'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote is a meticulously researched and haunting account of the Clutter family murders in 1959, where Herb and Bonnie Clutter and two of their children were brutally killed by Perry Smith and Dick Hickcock. The book delves into the events leading up to the crime, the aftermath, and the impact on the small Kansas town of Holcomb. Capote's writing style is described as journalistic, factual, and methodical, evoking fear and suspense in the reader, while also providing a detailed exploration of the characters' motivations and personalities.
Capote's narrative alternates between reporting and storytelling, providing a gripping and enthralling read that raises questions about morality, journalism, and the death penalty. The book is praised for its detailed reconstruction of the murders, the trial, and the execution of the killers, all presented in a sensitive and empathetic manner that allows the reader to understand the complexities of the case and the individuals involved.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book contains high content warnings due to graphic descriptions of murder, violence, and psychological trauma.
From The Publisher:
The chilling true crime 'non-fiction novel' that made Truman Capote's name, In Cold Blood is a seminal work of modern prose, a remarkable synthesis of journalistic skill and powerfully evocative narrative published in Penguin Modern Classics.
Controversial and compelling, In Cold Blood reconstructs the murder in 1959 of a Kansas farmer, his wife and both their children. Truman Capote's comprehensive study of the killings and subsequent investigation explores the circumstances surrounding this terrible crime and the effect it had on those involved. At the centre of his study are the amoral young killers Perry Smith and Dick Hickcock, who, vividly drawn by Capote, are shown to be reprehensible yet entirely and frighteningly human.
Truman Capote (1924-84) was born in New Orleans. He left school when he was fifteen and subsequently worked for The New Yorker, which provided his first - and last - regular job. He wrote both fiction and non-fiction - short stories, novels and novellas, travel writing, profiles, reportage, memoirs, plays and films; his other works include In Cold Blood (1965), Music for Chameleons (1980) and Answered Prayers (1986), all of which are published in Penguin Modern Classics.
If you enjoyed In Cold Blood, you might like Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs' And the Hippos were Boiled in their Tanks, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.
'It is the American dream turning into the American nightmare ... By juxtaposing and dovetailing the lives and values of the Clutters and those of the killers, Capote produces a stark image of the deep doubleness of American life ... a remarkable book'
Spectator
Ratings (158)
Incredible (27) | |
Loved It (76) | |
Liked It (36) | |
It Was OK (12) | |
Did Not Like (7) |
Reader Stats (322):
Read It (168) | |
Currently Reading (2) | |
Want To Read (109) | |
Did Not Finish (8) | |
Not Interested (35) |
8 comment(s)
the prose is a little old fashioned
took me some time to get through
but the plainness of the prose is stark against the violence
and buy the end of the book i noticed that capote completely erased himself from the narrative; we know he gathered all this information, but he doesn't leave his fingerprints on it
masterful
Leer este libro es como coger un objeto de la mesa y mirarlo desde todos los angulos posibles.
Por ejemplo el teclado con el que estoy escribiendo esto. Puedes fijarte en cada tecla, en su textura, la presion que se necesita para escribir, el espaciado entre ellas. Y darte cuenta de detalles que de otras formas no sabrias que estan ahi, acabo de aprender el lugar de origen de mi teclado por ejemplo, da la casualidad que he estado en esa ciudad, ahora podria explicarte las condiciones de vida alli y la personalidad de su gente y como eso influye tambien en este teclado.
Bien, eso es lo que Truman Capote hace aqui pero con el asesinato de 4 personas en una granja en Kansas. Es una gran cantidad de material y esta presentado de forma clara y concisa.
This book scared me so forcibly. It is horrific in its hitchcockian plot. normal life one minute horrendous murder the next.
Had to read this for school, so I naturally did not want to read it and stopped after about 80 pages. Pretty bland but well written. I think I might have enjoyed it if I’d read it on my own, but I don’t care enough to do that.
I recognize Capote's skill as a writer and I have a particular fondness for "Dill," even when he's all grown up. Just the same, I could not make myself appreciate this book as much as I'm sure it deserves. Part of it is the slowness of it (not always a fault, but it didn't work for me here), but the main thing is his focus on the killers.
At the time this was written, true crime (or, I suppose Tru crime in this case) wasn't a genre. People were naturally curious about what could make a person do such hideous things, so the focus on understanding the killers makes sense. If we can understand, maybe we can protect ourselves better. It's the same interest that drove the success of Harold Schechter and Anne Rule. But for twenty-first century readers, jaded by long exposure to offender-focused books, it's hard to engage with Capote's fascination.
I came away from this novel feeling that Capote identified with the killers in the sense that he, too, felt ostracized and scorned by society - being a gay man in mid-twentieth century America was no easy life. But the flip side of that is a lack of real compassion for the Clutter family. Yes, he acknowledges how horrible it is, what happened to them, but there's no real horror for him. It's understandable, but for a modern reader, it rankles.
The storyline how he pulled you in, and a real roller-coaster ride.
Very scary
Ot was great 😃..
.never put it down until I was finished!!!
I will not give away the ending, but wow, it was way better than anything that I could have predicted !!!
What can you read after
In Cold Blood?
About the Author:
Truman Capote was born in New Orleans in 1925. He is the author of many highly praised books, including A Tree of Night and Other Stories (1949), The Grass Harp (1951), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958), In Cold Blood (1965), which immediately became the centre of a storm of controversy on its publication, Music for Chameleons (1980) and Answered Prayers (1986), all of which are published by Penguin. Truman Capote died in August 1984.
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