mill Store - From the store where she worked, the black women (new to the area) watches children play in the creek. A little girl buys sweets. When later the girl's bitten by a snake the shop-worker sucks the poison out and applies chicken (that she's freshly killed) to the bite.
• Hilda - The school principal talks to Hilda. She's well brought up so why does she steal from school friends. She doesn't know. The principal's sad, but he'll have to tell her parents
• Miss Belle Rankin - A man offers old Belle, a negress with a reputation for being cranky, $200 for her Japonica tree. She refuses. Years before her husband then her daughter had deserted her. She's found dead under the tree, blossoms on her.
• If I forget you - Grace, 16, has found out that the boy he's loved for years is leaving town tomorrow. She invites him to her home for a meal but he doesn't turn up.
• The moth in the flame - Sadie's escaped from prison. She drops into Em, who tells her which way to run, knowing that the police are in that direction. Sadie's found drowned - maybe suicide. Em feels guilty.
• Swamp Terror - 2 boys are in a wood where they know there's an escaped convict. They separate. While one is up a tree he sees the other held by the convict. The held boy shouts so the search squad knows where they are. The convict kills the boy.
• The familiar stranger - An old lady is visted by Death, who leaves.
• Louise - Ethel, 17 is jealous of pretty, clever, Louise. She reveals to the head of the private school that Louise is part-black, which is enough to get Louise chucked out. Another girl tells Ethel that she's won and lost.
• This is for Jamie - Teddy is 8. While the chilmilder takes him to the park so she can chat to soldiers, he meets a nice mother and her dog. The mother has a very sick son called Jamie, Teddy's age. On another day, Teddy gives the mother a parcel of magazines for Jamie. On another day, a man gives a dog to Teddy with a note saying that Jamie would have wanted him to have it.
• Lucy - Lucy is called up from the South to help a mother and son who left there to live in NY. The boy likes her, but she is bored and leaves.
• Traffic West - 4 episodes in reverse order. I have trouble understanding them all. Part II has "The girl rose from the bench on which she had been seated".
• Kindred Spirits - Mrs Rittenhouse, a rich widow, tells Mrs Green that her husband's unfortunate death didn't sadden her, and suggest how Mrs Green could get rid of her husband. "For a long time their eyes exchanged a curious, searching gaze; and the mysterious understanding between them flowered into a mutual smile".
• Where the world begins - During an Algebra lesson Sally fantasises about being an actress then a war reporter. The ending is "She was very happy here, with the wind blowing in her hair and Death around the corner"

Stories often begin with the weather and end with a rather unexpected emotional reaction.

Other reviews

• Kirkus reviews
• John Daly (all the stories were written between the ages of 11 and 19, they are undated, and so places the reader as detective in guessing which were produced as he grew more mature and adept at the profession that would guide his short life. ... All are vignettes of the lonely, broken and troubled that Capote would fashion and shape into masterpieces later on in his career.)
• Forward by Hilton Als