In Cold Blood

A book that has stood the test of time. First released in 1965, it hasn't dated at all. A true account of the brutal slaying of four members of a rural Kansas family and the subsequent apprehension of the murderous duo. A fascinating, highly-engaging, harrowing, and moving tale of evil that lurks within the hearts of men.

The book proved to be highly controversial upon its release since it seemed to make a genuine effort not only to understand the social factors that help shape the making of a psychopath, but also to understand the points-of-view, however horrifying and disgusting as they maybe, of the perpetrators of the crime.

Though, this novel does not overtly give away the fact, but Truman Capote got deeply involved with the killers who had slain the Kansas family. In particular, he felt very strongly for Perry Smith, whom he thought had a very similar childhood as his own. Capote used to say that Perry and him lived in the same house as children, and the only reason their lives took different directions was the fact that Capote chose to exit that house from the front, while Perry chose the back door.

Now, I know this book is historically significant as one of the first "true crime" novels - a founder of the non-fiction novel genre - but that wasn't really important to me. I prefer to read things without historical context and judge how they hold up to modern standards. That said, I enjoyed the book a lot. This novel took an interesting twist from the usual crime story fare: the reader knows up front who was murdered and who did it. The only questions are "why" (and to some extent "what exactly happened"). Risky, I think, because it is tough to build suspense when the outcome is certain. But it worked well here for the most part.

The beginning was by far the slowest section of the book, with Capote taking his time setting up the scene and describing the family. I know he tried very hard to get us attached to the characters quickly - perhaps a little too hard? Things really started to pick up around Part 2 when Capote set into a detailed profile of the killers. This was interesting stuff! The organization was executed well, and I liked the shifts between character perspectives.

The third part blew me away. I won't say much about it, except that I would have cried if I hadn't been on a plane at the time. It was that moving. The last section was mostly just intellectually interesting. The book left quite a bit for me to think on. Unfortunately I don't want to share those thoughts here, because I'd be giving away story elements!

In the end, I think, Capote wanted to use his book as a commentary on the death penalty and American violence. For me, it didn't exactly succeed in either of those aspects. But what it did do was to provide a sound, well-researched and interesting psychological profile of two very different killers involved in the same crime. Yes, some parts dragged, and (I felt) the writing was at times flat, but all in all a worthy read.

The classic true crime book written by the famed Truman Capote earned its place in history as the first book of its nature - an attempt to combine journalism with storytelling for the purpose of creating a compelling tale. In this sense, the book doesn't disappoint at all. It was well chronicled and sometimes even overly inclusive of the facts, testimonies, and articles published from various accounts surrounding the murder that this book covered.

I was greatly interested in the pyschological picture painted of the two men who were guilty of the murder and I was also equally interested in the way the book was organized. From the beginning, the reader not only knows exactly who was to be killed, but also who was to do it.

On the other hand, the way the story was told was through what seemed to this reader to be long winded paragraphs portraying things such as the architecture, weather, or setting which didn't seem to add to the story in any way for me (though, in his favor, I must say that it also didn't take away from the story either).

Also, while I am someone who is 100 percent against the death penalty, it was somewhat off-putting that the last half of the 4th part seemed to be nothing but propaganda against the death penalty. I did feel that this took away from the author's intent which I understand to be to tell the story, as objectively as possible, presented as factual while still making it compelling. Besides the death penalty propaganda, this was achieved.

Since his writing of this book, more true crime stories have followed, some in which this reader even prefers. However, one must take into account while reading this book the risk Capote took while undertaking such a risk in writing and appreciate and respect him as an author for making that risk work.

This was an amazing story. I had seen the movie "Capote" and decided that I must read the story myself. It was amazing. Held my interest from page one. I couldn't put it down. It came out in the 50's but is actually timeless. I highly recommend it.

I read this book because it is on the Modern Library's Top 100 Non-Fiction List. I thought for a true crime-drama, that the story was very well written. I think he gives the reader a glance into the mind of a psychopathic murderer. He gives sympathy where sympathy is due; to the unfortunate Clutter family that was tragically murdered. The man who can kill for no reason other than just to experience the thrill of killing, is a man that doesn't deserve to live. The same goes for his accomplice. I was glad in the end when they were hung. Neither man seemed to show any remorse.

Capote is good at giving an unbiased account of the story as well, he seems to tell both sides of the story, from the beginning how the Clutter family lived, to the killers and what motivated them. There's enough information to give the reader, either empathy or profound disgust for the killers. For example when the jurors are deliberating, Capote gives us dialogue from two journalists; one feels sympathy for the murderers, the other only contempt and disgust. But without a doubt when the book is finished the most profound sympathy is for the murdered family, as Dewey imagines how Nancy Clutter would've been as a young beautiful college student. It's tragic, but it also makes for a very good read.