2006

This book was a very quick and engaging read. The two killers were well developed as I was disturbed by their lack of remorse and hate. ( )

The crime has become famous - notorious even - not so much because of its bloodthirstiness, but rather because Capote chose to write this book. It is an amazing piece, an early example of the new journalism. Capote's voice is there, but it is subdued compared to some of his other work, and rightly so. The story is the story here - there are few embellishments, little in the way of literary pretension - and the book has remained an incredible journey into hearts of darkness as a result. ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1337799...

I don't read much true crime, though I am as fascinated as anyone by the story of human wickedness. This seemed to me a particularly good (and early) example of the genre, with Capote following events through the stories of the victims, the investigators and the perpetrators, from just before it happened to the day of the executions. The crimes in question took place fifty years ago next month, when the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas, were murdered by two men who had recently been paroled from the state prison. Capote devotes a lot of the book to a not unsympathetic psychological portrait of Hickock and Smith, the two killers; though the description of the Kansas environment where the Clutter family lived and died (based partly on notes by Harper Lee, who had just finished writing To Kill A Mockingbird) is also rather memorable. The book was originally published as a series of long articles in The New Yorker, and retains a couple of journalistic touches; the most intrusive of these is that Capote can't quite decide to keep himself out of the picture he is creating. I see that there have been two recent films about how Capote wrote this book, which is somehow not surprising. ( )

I'm in awe of Capote's ability to take a factual story in which the ending is known at the beginning and spin it into an engaging novel. ( )

I'm in awe of Capote's ability to take a factual story in which the ending is known at the beginning and spin it into an engaging novel. ( )

I'm in awe of Capote's ability to take a factual story in which the ending is known at the beginning and spin it into an engaging novel. ( )

Reviewed by Nell (Class of 2010)
Chilling! Amazing! Creepy! Unique! ( )

The way Dick and Perry thought out and executed their murderous plan gave me chills. Then realizing that the Clutters, going about their daily lives, had no premonitions of their untimely death made me think again about the brevity of our own lives. The town and detectives, motivated by justice and fear, kept the crime alive until it was solved. I was glad this never became a ‘cold case.’

If the crime had gone unsolved, I wonder whether Capote could have created such a masterpiece. I rated it 3 stars, not because it wasn’t worthy of 5, but because the genre (true crime) is not one of my favorites.
Capote even made me feel pangs for the criminals. By giving us a glimpse of each ones childhood, I could feel their personal pain. Although the act of murder, as played out in this story, certainly was best described as “cold blooded.” ( )

Truman Capote's classic true crime novel In Cold Blood is a haunting recount of the murders of four members of the Clutter family and the eventual capture and execution of their killers.

From the outset of the novel, the reader knows what happens - on November 15, 1959 in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, a family is brutally murdered and the two men responsible are caught, tried and executed.What the reader discovers by reading this novel is much more than what simply happened; the reader gets an intimate look at who the victims were, how the inhabitants of the small town where the murders happened reacted to the horrific crime, and a significant glimpse into the psychology of the two killers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith.

It is pretty clear in reading about these two ex-cons that they would not have committed the crimes without each other; together, Dick and Perry were explosive and lethal.

One of the characters who interested me the most was Alvin Dewey, the lead detective on the case, who is obsessed with capturing the killers. He is consumed with solving the crime, and in his determination almost destroys himself.

In Cold Blood is definitely not a book to escape into, nor will it offer you any clear answers. It will however make you think, and you may find yourself wavering between pity and disdain as you try to understand what would cause two young men to perform such horrific acts. ( )

In Cold Blood written by Truman Capote

As a fan of murder mysteries I was very drawn to this book because of the true story that was behind it and the movie that was produced about it. My father was the one who bought the book because he wanted to read about the savage murder that was laid upon the Clutter family, but I was more drawn to it so I took the book and started to read its context. I knew this would be a good read because Truman Capote had written many other books and after he wrote this book he never wrote another book again which tells me it had a big impact on his life concerning the murder and the sympathy for the murderers. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I knew that the book would be a much more interesting piece.
The book is separated into 4 parts (the last part which is called “the corner” was the best) and included a short essay on the author at the beginning and other books he has written at the end. Being that the book was based on a true story there was really no plot other then the plot you already knew about so the author had to tell what happened before, during, and after the murder which is why this book is a best seller. Truman Capote does exactly that making each few pages shift so the story does not stay in one place making the reader bored. He doesn’t tell the story in his point of view, but rather he is the narrator just telling the events on which they happen. I greatly enjoyed this about the book becuase Capote did a fabulous job staying in those boundaries and not stating his own opinion.
Although the murder took place in Holcomb, Kansas the setting in the book rarely took place in Holcomb. To make the book more interesting the setting shifted with every shift between the characters. Sometimes I would start reading a new paragraph and the setting would be different because it would be a different group of people rather then just the Clutter family. Capote fit in every detail he could about he family before he wrote about the murder because he wanted people to know about their lives and not just about the murder that took place. He also wanted to put in every detail he could about the murderers before they killed the family in cold blood because he wanted the readers to know about their lives also.

Although the movie drew me into reading this book that was not the only thing that made me want to read it. Once I read the back of the book I was absolutely sure I wanted to read it. The New York Times gave an excellent representation of the book and I also agree with their notes. Although Capote finished his career off with this book Im looking forward to reading his other books that he published before this one.

In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote, was an excellent choice for my summer reading choice novel. The dual setting at the beginning of the book kept me wondering, what was going to happen that would link the scene of Dick and Perry at the garage with the lazy day scene at the Clutter household? Capote murders the Clutter family fairly early in the book, but his choice to not reveal the identity of the murderers right away was a great choice and kept the book interesting. Had Capote revealed the identity of the killers the story would have already had its resolution and would not be able to be considered a novel but instead a short story. The amount of detail that was given between the murders and the catching of the murderers was mildly overkill. Dick and Perry don’t do anything too exciting other than passing hot checks and running out of money, and the case from Dewey’s side was cold and lacking leads. Capote could have sped up this process by excluding some of the detail or by adding another twist or element of conflict to the story. When Floyd Wells tips off detective Dewey about Dick’s plan to steal the Clutter family fortune I was forced to wonder and think back upon the nervous Herbert Clutter as he purchased a large life insurance plan. I thought, what if he knew it was coming? How could he know, or could he? Needless to say, I was filled with questions about the life insurance altercation, but I was highly satisfied with the revelation of the motive through a neutral character. I was rooting for detective Dewey to find Dick and Perry because at this point of the story from their side of view they were out of money and were basically loaners. Detective Dewey eventually does catch up with Perry and Dick and they both give a full confession, but I was confused as to why Capote kept writing even after they were convicted and on death row. We already had the revelation of the murderers, the motive was given by inmate Wells and the murderers had been arrested, The story was resolved, so why keep writing? I would call Capote’s decision to keep writing a questionable one at best but nevertheless I kept reading through the numerous delayed execution dates and the numerous court appeals attempts and finally through Dick and Perry’s last words. Overall I was very pleased with my choice novel and would highly recommend it to anyone who needed a help choosing a choice novel. I would give this book a 9 out of 10. ( )

http://thebookwormslibrary.com/?p=633... ( )

While I am not a huge fan of Truman Capote, I was drawn to read this book after I saw the movie with Robert Blake. Say what you will about Mr. Blake, he was and probably still is a very good actor. I grew up in a time when and where most people were not afraid, or felt victimized. The title could not be more accurate. I later learned from my parents this true story was very the reason we started locking our doors at night.

To me this book will always represent the beginning of the end of innocence. ( )

Interesting mix of story telling and feature article style writing. Even though I knew the outcome, it was still gripping ( )

This was one of those books everyone else loved and I hated. For me the book had several serious weaknesses that I just couldn't get over:

Right off the bat the narration came off as improbable. Capote describes so many scenes in such detail (reporting gestures, glances, tones of voice, dialogue for which he was not present) that it is obvious he is filling in a lot of gaps using his imagination. The "true account" thrill of the book thus fails from the first few pages and worse, the author's credibility is compromised.

The second problem I had with this book is that the author goes off on too many tangents, describing the histories of characters that are entirely irrelevant to the central case of the story, giving the book a bloated feel to it. At some points, it feels like the author is stalling, making the reader wait for what he truly wants to know, which is the motives for the murders and how they happened. But even this is unsatisfying, as nothing truly unexpected or suprising is discovered in the explanation of how the central events took place. Yet the way the book is set up, this is exactly what you are led to expect: We are first introduced to the murdered family and the murderers on the day leading up to the killings, then taken to the day after the murders, making it seem as if the whole point of the book is to reconstruct the events of the night in question.

The only other possible source of interest I can think of in a murder mystery is how the detectives go about solving the case: some ingenious observation, some great line of reasoning or deduction on the part of the detectives. Yet in this novel, the detectives are completely stumped and solve the crime through no substantial work of their own. The answer basically lands in their lap -- making you wonder why so many pages are dedicated to their failed, wholly unspectacular role in the case.

I guess the only major value that In Cold Blood offers is insight into the criminals' thinking, their upbringing and point of view. Indeed, the characters conferred the greatest depth in the novel are Hickock and Smith. But given the invented feel of the novel mentioned above, I read the book with a skeptical eye, as if it were a work of fiction and that the proferred sociological insight into the criminals was not entirely true. ( )

This is Truman Capote's recounting of the savage murder of the Clutter family in Kansas in 1959. Capote's descriptions of the characters, both the victims and the killers, gave me insight into their lives. His details of the investigation into the suspects thoughts and actions will cause you to shiver. A must read for true crime fans.

In Cold Blood was, for me, not quite the book I expected it to be. It was very well researched, critically and wonderfully written, but it never really grabbed me like Capote's short stories have. Perhaps I just "wasn't there" in the moment while reading the book.
I never really felt like I got a handle on the characters. I wasn't even able to wrap myself around the two killers and that seemed strange to me.
The book itself is a true story about a chilling homicide that took the lives of four family members in Kansas in 1959. From the very few clues found and the many interviews conducted over time, the police eventually track down the murderers. The two killers who, thinking the family had a great deal of money hidden in the house, planned to rob them and leave no witnesses. But there was no money and the family died for naught.
The most memorable part of the book for me was that, while incarcerated, Perry (one of the two murderers) befriended a squirrel that he named Red. He lured Red off a tree branch onto the window sill of his cell. He would feed him leftover scraps and he taught him to play with a paper ball, to beg, and to ride on his shoulder. The lady who cooked for the inmates said afterward that she attempted to befriend the little squirrel, but all he wanted was Perry.
Most of the hardened material of the book has already left me. I think my psyche didn't really allow it in. Hopefully one day in the future I will read this gifted book again and be able to appreciate what Capote's brilliance had to offer through it.
I think that I just wasn't mentally in a place to "get into" In Cold Blood at this time. ( )

This is a fascinating and densely written book and rightly deserves the controversy surrounding it and Capote's relationship with the two murderers. This book has raised many questions for me about the morality of journalism and the death sentence, which I suspect will occupt my mind for many months if not years. The two films based on these events are interesting but this is a must read book. ( )

A bit of a slow read, but extremely well written. Even minor characters are as tangible as if you'd met them yourself. ( )

25. [In cold blood] by [[Truman Capote]]
Wow, what a book and what a story. And maybe the most amazing is that it really happened. How can two people even get in mind to kill a family they don't even know? A terrifying story about a terrible murder and the way the killers feel about it. They don't seem to think that they can be sorry about it. Impressive and a good read, although it might keep you awake at night....

http://boekenwijs.blogspot.com/2009/0... ( )

I know In Cold Bllod was shocking when it was first published, but nowadays this is nothing. The writing itself is very straightforward (different from his other works) and the tale is primarily linear. It's darkness is not inherent in the writing itself as are other Capote works. I think the value of reading In Cold Blood now is to really put in perspective how far from grace we have fallen as a society. The fact that this is not shocking whatsoever is sad, but true, and says something about our society and our media. ( )

Chilling.

"The flaw? Explosive emotional reaction out of all proportion to the occassion." ( )

Oh Jesus this book is powerful. I study a minor in philosophy and this book definitely delves far into the grey matter of how we perceive the world. Capote delivers a comprehensive outline of a complicated situation involving the dark side of the human condition. This book caused me to rethink the basic foundations of right and wrong, crime and punishment. ( )

literary journalism at its best!! ( )