Customer Reviews

In Cold Blood

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Truman Capote's 'In Cold Blood' is enjoying a resurgence of popularity thanks to the Oscar-winning film depicting the author's life and work during the writing of this phenomenal piece. At one point in the film, the character Capote makes the statement that when he thinks about how good this book will be, he can hardly breathe. Perhaps it is because it is part of our history now, I don't consider the book to be that good, but it was a work fairly close to groundbreaking in its impact - it was a new genre, the narrative telling of a non-fiction event as if it were a fictional novel.

The narrative centres upon the murder of a Kansas family by two men, Perry Smith and Dick Hicock, who are in many ways far from typical killers, much less cold blooded killers. The family, the Clutters of Holcombe, Kansas, are far from typical victims, nor is this the kind of place such a murder would be expected. Capote does a remarkable job at an even-handed analysis and narrative treatment of all the characters, from the family itself to the townspeople and investigators, as well as the murderers themselves. Perhaps it is because he found an area of identification?

This is a psychological thriller of a sort - at least it would be, were it not a true life tale. Getting into the minds of the criminals and the investigators was no easy task for Capote, but what comes forth on the page is very crisp and insightful reporting, without the kinds of embellishments one might expect from a figure such as Capote when dealing with middle-America folk.

The question of why for the killing is still never fully resolved, despite Capote's attempt to set out all the story and psychological detail. Perhaps this is as strange as the interest Capote took in the subject in the first place, as well as the effect it had on him, and those around him, ultimately - while Capote himself never again finished a major project after this, that is also true of his assistant, Nell Harper Lee, whose book 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (done about the same time as 'In Cold Blood') was also her last major writing.

A worthwhile book in many ways.

I recently reviewed the DVD of "In Cold Blood" for Amazon so I decided to reread Truman Capote's classic non-fiction novel (1965) to see if my favorable memories of it would be brought back. I was disappointed by the book, I think because my reader expectations and experiences have changed drastically in the intervening years. I have become used to fast-paced thrillers, movies and TV dramas that stick strictly to a main plot line. When I read a book like Capote's that tries to portray a crime within a larger cultural and sociological framework, digresses and adds all sorts of extraneous details, I become impatient.
The book's countless forays into biographies and its detours into psychology and criminology take away the book's narrative velocity. Capote was known for spare stories that stuck to the essentials, but here he strayed too far away from the main plot action.
The book is structured like this: 1. Before the crime, the town, the four Clutter victims and the two murderers. 2. After the crime and the criminals on the run. 3. The investigation. 4. The crime itself. 5. The trial, Death Row, and conclusion. Truman Capote never enters the story as a participant. It's interesting to look at two excellent movies retracing Truman Capote's research into the Clutter murder case: "Capote" with Philip Seymour Hoffman and "Infamous" with Toby Jones.
The book is extremely well-written but too detailed, trying to create a social environment. Dick and Perry, the killers, were very different. Dick was "totally masculine" while Perry had a strange streak of tenderness, compassion, and sexual ambivalence.
Alvin Dewey of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation leads a team of three others, and they are delineated in Part II, The Investigation. The lives of the killers are covered in far too much detail, especially Perry's miserable childhood. Dick's former cellmate Floyd Wells is the one who cracks open the case. After the murders the killers went to Mexico, back to Kansas, California, Florida, and ended up in Las Vegas where they were apprehended. In the questioning Dick Hickcock broke first.
The appeal process dragged on until 1965, a comparatively short time by today's standards. Hickock was 33 and Smith 36 when they went to the gallows on April 14, 1965 for the multiple murders they had committed on November 15, 1959, about five and a half years between the crimes and the punishment.
At key times the dramatic momentum of the story is broken. Don't expect a tightly focused, unbearably suspenseful, fast-paced narrative but rather a leisurely, loose somewhat rambling, more thoughtful and probing treatment of the sensational crime.

Capote's 1965 book about the murder of a family in America's mid-west relates with great precision all of the details of the case as it happened in the late 1950s. What must have been shocking to 60s readers pales a bit in a modern context where far worse crimes have been exposed for public consumption which dates the book- unfortunately. Capote handles the characters well and tells the story competently enough but the book's sensationalistic aspect having deserted it leaves the reader to pick up too many of the flaws in the writing.
A good read and a classic for fans of old crime writing but no longer has the shock value that it had in 1965.

`In Cold Blood' is probably Capote's best known novel and from the word go it makes for engrossing and fascinating reading. This is basically a novel of true events in the fifties and sixties and follows the murder of a Kansas farmer and his family and the subsequent trial of the murderers. It is written with vivid and evocative language and the descriptions quickly bring you deeper into the story and help conjure the images within. You could quite easily forget that this is based on true events as the story telling is so rich and this really does read like a fictional account of the same events. The film `Capote' is based around his writing of this book and if you like one it is worth you checking out the other. Apparently there was much controversy surrounding this book when it was published, but coming to it years later and expecting a book of beautiful writing, you are left with none of the former controversy and plenty of the latter beauty. This makes for an engrossing read and although slightly uncomfortable in places you can't help but turn the pages until you read the formidable conclusion. Well worth a try if you a fan of strong American literature.

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was received in excellent condition and delivered faster than I expected. I would definitely order other books from this source. My grandkids have a rigorous reading regimen in school and will need more books after the first of the year.

This book was very well done and not for the lighthearted. If you do take this to the beach, put on lots of sunscreen because, you will not want to put this book down!

On November 15, 1959, four members of the Clutter family were killed--murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. The crime, committed in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, stunned the residents, who were subsequently paralyzed with fear as detectives and FBI agents combed for clues.

These apparently "motiveless" murders seemed like the perfect crime, since few clues or evidence were left behind. Just a cats-paw boot mark that left tracings in blood and some stolen items from the farmhouse.

This true-life drama opens by spotlighting the normalcy of the victims' lives, and describes the ordinary moments that marked the last day that they would live.

In Cold Blood is told from the viewpoints of several characters, including the perpetrators, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, whose lives leading up to those moments were characterized by troublesome childhoods and a series of criminal acts, the most recent of which had led to their incarceration. They had met and formed a bond in prison, and upon their parole, they implemented their plan.

This novel, written like a fictionalized tale, leads the reader through the journeys of the perpetrators, the detectives, and then later, to the trail that ended at the moment of arrest.

Certain aspects of the story were very intriguing, but I lost interest before I reached the end. Capote's style of prose did not grab me, despite the gruesome details that illuminated the horrific events. I wish I could say that it captivated me and held my attention, but the most I can say is that it was informative. As a result, I can only rate this one with three stars.

In Cold Blood follows the true murder of the Clutters in Holcomb, Kansas, 1959. This non fiction work is told from a couple of perspectives:

- The Clutters, on the day of the murder. You follow them throughout their daily routine, an attempt to see the world through their eyes.

- Perry Smith & Dick Hickock: the Lansing cell mates, released on parole, and who teamed up and comitted the 4 murders.

- Detective Al Dewey as he tries to connect the dots and find who had killed the Clutters and why.

I expected the book to be a fast paced one, where clues would be found every couple of pages and so on. But the fact that you know who the murderers are from the beginning made this a more leisurely paced read, and where you only know the full details of what happened towards the end.

The writing style, and the change in narrators made it feel like a work of fiction (and as you read, you really wish it were fiction). I didn't want to feel any empathy for Perry and Dick, and although Capote forces you to see that they had problems, you are left to decide whether you feel for them or not.

Towards the end of the book, two works of fiction sprang to mind because of something Perry said. "He used to say that all crimes were "varieties of theft". Murder included." That instantly brought The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini to mind; I remember the father was talking to the protagonist and said something similar to that.

Also, later when Perry talks about how he's sorry that he's lost his freedom but not sorry for the crime (that he doesn't really feel anything), I couldn't help but remember Mersault from The Outsider by Albert Camus.

The only thing I wish had been dealt with more was the 'why' of the murders. Yes, we got to know about Perry's difficult childhood and Dick's injury, but I guess what I wanted was something unrealistic, a clear cut answer of why what happened happened. And these kinds of things seem to never have answers.

I highly recommened the book,"In Cold Blood". At the same time I rented the movie about Truman Capote, starring Seymor Huffman which prompted me to want to research more. I was not disappointed.

Well, what do you want? Assigned reading for a teenager of a book written 50 years ago. I guess it's not CSI. Meanwhile, I thoroughly enjoyed "Capote," the movie about the making of this book, so I want to read "In Cold Blood" for myself.