Thursday, May 12, 2011

In Cold Blood

Bibliography
Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. New York: New American Library, 1965.

Plot Summary
This is a non-fiction work, so there is not a plot.

My Thoughts
Truman Capote investigated and reported on the mass murder of a Kansas family, The Clutter's. Capote recounts the actions of the two murderers Dick Hickok and Perry Smith. These two men had no connection to the Clutter's, but they chose to murder the entire family for essentially no reason. While in prison, they'd "heard" that the Mr. Clutter had a safe full of cash. They "heard" wrong and got mad, so the family was killed. Capote writes such detail, that the reader feels like they are following along with both the family and the murderers. Once the FBI gets involved, the reader gets to follow along with the investigation (even though the reader knows who did the murder).

I read this book because I love reading and teaching To Kill a Mockingbird. I read a biography of Harper Lee and found out that she helped Truman with his investigation and writing of this book. WOW, are these two author's styles vastly different! I can almost feel Capote's arrogance as I read.

The description of eternity (page 85) is similar to the description used in Bless Me, Ultima.

Title reference on page 343.