In Cold Blood

I certainly have my issues. For one thing, I think way too much time is dedicated to these killers. I understand that this book was one of the first ever true crime novels, but that doesn’t really excuse it from falling into the common pitfalls of the genre.

That being said, this is truly the best of said genre. In Cold Blood mainly works for me because of part one. An entire third of this book is dedicated to the lives of The Cutters. Parts 2-4 would not work at all without that first part, and while the book does get worse after that, I think it’s overall paced incredibly well.

True Crime as a genre is one of my darkest vices when it comes to art. I know how exploitative it is, I know that it humanizes people who frankly don’t deserve humanization, and I know that it melodramatizes real tragedies. But sometimes, it can be great and respectful.

I heavily doubt anything in the True Crime genre will ever top this. Capote’s dialogue is so expertly written and endlessly layered. The omniscience adds a genuinely chilling atmosphere to the entirety of the aftermath.

I’m overstating my issues with the book because it really is an incredible work of genre-bending nonfiction. Almost perfectly paced and deeply empathetic, even if sometimes to its own detriment.

True Crime will probably never reach these heights again.

That we already know the outcomes of Dick and Perry does NOT take away from Capote's magnum opus.

The gruesome and gory details of the killing is set against the humanness of Perry. Do the killers deserve the death penalty or should we be better than and show empathy?

It is an absolutely heartbreaking and gut wrenching tale of forcing the reader to view criminal actions and the people who do such actions in a completely different light. That it has automatically been put in my Top 5 must read books speaks volumes. I implore you to give this book a chance.

Capote finds humanity in such a senseless, cruel tragedy of a quadruple homicide of a family in an otherwise innocuous small town in America. From exploring the different perspectives involved in the case - the police, the people, and the perpetrators -he not only weaves a compelling narrative of a seemingly impossible task of capturing murderers with almost no clues, but manages to engender empathy for everyone involved: the criminals included.

Without sensationalizing or glorifying their actions, Capote gives insight into how they came to be through carefully researched documentation and interviews. It is not a way of engendering sympathy for these men, as for every ‘sympathetic' trait Capote includes, he is quick to remind the reader of their depravity - but it is his way of asking the reader to understand what made these men act the way they are, whether it was a stroke of bad luck or the way they are. It is through the inclusion of juxtaposing traits and tragic history that plague these men, that Capote only offers a complex question that has a subjective answer unique to the reader. Are these men born of sin or are in need of guidance? Capote takes no sides, but gives only the facts needed to understand the question asked.

The prose in this novel is so masterful, immersing me in the story almost forgetting that these were not fictional people in a fictional world; filling the environment with so much detail, giving many individuals personalities to flesh out the community that was rocked by such a horrific disaster. The most minute of details are given notice by Capote, with prose that weaves in exposition masterfully within the story. His research is evident, but his passion for the story even more so, as the story pours with detail without feeling overabundant.

Though it may not have been the first true crime novel by a technicality, its reputation as being an entirely new kind of novel for the time I think is probably quite deserved. Regardless of genre, it is such a fine example of form that I think every reader owes it to themselves to experience In Cold Blood for themselves.

Capote deftly balances the details of the true story within a literary structure in such a masterful way that it avoids reading like non-fiction, and the narrative always feels artful and never like journalism posing as storytelling.

I've read a few articles speculating about the amount of artistic license Capote employed, but I feel like it's almost irrelevant. The finished product is such a feat of storytelling, and it is exhilarating to witness the different threads and points of view intertwining as you find yourself in a living, breathing, vivid world.

Indeed, it appears to me that any artistic license was made to ensure that this novel - as a whole and complete artifact - faithfully captured the essence of the time, place and people rather than slavish data entry of facts.

Capote brings the entire 343-page novel full circle in merely a few pages at the end, delivering an emotional punch that is at once sorrowful and hopeful. Those last four pages are as close to perfection as I think I have ever read.

A fascinating account of a brutal crime told with humanity and gentility.

When I got to the end of the book, I wanted to read it again. What I find most fascinating is trying to decide how much of the killers' characterizations were coloured by Capote's personal impressions and how accurate the opinion of psychiatrists were; everybody has biases and the author really let that shine, I think.

Another book we had to read in high school that turned out to be amazing. Gruesome and fascinating usually don't go hand-in-hand but they did in this story. Following the murder's perspective of their crime turned out to be truly strange. You begin to feel sorry for the murderers even knowing full well what they had done. Truman Capote did an amazing job interviewing these men and sharing their story. It was a tragic crime but the author makes it into an incredible story. I would definitely add this book to your “Before I die” reading list.

Loved it!! A must read!

Another book I read decades ago. Very frightening true account of murders that take place in farming country in middle America.

It's scary what people can do.

A microscopic examination of a criminal act through multiple prisms, including the victims'. Then, almost as an afterthought, similar acts are described with less and less detail, 'zooming-out' and showing how a one-sentence summary of a crime often can be accurate and – at the same time – a colossal oversimplification. Masterful.

Fascinating at first but quickly became a slog; just endless setups and introductions. 

Listening to this on audiobook is like hearing the First True Crime Podcast. The tension with the slow reveal of what happened, the focus on the criminals as much as the victims or the police tracking down the criminals, the homoerotic undercurrent, it set the standard for much of what was to come.

This book stays with you, it makes a strange case for both the need to keep certain people away from the general public forever but also why capital punishment isn't the answer.

The first time I read this I remember expecting more in terms of motivation and connections between the victims and the criminals and feeling a little let down. This time around I appreciate that it's that very lack of connection that makes the aftermath of the town so fascinating to focus on.

Also it's hilarious how much more interesting a character Perry was out of the two criminals, Truman does his best to seem even handed, keep Dick in the picture, but basic-ass Dick never stood a chance.

I can see why this is a popular book and sparked the true crime genre, however I felt it was way far longer then required.

I had to switch to the audio version to finish it because I both wanted to know the end, but didn't want to keep reading.

There's More To Life Than A Little Money, You Know... And Here Ya' Are, And It's A Beautiful Day.” - Marge Gunderson “Fargo” (1996)

Worthy godfather of the true crime genre

Excellent storytelling well categorized by Capote as “a non-fiction novel.”

Before reading, I paid minimal attention to what this book was about. I was halfway through before I realized this is in the true crime genre and not a crime novel. I jumped right into it. Had I realized right away I might have taken it in differently.

In 1959, four members of the Clutter family are murdered in their small-town Kansas home. A well-liked family, their deaths shook the town, and no one was able to figure out a reason as to why. Looking at the background of the Clutters as well as their murderers, we're taken through each movement of the capture and trial. 

Not surprisingly, the writing is fantastic. The biggest issue for me was how slow it was. It picked up in the second half, but by then my interest had dwindled. I'm glad to have read it, though. Again, I might have appreciated the pace more if I'd realized off the bat that this was a work of nonfiction. It's interesting to see how much true crime books have evolved since the time of this book's publication.

I first read Truman Capote‘s “In Cold Blood“ in the late ‘90s when I lived alone in a little house in South Carolina. I remember being scared to pieces and mostly remembered the gruesome murder. What I forgot is a much larger chunk of the book, which reenacts the movements of the killers before during and after the Clutter family was killed.

Longer review to come.

A non-fiction book that reads so easily, I forgot it's not fiction in the first half of it. I really enjoyed reading this until that last part. It got more difficult to read as it made me really sad and reflect a lot more on the things mentioned and described. I probably won't stop thinking about this book for a while, since it does address some rather heavy subjects.

To put it bluntly, I think this book could be wildly shorter and still extremely impactful. But I think that of most books. This book succeeds in remaining fairly impartial and interesting. Sometimes it drags...sometimes it's thrilling and I can't put it down. The sensationalized idea of this book kept me going, if I'm being as honest as possible. I wanted to be in on this event and this writing that so many have talked about. It was also an assigned book and I've been trying to reach my reading goal. I found the story's beginning and end to be the most interesting sections of the story. I loved getting to know the Clutter family. Admittedly, it was interesting to get to know Dick and Perry as well. I am not usually sympathetic for murderers, but this book allows for a little wiggle room. It's awesome that we can understand why people do what they do, what drives them to heinous acts, and maybe, how we can prevent them. Though I do believe certain subsets of criminals are not deserving of too much sympathy, they are excellent displays of failures in American systems. We can address the orphaned, the abused, the privileged, and the mentally ill American in the same context. This book is a great starting point and beautifully written.

I had really high expectations for this because of its classic-ness. In some ways, it was met - the writing was really excellent and impressive. But the actual plot, the story of the crime, was suuuuuch a let down. I expected (and tbh, wanted) something more sensational, intense, mysterious, confounding, etc. It ended up being very straightforward and left me wondering why Capote wrote about it in the first place.

impatiently waited for the murder. did not see murder

I was worried this book would really stress me out. The author's retelling of events does not soften the event but it addresses the story from multiple perspectives. I cannot say I enjoyed this book, but I must say it is well written and interesting. I now have to double-check that my doors are locked at night, and I'm reassured that I have a dog that barks at strangers.

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.

Beautiful prose and incredibly immersive. It's widely known that Capote embellished and made up conversations or situations, which will matter more or less depending on what you want from the book. Different people involved have differing opinions on just how much is true or not.

In Cold Blood is considered a non-fiction novel, meaning it's written like a novel (with character development, flow of events, and inner monologue) and not a textbook presenting facts. Ultimately I loved the writing so much that I found myself overlooking the embellishments. I just went along for the ride and loved every minute.

I read this for part of a challenge I'm doing. I do prefer to read fiction books but this held my interest for most of the book. I think the ending was a bit drawn out but that's just my opinion. Hard to believe those lives were taken for no reason at all! Glad that justice was served in the end and that they didn't get away with it. I had thoughts of the circus mouse in “The Green Mile” when Perry made friends with the squirrel!