Book Review: In Cold Blood, Novel by Truman Capote

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Author: Truman Capote

Name of the book: In Cold Blood

Language: English

Genre: Nonfiction/literature

About the author

Truman Garcia Capote was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels and plays have been praised as literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the true-crime novel In Cold Blood, which he labeled a “nonfiction novel”.

Book Review

In Cold Blood, a nonfiction novel by American writer Truman Capote published originally as a four-part series in The New Yorker magazine in 1965 and book form in 1966. Capote used the techniques of fiction to tell the true story of the 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Kansas by a pair of drifters and the subsequent capture, trial, and execution of the killers.

Holcomb, Kansas 1959, the Clutter family was brutally murdered and no one knew who or why they did it. Truman Capote wrote this book as a novel, with dialogue between the murderers and the family; although he was not there, he gathered as much information about the murder as possible and was able to turn it into a book instead of a document. 

Moving on, the story follows the life of the Clutter family before and after they were murdered, however, it focuses more on Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, the murderers of the Clutters. In need of cash, and fast, Hickock calls his old jail friend Perry Smith and they decide to execute a robbery of the Clutter family, who they thought were rich. 

After invading the house and finding no cash, they dispose of the Clutters, rid of the clues, and escape the law for as long as they could. I love this book since it enables the reader to have a mystery going on in their head and also because the murder was uncommon back in 1959, so it enables the reader to feel how it was to hear of a major crime, such as this, back then. I recommend this book to every reader out there, it was very well written and one of the most amazing “New Journalism” type of books, as Capote said.

In Cold Blood is a pioneering example of both the nonfiction novel and the modern true-crime story. The world of the victims is painstakingly and sympathetically reconstructed, but Capote’s real interest is in the emotional lives of Perry and, to a lesser extent, Dick and what might have led them into such murderous excess. He also uses the polarities of this case as the starting point for a larger examination of American values of the late 1950s and early '60s.

Capote began gathering information for the book while the investigation was ongoing, bringing his friend Harper Lee with him to help him gain the trust of the locals. In the end, he spent six years conducting research and interviews. The book’s publication made Capote a literary celebrity. An acclaimed film version, directed by Richard Brooks, appeared in 1967.

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 real events, including important details.

In a controversial review of the novel, published in 1966 for The New Republic, Stanley Kauffmann, criticizing Capote’s writing style throughout the novel, states that Capote “demonstrates on almost every page that he is the most outrageously overrated stylist of our time” and later asserts that “the depth in this book is no deeper than its mine-shaft of factual detail; its height is rarely higher than that of good journalism and often falls below it.”

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Adaptations

Three film adaptations have been produced based upon the book. The first focuses on the details of the book, whereas the latter two explore Capote’s fascination with researching the novel. In Cold Blood (1967) was directed by Richard Brooks and stars Robert Blake as Perry Smith and Scott Wilson as Richard Hickock. 

It features John Forsythe as investigator Alvin Dewey from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation who apprehended the killers. It was nominated for Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

I really liked it. I found the suspense of finding the criminals interesting and it was very enlightening diving into the characters and what happened to them to make them be able to commit a crime like this. 

My Ratings for the book 4.5/5 

You can easily order a copy of it from Amazon - In Cold Blood

Written By - Violet Priscilla S

Edited By - Anamika Malik