Scan barcode
A review by eloyvallina
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
5.0
Like many, I guess, I entered this book seeking answers to the old question: why do people kill? As opposed to many, I did not know, when I started, that this was a true-crime story: that the Clutter family murders did happen, that their killers were found and, eventually, executed; or even that there is an actual place called Holcomb, somewhere in Kansas. However, my own illiteracy has probably come to my benefit, as this unforgivable omission made the experience much richer, and later finding that the whole thing was real contributed an amazing final twist.
I wonder if I could have/should have realised that I was reading a real account throughout the book, and since I didn't, I'd like to make three disclaimers in my defence: i) the Clutter family seemed impossibly 'nice'; a plain hard working family, respected members of their community, perfectly innocent; so much so, that I remember thinking, while reading the first quarter of the book, that I was been presented an archetype of the model American family. ii) The story reads so easily and smoothly, the events described so vividly that one could mistake it for a film; and very well made one iii) The was such amount of detail and extra information unrelated to the main plot, which you don’t ordinarily find in works of fiction, particularly not in noir novel, that I did start suspecting towards the end of the book.
Coming back to the original question, Capote explains it best in the words he attributes to Al Dewey:
On the subject of death penalty, Capote offers some compelling arguments against it. However, I surprised myself rather on the fence and, at times, I found the stance of N. L. Dunnan most relatable:Ordinarily I am against it, but in this case, no.
I wonder if I could have/should have realised that I was reading a real account throughout the book, and since I didn't, I'd like to make three disclaimers in my defence: i) the Clutter family seemed impossibly 'nice'; a plain hard working family, respected members of their community, perfectly innocent; so much so, that I remember thinking, while reading the first quarter of the book, that I was been presented an archetype of the model American family. ii) The story reads so easily and smoothly, the events described so vividly that one could mistake it for a film; and very well made one iii) The was such amount of detail and extra information unrelated to the main plot, which you don’t ordinarily find in works of fiction, particularly not in noir novel, that I did start suspecting towards the end of the book.
Coming back to the original question, Capote explains it best in the words he attributes to Al Dewey:
[…] the confessions though they answered questions as to how and why, failed to satisfy his [Dewey’s] sense of meaningful design. The crime was a psychological accident, virtually an impersonal act; the victims might as well have been killed by a lightning. Except for one thing: they had experienced prolonged terror, they had suffered.
On the subject of death penalty, Capote offers some compelling arguments against it. However, I surprised myself rather on the fence and, at times, I found the stance of N. L. Dunnan most relatable: