Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - In Cold Blood

Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

102 reviews

oceanwriter's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense slow-paced

3.0

Before reading, I paid minimal attention to what this book was about. I was halfway through before I realized this is in the true crime genre and not a crime novel. I jumped right into it. Had I realized right away I might have taken it in differently.

In 1959, four members of the Clutter family are murdered in their small-town Kansas home. A well-liked family, their deaths shook the town, and no one was able to figure out a reason as to why. Looking at the background of the Clutters as well as their murderers, we're taken through each movement of the capture and trial.

Not surprisingly, the writing is fantastic. The biggest issue for me was how slow it was. It picked up in the second half, but by then my interest had dwindled. I'm glad to have read it, though. Again, I might have appreciated the pace more if I'd realized off the bat that this was a work of nonfiction. It's interesting to see how much true crime books have evolved since the time of this book's publication.

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ellemwan's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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voilajean's review against another edition

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3.5

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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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lolamosk's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

3.0

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iarlais's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

3.25

One of the most unique books I've ever read. Disregarding the binary of fiction and fact, Capote aims to walk inbetween as he weaves a fictionalised tale of true events. The ethics of it are, well, a little questionable I think. Now, it's not like there aren't other sources to find about the Clutter murders, but In Cold Blood would have been one of the most widely-read at the time, and it's a book upon which the murderers had a heavy influence, whether Capote intended that to be the case or not. Despite this, it doesn't portray them very sympathetically, at least in my own opinion. I saw critics attack this book by saying that Capote was trying to vilify the Clutters and create sympathy for Dick and Perry, but I don't really agree with that. The Clutters were just humans, Kenyon comes off as quite cruel and Herbert a religious bigot, but I didn't feel like the book attempted to justify their murders. As for Bonnie and Nancy, they seem to me to be completely pure beings who were the outright innocent victims of Dick and Perry. As for the death-dealing duo themselves, I didn't feel like either of them were portrayed that sympathetically. According to Perry and by extension Capote, Dick was a pedophile, so any sympathy automatically flees the window, there. Perry, while he isn't as sick, is certainly still pathetic. I honestly don't know what Capote saw in him. I don't think either of them deserved to die, but that's less because of Capote's telling of the story and more because I don't agree with the death penalty for anyone.

The book itself is decent. The opening chapter is stellar, the way it cuts back and forth between the killers and the victims manages to build tension for a tragedy that is already known to the reader. It does suffer from some pacing issues, and I don't understand why Capote felt the need to tell the story of the other men on death row. Maybe he had a reason, but if so it passes over my head. I also would have liked the book more if it spared some time to focus on the public reaction to the executions of Dick and Perry, given how the whole Clutter tragedy became so infamous, it'd only make sense for the final conclusion of it to bring about some amount of public discourse. That all said, the prose is great, Capote has a wonderful knack for describing environments and building societies in a reader's head, and there were points where I felt like I was reading a very dark road trip story, as the two killers traverse from settlement to settlement, unaware that their death warrant was signed the moment they fired those four shots.

If you're looking for a source on the Clutter murders, this isn't the most unbiased, but I think it's the best one out there. It's definitely flawed, but also gripping and thought-provoking. I think Capote did a good job.

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