Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

25 reviews

kylielf's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

3.25

I originally thought this book was going to be a murder mystery but it read more so as a documentary-style recalling. I thought the writing was good and the book was well crafted, it just was not in my taste. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Death, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Pedophilia

babs4205's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Murder

sticky_soul_sticky_soles's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Murder, Suicide, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Grief

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.25

This text was jarring in that there was vibrant and comprehensive descriptions of seemingly innocuous details and then facts like Hickock's pedophilic tendencies were dropped into the middle of a paragraph, only to be left and then picked up again after dozens of pages. The descriptions of the Clutters, their family life, their friends, and their pastoral joys made the details of their deaths all the more profoundly upsetting. I appreciated the depth of research that went into this book and the information given on the communities the Clutters and their killers spent time in, but I am also, in some ways, upset with the lengths at which this book works to humanize the killers. It's bitter to feel something akin to empathy with either of them or the men that lived with them on death row.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Gore, Cancer, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Car accident, Sexual content, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, Death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Child death, and Confinement

brandywyne's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Blood, Murder, Death of parent, Gore, Child death, and Death

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Violence, Confinement, Abandonment, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, and Gun violence

_carmel_'s review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Violence, Death, Cursing, Classism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Pedophilia, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Hate crime, Gun violence, Addiction, Abortion, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Gore, Death of parent, Child abuse, Child death, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Racism, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

jpellwood's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Death, Torture, Child death, Murder, and Violence

baearles's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence

athereaderofbooks's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

2.0

Clearly, I would not recommend this true-crime novel. 

I will give kudos to a couple of aspects of this book: 

1. It was organized in a notable way. It started with showing the past of both the victims and their killers. Their environments were taken into consideration and you developed an idea of their character. Later it led to the investigation and we found out how the murder occurred through confessionals. Truman Capote followed the case until its conclusion. 

2. The entire book was thorough with everything. If something was mentioned it was never offhandedly, and we understood how everyone and everything contributed to the narrative. 

But despite these factors, I hated this book. This is the first time that I have read a true crime book, and this most definitely affected my rating, but this was horrific. Why would I want to read about an entire family being murdered

because some thieves wanted money??

How does one find enjoyment in such a subject when they themself could one day be the victim of such an unsuspecting crime? The Clutters likely never thought of this likelihood and look what happened to them. The only thing this book added to my life was more anxiety, and I already have enough. 

 On top of this, there have been multiple people who have contested the accuracy of this book, saying that there were many pieces of opinion inserted and falsehoods added into the book. (Not just random people online, but people who themselves have analyzed this crime.) 
 
This dragged on and on with a really excessive form of writing and the only interest I had was finishing this book so I could get it over with, understand what happened, and try to forget it. 

And to me, most importantly, there were multiple instances where racial, homophobic, and in general degrading slurs were used. This includes but is not limited to the n-word, the f slur, and out-of-date referrals to Asian, Black, and Native American people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Abandonment, Bullying, Excrement, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and War