The 1966 nonfiction novel written by Truman Capote, opens a dark window to the chilling, true story of one of the most gruesome murders in America. The small town of Holcomb, Kansas was never the same after the Clutter family home was invaded and the four residents were murdered. Capote’s eminent writing techniques transformed this tragic national news headline into a thrilling storytelling experience. The in-depth narration of this novel provides readers with an intriguing tale of murder mystery, while conveying character details based on the lives of those involved in the true crime. This story is so interesting because it introduces the family and their lives, but also tells how it was all taken away in one horrible night. This may seem like the start to every murder mystery book out there, but as the chapters go on, Capote reveals the life of the criminals, and their twisted motives for committing this crime. In my critical opinion of this Edgar Award Winner for Best Fact Crime, I believe In Cold Blood is a fascinating work for someone looking to experience a unique style of writing. Capote’s alternating perspectives from the Clutter family to the murderers is an interesting twist on a traditional crime novel. A major strength in this novel is accredited to the organization of the story, it is heavily detailed, but still easy to navigate through. The beginning gives a real life look to what happened before and during the horrific murders, while the later half investigates and discusses the motives. Although it is not a noticeable weakness, the sophistication of Capote’s writing is hard to follow at times, depending on the reader's age. He combines journalism with mystery and often has his characters speak extensively. In a long excerpt in this novel, Capote thoroughly describes the personality of one of the criminals, “Two features in his personality make-up stand out as particularly pathological. The first is his ‘paranoid’ orientation toward the world. He is suspicious and distrustful of others”(Capote 297). His descriptions and writing style are both beneficial and disadvantageous because they give very elaborate but lengthy descriptions. It is difficult to compare Truman Capote to other authors. The New York Times called this novel, “Remarkable, tensely exciting, moving, superbly written.” His unique, intricate writing style is not quite comparable with the others during his time. In contrast to most nonfiction authors however, Capote conveys the true events in storytelling form and not as a research report. I think In Cold Blood is one of my new favorite books. True crime mystery novels have always reigned supreme in my preferred choice of genre, and Capote’s national bestseller has made it on my top charts. I would recommend it to those who also enjoy murder-mystery novels, but be warned! It is much scarier to read true events as opposed to fictional cases.
In my critical opinion of this Edgar Award Winner for Best Fact Crime, I believe In Cold Blood is a fascinating work for someone looking to experience a unique style of writing. Capote’s alternating perspectives from the Clutter family to the murderers is an interesting twist on a traditional crime novel. A major strength in this novel is accredited to the organization of the story, it is heavily detailed, but still easy to navigate through. The beginning gives a real life look to what happened before and during the horrific murders, while the later half investigates and discusses the motives. Although it is not a noticeable weakness, the sophistication of Capote’s writing is hard to follow at times, depending on the reader's age. He combines journalism with mystery and often has his characters speak extensively. In a long excerpt in this novel, Capote thoroughly describes the personality of one of the criminals, “Two features in his personality make-up stand out as particularly pathological. The first is his ‘paranoid’ orientation toward the world. He is suspicious and distrustful of others”(Capote 297). His descriptions and writing style are both beneficial and disadvantageous because they give very elaborate but lengthy descriptions.
It is difficult to compare Truman Capote to other authors. The New York Times called this novel, “Remarkable, tensely exciting, moving, superbly written.” His unique, intricate writing style is not quite comparable with the others during his time. In contrast to most nonfiction authors however, Capote conveys the true events in storytelling form and not as a research report. I think In Cold Blood is one of my new favorite books. True crime mystery novels have always reigned supreme in my preferred choice of genre, and Capote’s national bestseller has made it on my top charts. I would recommend it to those who also enjoy murder-mystery novels, but be warned! It is much scarier to read true events as opposed to fictional cases.