Truman Capote is a legendary writer, known for classic novels such a Breakfast at Tiffany’s. One of his most memorable books, however, is a true-crime story that reads like a novel. It’s a gruesome account of the brutal murders of a Kansas family. In Cold Blood, is a chilling true story that is told primarily from the perspective of the two real-life killers of the Clutter family, murdered in their own home in 1959.
On the surface, the murderers — Perry Smith and Richard Hitchcock — are walking clichés. One was filled with self-loathing and resentment stemming from the appalling childhood that accompanies a drunken and abusive parent. The other lived a perfectly normal life. He was charming and attractive, but somewhere in his “normal” life, he developed a sickening attraction to little girls which he perceived as normal. However cliché these characters seem, they serve as reminders that such clichés exist for a reason: they were real men who committed a real crime.
The murders they committed seemed to be without motive. Capote, captivated by the story of these men and their crime, sought to understand exactly what made them do what they did. Through his book, he makes the reader understand the crime without entirely sympathizing with the criminal. In Cold Blood can be an emotional story, but is is also surprisingly detached. Capote conducted interviews with both the criminals and the cops involved in this case. He met friends of the victims and stayed in the town where the killings took place. Yet he writes this book like it’s a novel. Each character is complex and emotional, as expected from a good novel, and fairly represented. Each scene is told from the perspective of someone directly involved with the case. Not once does Capote make mention of himself.
In addition, In Cold Blood is filled with detail. Such is the style of Capote, but it somehow feels different in this grim book. The details breathe life into a story full of death which makes it even more enthralling and ghastly.
In Cold Blood is not for the faint of heart. Capote plays with the reader’s emotions as if they were Legos. The reader can’t help but grow attached to the cops working the case and become close friends of the victims. Where most true stories about crime are written because people get a grim satisfaction from reading about tragedies, In Cold Blood delves deeper into the crime. It is written for people who seek to understand the less obvious consequences behind such a tragedy.
@ChronyArts