Lost friendships

the long version

Drawing on his journals, novelist Windham ( Two People, etc.) describes his relationships with Capote and Williams ("the one person I loved to whom I didn't have a physical attachment"), their addiction to alcohol, jealousy and untruth, their deterioration as writers and as human beings. The inspiration for Capote's writing, he states, was not experience but reading, and as time went on, instead of writing, he "talked about the writing he was going to do." He was "always engaged in fantasy and web-spinning," and "his frail respect for the distinction between the truth and invention became even frailer." At a certain point, Williams, too, "ceased to be able to distinguish between truth and untruth." Like other recent books on these two unhappy writers, Windham's memoir is a depressing account of wasted lives and talents. Publishers Weekly. A long-time friend of both Capote and Williams, Windham gives a compelling portrait of these two important American writers. Part 1, "Footnote to a Friendship," focuses on Capote. Part 2, "As if . . . ," depicts his more complex friendship with Williams (they collaborated on a play, You Touched Me , and he edited a volume of the playwright's letters). In telling their story, Windham spans four decades of literary life, bringing into his memoir other writers and luminariesGore Vidal, Isak Dinesen, and Andre Gide among them. This useful supplement to the standard biographies and criticism is recommended for collections specializing in modern literature. Michael J. Esposito, formerly with the Special Libs. Assn., Washington, D.C. -- Library Journal.