Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences. New York: Random House.1965. Print
First Sentences:
The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call "out there."
Some seventy miles east of the Colorado border, the country side, with its hard blue skies and desert-clear air, has an atmosphere that is rather more Far West than Middle West. The local accent is barbed with a prairie twang, a ranch-hand nasalness, and the men, many of them, wear narrow frontier trousers, Stetsons, and high-heeled boots with pointed toes.
Description:
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Capote, Truman. Other Voices, Other Rooms
Haruf, Kent. Plainsong
The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call "out there."
Some seventy miles east of the Colorado border, the country side, with its hard blue skies and desert-clear air, has an atmosphere that is rather more Far West than Middle West. The local accent is barbed with a prairie twang, a ranch-hand nasalness, and the men, many of them, wear narrow frontier trousers, Stetsons, and high-heeled boots with pointed toes.
Description:
With the recent death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, I decided to re-watch his brilliant Oscar-winning performance in Capote which depicts Truman Capote's research into the murder of four family members in their home in rural Kansas. I had never read the book that Capote created from this investigation, so decided it was time. Luckily, I had a copy on my bookshelf and immediately immersed myself in In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences by Truman Capote. And what a great ride it turned out to be for me.
One quiet, ordinary day in 1959 in a small town in Kansas, four members of the Clutter family -- two parents and their two teenage children -- are found in their home bound, gagged, and shot in the head with a shotgun at close range. There is no evidence of a robbery, no witness, and no suspects.
Who are these people, both the victims and the killers? What is the motive? What kind of town is this where this could happen? Who is doing the investigation and what are their chances of discovering the criminals and other answers?
It's a bit unnerving to commit yourself to reading about a real life multiple murder. But Capote uses a calm, matter-of-fact style that removes any flaming prose, judgment, and gratuitous details of this shooting to avoid shock for shock's sake. Using his original style of the "nonfiction novel," Capote researches and presents the facts clearly and in detail from reports, interviews, conversations, articles, etc., but fabricates conversations, thoughts, and organizes the actions into a compelling, highly readable narrative.
Like the first sentences shown above, there is a calmness to his words which paint the murder setting as quiet, isolated, and "out there." But within these quiet descriptions, Capote gives subtle hints of something else, with adjectives of "lonesome area," "hard blue skies," and "barbed" local accent. The narrative lulls you, but its starkness and edge somehow pull you in deeper and deeper. It's as if you are reading the details of a police report or listening in on conversations: completely devoid of emotion, personality, and judgment by the writer.
Slowly, events in the town and its people unfold as Capote provides background leading up to the murders. Using interviews, statements, news articles, he tells about the people, the actual murders, the killers' motives, and the steps the law took to pursue the murderers. Each family member and town person is carefully fleshed out, their lives, opinions, and goals uncovered.
When the victims are discovered, townspeople react with natural fear, suspicion, and new locks on every door. Capote skillfully depicts their suspicions about each neighbor, adding locks to their doors for the first time. The book is about facts, but more importantly the feelings and motivations of people who commit a crime, the victims, and those left behind to deal with their new reality.
Also revealed are personalities of the murderers as they drive together to the Clutter farm, commit the violence, and then leave the crime scene far behind. As we ride along with the killers, their earlier home life, families, and criminal activities are revealed. Are they victims themselves or have they simply chosen to be cold-blooded killers? Should we feel sympathy for them or revulsion?
The local police, overwhelmed by the crime, call in the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and its top agent to take over the investigation. But no leads, no witnesses, and no motive frustrate him and his team for weeks. The killers are long gone.
Capote's taut narrative follows first the investigation, then switches over to the escaping murderers, then back again to the investigation to provide tension as to whether there will be a clean escape or an arrest.
Capote has created a masterpiece of narration, facts, and personalities. He is a skilled storyteller, no matter the grisly subject matter. The style is unemotional, clear, honest - almost like it, too, was written in cold blood.
Fantastic. Riveting. Taut. What else can I say but read it.
One quiet, ordinary day in 1959 in a small town in Kansas, four members of the Clutter family -- two parents and their two teenage children -- are found in their home bound, gagged, and shot in the head with a shotgun at close range. There is no evidence of a robbery, no witness, and no suspects.
Who are these people, both the victims and the killers? What is the motive? What kind of town is this where this could happen? Who is doing the investigation and what are their chances of discovering the criminals and other answers?
It's a bit unnerving to commit yourself to reading about a real life multiple murder. But Capote uses a calm, matter-of-fact style that removes any flaming prose, judgment, and gratuitous details of this shooting to avoid shock for shock's sake. Using his original style of the "nonfiction novel," Capote researches and presents the facts clearly and in detail from reports, interviews, conversations, articles, etc., but fabricates conversations, thoughts, and organizes the actions into a compelling, highly readable narrative.
Like the first sentences shown above, there is a calmness to his words which paint the murder setting as quiet, isolated, and "out there." But within these quiet descriptions, Capote gives subtle hints of something else, with adjectives of "lonesome area," "hard blue skies," and "barbed" local accent. The narrative lulls you, but its starkness and edge somehow pull you in deeper and deeper. It's as if you are reading the details of a police report or listening in on conversations: completely devoid of emotion, personality, and judgment by the writer.
Slowly, events in the town and its people unfold as Capote provides background leading up to the murders. Using interviews, statements, news articles, he tells about the people, the actual murders, the killers' motives, and the steps the law took to pursue the murderers. Each family member and town person is carefully fleshed out, their lives, opinions, and goals uncovered.
When the victims are discovered, townspeople react with natural fear, suspicion, and new locks on every door. Capote skillfully depicts their suspicions about each neighbor, adding locks to their doors for the first time. The book is about facts, but more importantly the feelings and motivations of people who commit a crime, the victims, and those left behind to deal with their new reality.
Also revealed are personalities of the murderers as they drive together to the Clutter farm, commit the violence, and then leave the crime scene far behind. As we ride along with the killers, their earlier home life, families, and criminal activities are revealed. Are they victims themselves or have they simply chosen to be cold-blooded killers? Should we feel sympathy for them or revulsion?
The local police, overwhelmed by the crime, call in the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and its top agent to take over the investigation. But no leads, no witnesses, and no motive frustrate him and his team for weeks. The killers are long gone.
Capote's taut narrative follows first the investigation, then switches over to the escaping murderers, then back again to the investigation to provide tension as to whether there will be a clean escape or an arrest.
Capote has created a masterpiece of narration, facts, and personalities. He is a skilled storyteller, no matter the grisly subject matter. The style is unemotional, clear, honest - almost like it, too, was written in cold blood.
Fantastic. Riveting. Taut. What else can I say but read it.
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Capote, Truman. Other Voices, Other Rooms
Capote's first novel, the sensitive story of a young boy who sets off to meet his father who abandoned him at birth.
Haruf, Kent. Plainsong
A pregnant high school girls enters the life of two elderly bachelor farmers is the small town of Holt, Colorado on the edge of the plains.
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