In Cold Blood

Over the holidays, I read 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote. Odd choice, I know. Perhaps I was trying to balance all that good will? Hard to believe, but this wasn't the second or even the third time I've read the book. It was the first. Don't look so shocked. It's been on my reading list for many years. I was just afraid it might be a little too violent and sad. Encouraged by friends, I borrowed a copy from my library.

Sad, yes it was. Capote writes so beautifully though that the story of a family's senseless murder is a look at how violence can simply unfold through a series of seemingly random events rather than sickening voyeurism. The violence is written without a great deal of emotion and actually is a very small part of the story. I was really drawn to all the characters- good and bad. I appreciated that the killers weren't painted as evil through and through nor where the Clutters portrayed as saints - just good, decent, hard-working people. Capote shows how complicated we all are as individuals.

Another reason I picked up the book after all these years is the recent stories in the media about the release of documents that show Capote's story may not be as true as we all were led to believe. (See Salon among others) Apparently notes from one of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents, Harold Nye, show that the investigation didn't happen quite as neatly as Capote portrayed it. In my opinion the end result is the same. I don't think it matters much which agent did what when. And while it's true that 'In Cold Blood' was the first in true crime novels and many took that to mean each and every word was what really happened, today I can't believe any one is that naive. There must be poetic license to make a good story.

Read the book, if you haven't already, for Capote's writing if nothing else. You won't be disappointed.

Note: In case you missed it, I blogged about a doll house depicting the Clutters' murder by artist Chris Roberts-Antieu that I saw in New Orleans last October. Scroll down to the middle of the page to see it.