...(book review) Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M by Sam Wasson

    

Audrey Hepburn is an icon like no other, yet the image many of us have of Hepburn - dainty, immaculate - is anything but true to life. Here, for the first time, Sam Wasson presents the woman behind the little black dress that rocked the nation in 1961. With a colourful cast of characters including Truman Capote, Edith Head, Givenchy, "Moon River" composer Henry Mancini, and, of course, Hepburn herself, Wasson immerses us in the America of the early sixties before Woodstock and birth control, when a not-so-virginial girl by the name of Holly Golightly raised eyebrows across the country, changing fashion, film and sex for good.

FIFTH AVENUE 5 A.M by Sam Wasson

Published: 2010

Genre: Autobiography, Memoir, Non-fiction

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Anyone who knows me will attest to my utter adoration of Audrey Hepburn as an actress and an icon. I fell in love with her films at a young age, adoring the unconventional beauty that makes her so relatable to so many woman, and the instinctual honesty of her acting. In a time when "perfect" actresses such as Marilyn Monroe graced the screen, Audrey was a refreshing introduction to Hollywood that rattled America's viewpoint in more ways than one.

Sam Wasson's book is a revelation on one woman's career and the build up to the film Breakfast at Tiffany's that would simultaneously enlighten and challenge America with its modern vantage point.

This book was fascinating to me and one of the most engaging non-fictions I've read - which is saying something, as it's usually a genre I boycott unless it suits me! I've grown up with theatre and old movies, and so the combinations of Hollywood glitz and glamour with well conveyed factoids suited me just fine.

I had no idea of the importance Audrey Hepburn's performance in Breakfast at Tiffany's had on America. The writers and directors fought to stay true to Capote's original characters and story, in the end adapting and toning down certain elements to make sure it wouldn't be rejected by a country who previously hadn't been exposed to such a nonchalant view of sex in movies, especially from a woman's perspective. 

Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly normalised the idea of a woman living alone and living life the way she wanted to. It carried women out of a repressed 50's attitude towards the more liberated 60's freedom.

"...the fact that she was living on her own at a time when women simply weren't, was very validating to me. It was very affirming. Here was this incredibly glamourous woman who wasn't convinced that she had to live with a man. She was a single girl living a life of her own, and she could have an active sex life that wasn't morally questionable. I had never seen that before."

I really enjoyed Sam Wasson's revealing but candid style of writing, and since finishing this book, I've discovered a book of his on Bob Fosse, another fascinating individual. I know what I'll be reading next!

As for Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M; I recommend it entirely. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below if you happen to read it; I love a good book chat!

Similarly, you can find me on Instagram and Facebook @zuzuspages in-between blogs for more bookish content!

Thanks for reading, 

Zuzu 🖊