In cold blood - Kestrels Nest: BookWyrm Edition

No cover — Truman Capote: In cold blood (1966, Random House)

343 pages

English language

Published Nov. 8, 1966 by Random House.

In Cold Blood is a non-fiction novel by American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966. It details the 1959 murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote learned of the quadruple murder before the killers were captured, and he traveled to Kansas to write about the crime. He was accompanied by his childhood friend and fellow author Harper Lee, and they interviewed residents and investigators assigned to the case and took thousands of pages of notes. Killers Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were arrested six weeks after the murders and later executed by the state of Kansas. Capote ultimately spent six years working on the book. In Cold Blood was an instant success and is the second-best-selling true crime book in history, behind Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter (1974) about the Charles Manson murders. Some critics consider Capote's work the original …

In Cold Blood is a non-fiction novel by American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966. It details the 1959 murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote learned of the quadruple murder before the killers were captured, and he traveled to Kansas to write about the crime. He was accompanied by his childhood friend and fellow author Harper Lee, and they interviewed residents and investigators assigned to the case and took thousands of pages of notes. Killers Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were arrested six weeks after the murders and later executed by the state of Kansas. Capote ultimately spent six years working on the book. In Cold Blood was an instant success and is the second-best-selling true crime book in history, behind Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter (1974) about the Charles Manson murders. Some critics consider Capote's work the original non-fiction novel, although other writers had already explored the genre, such as Rodolfo Walsh in Operación Masacre (1957). In Cold Blood has been lauded for its eloquent prose, extensive detail, and triple narrative which describes the lives of the murderers, the victims, and other members of the rural community in alternating sequences. The psychologies and backgrounds of Hickock and Smith are given special attention, as is the pair's complex relationship during and after the murders. In Cold Blood is regarded by critics as a pioneering work in the true crime genre, although Capote was disappointed that the book failed to win the Pulitzer Prize. Parts of the book differ from the real events, including important details.

49 editions

James Cridland reading reviewed In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Review of 'In Cold Blood' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

There's a reason you've probably heard of this book even if you haven't read it, and the fact that it has, at the time of writing, 580,000 ratings on GoodReads probably underlines it - it's a classic, apparently. But, like a classic car, there are some bits that don't work too well - with some overly florid language, particularly at the beginning of the book, almost signalling that Capote is trying too hard.

Occasionally, you get the feeling that he's being paid by the word. Perhaps he was: long excerpts from letters and documents pop up every so often that do little to aid the story or to develop character.

The pacing of the story is a little odd, too, with some parts whisking by, and other parts dwelled on with glacial slowness. But then, I'm not a literature teacher, and if I were, I'd probably point out why he's …

There's a reason you've probably heard of this book even if you haven't read it, and the fact that it has, at the time of writing, 580,000 ratings on GoodReads probably underlines it - it's a classic, apparently. But, like a classic car, there are some bits that don't work too well - with some overly florid language, particularly at the beginning of the book, almost signalling that Capote is trying too hard.

Occasionally, you get the feeling that he's being paid by the word. Perhaps he was: long excerpts from letters and documents pop up every so often that do little to aid the story or to develop character.

The pacing of the story is a little odd, too, with some parts whisking by, and other parts dwelled on with glacial slowness. But then, I'm not a literature teacher, and if I were, I'd probably point out why he's doing it. But I'm not, so I don't know why.

I later discover, after reading, that it first appeared in the New Yorker as a serial, published over four editions. That might explain some of the above - a requirement to reach a natural break-point for publication, perhaps.

In any case - it's fine, it's a good read, it's told well and with flair, if slightly too much flair in some cases. It's a good true crime thriller, in the same way as others which have followed. But personally I don't think it's worth full marks here - enjoyable though it was.

Subjects

Clutter family
Hickock, Richard Eugene, -- 1931-1965
Smith, Perry Edward, -- 1928-1965
Murder