I went into this book without having watched the movie or knowing anything about the story, which I think is the right way to read this book. So many of the other reviews seem to have a hard time separating Holly Golightly from Audrey Hepburn. While the movie (I now know) is a romance and portrays Holly as someone glamorous and likable, the book seems to be about a much darker side to this same character. Holly's life is not glamorous, sure she is a socialite, has beautiful clothes, and likes to discuss her preferences in jewelry. But she also is running from a bad past with seemingly no set destination in mind, which may be the reason she ends up with such bad company. I read this as a character study of a young adult who thought she knew what she wanted, but found out that that sort of lifestyle comes at a price, and that really a "normal, boring" lifestyle would offer her more personal freedom, if nothing else.