''A Tree of Night and Other Stories'' is a
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
collection by the American author
Truman Capote
Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...
published in early 1949. The title story, "A Tree of Night", was first published in ''
Harper’s Bazaar
''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...
'' in October 1945.
Contents
The book contains eight short stories:
* "Master Misery"
* "
Children on Their Birthdays
''Children on Their Birthdays'' is a 2002 American independent drama film directed by Mark Medoff, and starring Sheryl Lee, Jesse Plemons, Joe Pichler, Tania Raymonde, Christopher McDonald, and Tom Arnold. The screenplay written by Douglas Sloan ...
"
* "Shut a Final Door"
* "Jug of Silver"
* "
Miriam"
* "The Headless Hawk"
* "My Side of the Matter"
* "A Tree of Night"
Themes
The horror stories in ''A Tree of Night and Other Stories'' involve recurring themes of isolation and emotional anxiety. The protagonists are not quite ready to grow up, whether they are adults or children. The adult characters are emotionally isolated and bear unresolved emotional conflicts from childhood. Overall the stories are noted for involving "sexual anxiety and dysfunction without solidly grounded detail."
Publication history
*In 1950, ''A Tree of Night and Other Stories'' was issued in hardback in the United Kingdom by
Heinemann
*In 1967, ''A Tree of Night and Other Stories'' was reprinted by Penguin in paperback.
Reception and critical analysis
''A Tree of Night and Other Stories'' received mixed reviews upon its publication. It firmly established Capote as a "Southern" writer alongside contemporaries such as
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...
or
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
. The book received praise for its "enthralling style" and "remarkable beauty of language," but also received criticism for characters who "lack substance."
Helen Garson considers ''A Tree of Night and Other Stories'' to have undoubted appeal to readers and ranks it as one of Capote's top four works, alongside ''
Other Voices, Other Rooms'', ''
Breakfast at Tiffany's'', and ''
In Cold Blood.''
Steven L. Vaughn comments that ''A Tree of Night and Other Stories'' proves to be consistent with Capote's earlier fiction, most notably ''Other Voices, Other Rooms'', which he describes as dark and dreamlike.
Sales of the book were approximately 6,750.
[Clarke, Gerald. ''Capote: A Biography'' (1998) Carroll & Graff. p. 224]
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tree of Night and Other Stories
1949 short story collections
Books by Truman Capote
Short story collections by Truman Capote
Random House books
Works originally published in Harper's Bazaar