In Cold Blood - 1966
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 Herbert Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas.
When Capote learned of the quadruple murder, before the killers were captured, he decided to travel to Kansas and write about the crime. He was accompanied by his childhood friend and fellow author Harper Lee, and together they interviewed local residents and investigators assigned to the case and took thousands of pages of notes. The killers, Richard "Dick" 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 has been lauded for its eloquent prose, extensive detail, and simultaneous 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 well as the complex relationship that existed between them during and after the murders. In Cold Blood is regarded by critics as a pioneering work in the true crime genre.
Caryol Hunter
ReplyDeleteSun, Mar 3, 5:31 PM
to me
Truman Capote, at least in my first reading of his work, is a good writer. I have doubts about him as a person. In the first pages, after finishing Noughts, his description was like settling into a feather bed. At the same time his meticulous attention to detail brought me into the story, not as an observer but as if I walked through the times and places in the eyes of each character. I was disappointed to read of his embellishments, as recorded by independent interviews from journalists later in which some of the characters disputed the veracity of his version. The disputed scenes gave a softer human element to a cold and amoral act, which otherwise might have read like a court recording. That literary license served the “nonfiction novel” well, but Capote insisted every word was true. I don’t understand why he would cast doubt on an otherwise masterly book. I wonder if in the long years he spent researching and writing the engrossing story, he lost his own reality.
It is often said that he became to engrossed in his own research. I have seen accounts that his perceived connection with Perry tainted his narrative. I am sure that not everyone would be pleased at the treatment or lack thereof they got in the finished book. Capote was not known for backing down from confrontation and I would think that challenges to his writing would be met head on.
DeleteThe psychological studies of the victims, the town, the detectives, and the criminals humanize all and further bring the reader inside. I don’t understand why he goes into depth about the backgrounds of the other death row inmates unless he is attempting to force the reader into a personal opinion of the death penalty and whether a person who commits heinous crime can rehabilitate into a safe and productive member of society. It seems to show that early and ongoing damage to a psyche can’t be overcome, but lingering doubts remain as everyone has some measure of worth. Whether that iota of value can be nurtured to remove the threat posed by evil amorality seems questionable. He also raises questions about insanity at the time of a crime as a defense and how that can be adequately judged. Is a murderer who doesn’t identify right from wrong less guilty of his victim’s death?
ReplyDeleteCapote undeniably had writing talent. His own life, filled with rich and famous playmates to share drugs and alcohol and empty notoriety, evidently couldn’t bring satisfaction. He
ReplyDeletebroke off his friendship with Harper Lee, held since childhood, when she won the Pulitzer for Mockingbird. He always felt the prize should have been his. I look forward to seeing the movie based on him and the circumstances that drove him through the long endeavor of In Cold Blood.
His belief and perhaps overestimation of himself is often cited. He had no qualms speaking his mind and made many powerful enemies. His quest of perfection led to the level of quality we see in "In Cold Blood" but also form his presentation and defense of the work afterwards.
DeleteOne of the biggest debates about In Cold Blood is what type of book is it? Is it nonfiction or historical fiction? Journalism or literature. Capote did want to create a masterpiece in the form of a nonfiction novel so the truth probably lies in the middle. It is a blend of all things and that accounts for its realism. It is the precursor to popular programs such as “Serial” and “To Catch a Murderer.” While the author swore the book was completely true and did put in intensive research, the structure is stylistic and artistic, featuring alternating viewpoints that would not be acceptable in journalism.
ReplyDeleteWhen the book was published, Hickock and Smith had been dead for less than a year. The murder and trial had garnered big headlines, and many readers likely knew of the case before the novel came out. Capote managed to make it interesting even though people knew the outcome. The book had to be good literature as well as be informative and accurate. The novel is saturated with details far in excess of what was published in the newspapers. The details are carefully curated and knowing that Capote compiled 8,000 pages of research, the book seems to be a very carefully edited selection of facts and descriptions. For example, very little is said about the two older Clutter daughters, although Capote doubtless interviewed them. He left them out for artistic reasons. This shows that the facts of the Clutter case were the building blocks for what was ultimately a creative work.
ReplyDeleteIn arranging the facts of the Clutter case into a novel, Capote gave them a number of meanings. Not only are some of Capote's opinions apparent--as in the case of his opposition to the death penalty--but the novel itself has several major themes. First, it is a commentary on the American Dream. Herb Clutter has made a wonderful life for himself--his daughter, after all, bakes pies. But Herb Clutter's American idyll is abruptly and arbitrarily shattered by two petty criminals. The American dream is fragile, and it only functions if marginal people (ex-cons) are not present.
ReplyDeleteIt also shows a changing set of societal values and expectations. The concept of masculinity and femininity are challenged as well as the perceived gender roles. The traditional family structure is presented but several “broken” families are also described, a change familiar to the turbulent times of the 1960s. Rural America, another sacred cow, is also explored and presented in an alternative light. The book was a product of the times when many were questioning the idea of what America was.