In Cold Blood – Truman Capote

This review was originally published on Goodreads in 2007. Throughout the year, I’ll be working through my book review archives and posting flashback reviews with some current-day commentary. I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane as much as I do. 

"In Cold Blood" is arguably one of the most well-known American books ever. Most people know the story whether they know the Clutter family by name or not.

Does it live up to the hype? I think if you read the book without knowing anything intimately related to the story (i.e. seen “Capote,” etc.) then, for the most part, yes. Since this novel was the first of its kind upon its release in the early 1960s it is easy to see why it has remained a mainstay of the required reading lists.

Capote attacks this story as a man possessed. His research and interviews show an almost fanatical fascination with the subjects. There is no denying that he spent a great deal of time painstakingly recreating the lives of all the victims, and by victims, I mean not only those murdered, but the killers themselves.

I also saw his research as a huge detriment to the book as well. Parts of the story drag mercilessly slow. I don't really feel it necessary to know every mundane detail of the "characters" lives. I don't need to know the backstory of every town person with an opinion.

There is no doubt that Capote is a gifted writer, but I don't think this novel would be as much of a success today as it was at the time. Maybe it’s because in the age of Erik Larson and Jon Krakauer we've come to expect more of our historical narratives or maybe it’s because we are now desensitized to murder - the senseless act that is at the center of the book.

In the third act, after the killers were captured, I found getting through the rest of the novel somewhat laborious. I'm glad I read the book, and I think it is something that everyone should read (it is a classic after all). Know going into it, however, that it does take some commitment.

[2022 perspective] Honestly, I don’t remember much about the intimate details of “In Cold Blood,” but in reading this review it seems like, for the most part, I found it a disappointing affair. Still, I gave it four stars so maybe I did like it? (I must’ve been more generous with my star ratings in the late-2000s versus today).

What I find more interesting about this novel today is Capote himself. Openly gay at a time when most people were deeply in the closet, he wasn’t the most vocal proponent of gay rights, but he pushed for change in the ways he knew how – by infiltrating high society and addressing prejudice in literature.

But he became caught up celebrity and ended up spending his later years mired in drugs, alcohol and legal disputes. Articles have pointed out that, in later life, he tried to replicate the success of “In Cold Blood” by tackling other nonfiction stories that were found out to be fabricated. A fixture of the club scene of New York City in the 1970s, he was ultimately felled by his demons before reaching 60.

You can view his life either as a cautionary tale of celebrity or a celebration of being your authentic self. Would I read another Capote novel? Maybe. I’m intrigued by the idea that “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” was inspired by his own experiences going from Southerner to upper crust New Yorker. And, believe it or not, I’ve never seen the celebrated film adaptation.

Rating (story): 4/5 stars

Rating (narration): N/A

Formats: Paperback (personal library)

Dates read: May 23 – June 1, 2007

Multi-tasking: N/A