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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Creepy, well written.
This is a book that I couldn't read all the way through. I was afraid it would get too creepy. I kept reading gingerly through the pages waiting for the worst part. I would skip ahead, to see what was in store. It never really got there, though...to an unbearable place where I had to put it down. I guess I had gotten sucked in! It is well written. This is the first book in the true crime genre and considered an early work in the non-fiction novel genre although not the first. I felt like a bit of a peeping tom reading it...like perhaps I should look away and not be interested in these strange (and sometimes evil) happenings and relationships, but the situation is so odd, and the story is told so well, you want to keep peering into these people's lives to see what happens and how it all resolves. I read that some of the important details are false, but I don't know what they are.
On a side note, I watched the movie Capote and it was well done. Great performance by Phillip Seymour Hoffman (as usual) and interesting to see Truman Capote's personality.
This is a book that I couldn't read all the way through. I was afraid it would get too creepy. I kept reading gingerly through the pages waiting for the worst part. I would skip ahead, to see what was in store. It never really got there, though...to an unbearable place where I had to put it down. I guess I had gotten sucked in! It is well written. This is the first book in the true crime genre and considered an early work in the non-fiction novel genre although not the first. I felt like a bit of a peeping tom reading it...like perhaps I should look away and not be interested in these strange (and sometimes evil) happenings and relationships, but the situation is so odd, and the story is told so well, you want to keep peering into these people's lives to see what happens and how it all resolves. I read that some of the important details are false, but I don't know what they are.
On a side note, I watched the movie Capote and it was well done. Great performance by Phillip Seymour Hoffman (as usual) and interesting to see Truman Capote's personality.
2.5/5.
Hasn't aged well. Comically maudlin. Smacks of disingenuity. Throughout the book Capote posits blatant extrapolations as indisputable facts; the book fails as a work journalism. Nor does the book work as a novel. The narrative lugubriously alternates between the perspectives of its suspiciously archetypal 'characters,' seemingly without regard to plotting or momentum. A slog.
Some passages in isolation work wonderfully as portraits of small-town midwestern life. Also, Capote had a gift for catty, dismissive turns-of-phrase. I laughed hard a few times. Despite not particularly enjoying In Cold Blood, I remain mildly interested in his fiction.
Stray Observation: For a story with no sexual component whatsoever, Capote sure spends a hilarious amount of time speculating about characters' sexualities.
Hasn't aged well. Comically maudlin. Smacks of disingenuity. Throughout the book Capote posits blatant extrapolations as indisputable facts; the book fails as a work journalism. Nor does the book work as a novel. The narrative lugubriously alternates between the perspectives of its suspiciously archetypal 'characters,' seemingly without regard to plotting or momentum. A slog.
Some passages in isolation work wonderfully as portraits of small-town midwestern life. Also, Capote had a gift for catty, dismissive turns-of-phrase. I laughed hard a few times. Despite not particularly enjoying In Cold Blood, I remain mildly interested in his fiction.
Stray Observation: For a story with no sexual component whatsoever, Capote sure spends a hilarious amount of time speculating about characters' sexualities.
informative
reflective
sad
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
dark
emotional
fast-paced
I really enjoyed the writing of this book. It was gripping, not just the story itself- but how many different perspectives and voices Capote includes. Although it has its flaws, throughout reading I could feel the amount of care and dedication went into crafting this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Blood, Murder
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual assault
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced