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kikix2's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
Buena trama, unos dos primeros capítulos interesantes. Sin embargo, sentí que ha la mitad la novela perdió la fuerza con la que me había enganchado al principio, batalle bastante para terminarlo.
En lo personal, no soy muy fan de las historias que no le dejan nada a la imaginación, prefiero novelas en las que no sepa quién es el asesino en vez de novelas en las que tenga que esperar a que los personajes sepan quién es el asesino, (me estresa).
En fin, fue fascinante ver cómo son en verdad los procesos legales cuando se trata de un asesinato.
Buena trama, unos dos primeros capítulos interesantes. Sin embargo, sentí que ha la mitad la novela perdió la fuerza con la que me había enganchado al principio, batalle bastante para terminarlo.
En lo personal, no soy muy fan de las historias que no le dejan nada a la imaginación, prefiero novelas en las que no sepa quién es el asesino en vez de novelas en las que tenga que esperar a que los personajes sepan quién es el asesino, (me estresa).
En fin, fue fascinante ver cómo son en verdad los procesos legales cuando se trata de un asesinato.
yoursweetdivine's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
saritaroth's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a true account of the murders of four members of the Clutter family (the parents, Herb and Bonnie Clutter, and their teenage children, Nancy and Kenyon Clutter; the two older children, Eveanna and Beverly, who were not living at home at the time, were spared). The murders occurred on November 15, 1959; initially, it was a home invasion perpetrated by Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Smith. Hickock was operating on the assumption that there was a safe in the house, information that he had gathered from a former cellmate of his, Floyd Wells, who had worked on the Clutter farm. When Hickock tore the place apart and could not find a safe, he became irate. After the two criminals were apprehended, however, Hickock insisted that he did not kill anyone and that Smith, in fact, is the one who killed all four victims, a claim that he upheld until he was executed for the murders. Smith slit Herb Clutter's throat; Herb Clutter was also shot as was the rest of the family. Despite claiming vociferously that he had no hand in the murders, both Hickock and Smith were convicted and executed for the crimes, perhaps because of the violent nature of the murders. Smith claimed that Hickock murdered the two women, Nancy and Bonnie, but refused to sign the confession and instead took responsibility for all four murders, presumably out of sympathy for Hickock's mother. While Smith seemed to have no qualms about killing the family, he has always drawn the line at crimes of a sexual nature, seeing them as perverse and disgusting. According to Capote, Hickock had pedophiliac compulsions and had a desire to rape Nancy Clutter before she was shot, but Smith stopped him.
I have also read a book review of this book, and it claims that Capote's version of the crime was not always necessarily accurate; he tends to slant things more Smith's way, painting Hickock as a pedophile when he may not have actually been one and he may not have tried to rape Nancy. There was, apparently, mention of Hickock's pedophilia in his psychiatric report, but again there is controversy over whether or not that report was fabricated for the purposes of Capote's book. In the book, Capote did mention that, at some point, Smith claimed to have murdered all the victims single-handedly, corroborating Hickock's claims of innocence, although the home invasion was Hickock's plan initially. There's no way to know what really happened.
I wanted to give this book five stars; the only thing that kept me from doing so was the fact that, often, Capote went off on tangents that became quite boring. Some tangents were historical and had nothing to do with crime of any kind; other tangents discussed the violent crimes of other offenders, which while interesting, did not have anything to do with the Clutter family murders. I am sure that Capote was just trying to "set the scene," but it did get quite long-winded and annoying at times.
This book was published in 1966 and, one year later, in 1967, a movie came out starring Scott Wilson and Robert Blake as the murdering duo. I haven't watched it yet, but I hope to once I check it out of the library. Despite a few long-winded diatribes found in this book, I do highly recommend it. It was definitely a worthwhile read!
I have also read a book review of this book, and it claims that Capote's version of the crime was not always necessarily accurate; he tends to slant things more Smith's way, painting Hickock as a pedophile when he may not have actually been one and he may not have tried to rape Nancy. There was, apparently, mention of Hickock's pedophilia in his psychiatric report, but again there is controversy over whether or not that report was fabricated for the purposes of Capote's book. In the book, Capote did mention that, at some point, Smith claimed to have murdered all the victims single-handedly, corroborating Hickock's claims of innocence, although the home invasion was Hickock's plan initially. There's no way to know what really happened.
I wanted to give this book five stars; the only thing that kept me from doing so was the fact that, often, Capote went off on tangents that became quite boring. Some tangents were historical and had nothing to do with crime of any kind; other tangents discussed the violent crimes of other offenders, which while interesting, did not have anything to do with the Clutter family murders. I am sure that Capote was just trying to "set the scene," but it did get quite long-winded and annoying at times.
This book was published in 1966 and, one year later, in 1967, a movie came out starring Scott Wilson and Robert Blake as the murdering duo. I haven't watched it yet, but I hope to once I check it out of the library. Despite a few long-winded diatribes found in this book, I do highly recommend it. It was definitely a worthwhile read!
bleubeluga8's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
smartinez9's review against another edition
4.0
Ingeniously rendered, but deeply sad. Not the graphic detail, but the pervading sense of fatal inevitability, and the ultimate pointlessness of the crime.
Obviously dated in regards to the treatment of mental health, racism, homophobia, ableism, misogyny, etc., though Capote takes a fairly neutral tone and lets those involved express (his interpretation of) their own views.
Obviously dated in regards to the treatment of mental health, racism, homophobia, ableism, misogyny, etc., though Capote takes a fairly neutral tone and lets those involved express (his interpretation of) their own views.
eloyvallina's review against another edition
5.0
Like many, I guess, I entered this book seeking answers to the old question: why do people kill? As opposed to many, I did not know, when I started, that this was a true-crime story: that the Clutter family murders did happen, that their killers were found and, eventually, executed; or even that there is an actual place called Holcomb, somewhere in Kansas. However, my own illiteracy has probably come to my benefit, as this unforgivable omission made the experience much richer, and later finding that the whole thing was real contributed an amazing final twist.
I wonder if I could have/should have realised that I was reading a real account throughout the book, and since I didn't, I'd like to make three disclaimers in my defence: i) the Clutter family seemed impossibly 'nice'; a plain hard working family, respected members of their community, perfectly innocent; so much so, that I remember thinking, while reading the first quarter of the book, that I was been presented an archetype of the model American family. ii) The story reads so easily and smoothly, the events described so vividly that one could mistake it for a film; and very well made one iii) The was such amount of detail and extra information unrelated to the main plot, which you don’t ordinarily find in works of fiction, particularly not in noir novel, that I did start suspecting towards the end of the book.
Coming back to the original question, Capote explains it best in the words he attributes to Al Dewey:
On the subject of death penalty, Capote offers some compelling arguments against it. However, I surprised myself rather on the fence and, at times, I found the stance of N. L. Dunnan most relatable:Ordinarily I am against it, but in this case, no.
I wonder if I could have/should have realised that I was reading a real account throughout the book, and since I didn't, I'd like to make three disclaimers in my defence: i) the Clutter family seemed impossibly 'nice'; a plain hard working family, respected members of their community, perfectly innocent; so much so, that I remember thinking, while reading the first quarter of the book, that I was been presented an archetype of the model American family. ii) The story reads so easily and smoothly, the events described so vividly that one could mistake it for a film; and very well made one iii) The was such amount of detail and extra information unrelated to the main plot, which you don’t ordinarily find in works of fiction, particularly not in noir novel, that I did start suspecting towards the end of the book.
Coming back to the original question, Capote explains it best in the words he attributes to Al Dewey:
[…] the confessions though they answered questions as to how and why, failed to satisfy his [Dewey’s] sense of meaningful design. The crime was a psychological accident, virtually an impersonal act; the victims might as well have been killed by a lightning. Except for one thing: they had experienced prolonged terror, they had suffered.
On the subject of death penalty, Capote offers some compelling arguments against it. However, I surprised myself rather on the fence and, at times, I found the stance of N. L. Dunnan most relatable:
andriawrites's review against another edition
4.0
In Cold Blood is regarded as the first, original non fiction novel. Capote takes real life events and meticulously documented facts and turns them into a mesmerizing, haunty and yet gripping narrative of a murdered family, their killers, and the after math the murder had on the small, close knit town of Holcomb, Kansas. What's so striking about this book (aside from Capote's masterful talent of story telling) is that so much thought and emotion was put into describing the killers and their lives. They weren't in no way demonized, but given a sense of humanity, and as you read the book you understand that these feelings stem from the townspeople themselves and certain relatives of the murdered victims. Ultimately, the novel is a comment on violence in America, how perpetrators of crimes are also victims of a system that left them behind, and that continuing a system of hate, revenge (and therefore capital punishment) only feeds the hungry, burning machine of violence that seems to be tearing America apart. All in all, a great, interesting and thought provoking read. Defintely not for the light hearted, but such a great depiction of people's lives, minds and emotions. True to the style and legacy of Capote.