Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

11 reviews

emy_clemy's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0


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kfergy's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

4.0

Considered the first contemporary "true crime novel," the writing is very compelling and the quotes from and conversations between characters/witnesses is a really interesting approach to telling the story. It makes me wonder slightly about creative licence on the part of the author, but I dig it. Huge warning for racist slurs though - you could say it goes with the territory for the place and time, but a warning nonetheless. 

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soswiin's review against another edition

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dark informative tense medium-paced

4.0

definitely a unique format that grabbed my attention more than i thought it would've. yes, inventing dialogue and scenes made it read more like a novel than an informative essay as capote intended but it just didn't feel morally right. which is a dilemma that encompasses 90% of this book's controversies anyway. capote was brave for humanizing the clutter family's killers and i appreciate it to an extent — it elevated the pair from stereotypical jailhouse grunts to fleshed-out individuals with individual wounds and faults. while it added depth it still felt weird to ready about!! bad childhood ≠ the right to blow the brains out of an entire family. lot of repeated information which was quite helpful given the attention span i'd allotted for this.

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henrygravesprince's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.75

Capote’s prose is masterful, but the non-fiction aspect was handled in a way I don’t find responsible, and I think that, as one of the first major modern true crime media “sensations”, In Cold Blood embodies many of the same problems that true crime media, particularly dramatizations, maintains today. I don’t dislike Capote, and in fact I quite like his writing for the most part, but I couldn’t in good conscience give this book a wholly glowing review. There would still be issues if I looked at it the way one looks at fiction, but monumentally less — that said, it is not purely fiction, and I can’t look at this novel & not be acutely aware of the fact that these were real people & the facts were embellished in ways that can’t really be brushed off, in my opinion.

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moraina's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

This was a very slow read for me. I appreciate that Truman Capote presented everything as factual and didn’t sensationalize, since these were real people that were affected by an awful crime. However, his lengthy descriptions and tedious run-on sentences sometimes made it difficult to stay engaged. I think he did do a fair job representing the events that happened and provided both commentary from a more outside perspective as well as representing how the community felt during these events, but the writing style did lessen my enjoyment of the book.

The descriptions of Dick and Perry’s capture and subsequent trial really did make me think on what is considered substantial evidence and a fair trial. I think Capote also did a good job delving into the ethics of capital punishment. It is interesting to see how much more religion played a role in these matters, given both the time period and geographic location of the events. Exploring the childhood of Perry, in particular, does end up being rather important for understanding the murders. I found the discussion of childhood abuse and the reasons for “murders with no apparent motive” quite interesting as well (although terrible, of course).

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_carmel_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

A very slow book. I disliked the authorial voice and opinions, however it is a very important book in the space of literature. It is genre defining and also forces the reader to challenge their own beliefs and place them in an uncomfortable position. Excellent use of syntax. Makes you think. 

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emersonseyeball's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0


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kemorrell's review against another edition

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dark informative sad slow-paced

3.75


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goldyyy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

3.25


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murakamimami's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

Nonfiction that reads like fiction! It’s a wonderfully written book that makes you contemplate the nature of life. It’s also thrilling if you like true crime. 

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