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jbrown1120's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, Gun violence, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Abandonment, Car accident, Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual violence, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Sexism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
maddypat's review against another edition
4.75
While reading it, though, I couldn't help but think about the current discourse about true crime as a genre. A lot of people feel that true crime seems to focus a lot on the murderers and barely treat the victims as people, and often spreads misinformation about the case or the people involved. I think this is fair to say about a lot of true crime podcasts and, I'm sure, also about a lot of true crime books.
In Cold Blood, I think, does a pretty good job of humanizing the victims. Accounts from friends and family of the Clutters help paint a picture of who they were before they were killed, and throughout the book we never forget how brutal of an end they were met with at the hands of Dick and Perry. But then on the flip side, well over half of the novel is dedicated to talking about those men, their lives leading up to the murder, and what happened following it. After finishing the book and looking up the case, it turns out Capote had actually befriended Perry during his research.
At first, I was not really happy with this. Who are these men, these two people that murdered a whole family
In the end, I think what sets this book apart is that it paints the full picture. Sure I learn a lot about the perpetrators of the crime, but I also am thinking of the victims around every curve, and that is the difference between good true crime and bad.
I know I'll be thinking about this book for a long time. I'd recommend it even for people who don't read much other true crime.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
eleeowart's review against another edition
4.0
Didn’t LOVE the racist slurs/phrases used but understand it was reporting and that was the 1950s.
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Confinement
sophiaroesler's review against another edition
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder
Minor: Racial slurs, Rape, and Pedophilia
onlyonebookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, and Gore
Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual violence
tlaynejones's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Homophobia, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Murder, and Forced institutionalization
teekraenzchen's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Rape
cuddlygryphon's review against another edition
3.25
Moderate: Death, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Blood, Car accident, Gun violence, Murder, Sexism, and Sexual assault
caseylovett's review against another edition
Graphic: Murder and Racial slurs
vireoeo's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Death, Racism, Racial slurs, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, and Rape