January Modern Classic: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Just marking my place again - would be interested in discussing, once we've all read it.

i'd like to join in too
i have borrowed in cold blood from the library , at first i couldnt get into it at all and almost gave up but now i am totally gripped !

Note to self: the Personal Dictionary was the point where I realised I wasn't hating this any more.

After weeks of swerving.

Goodness I must be old. Loving the part where the old friends go and clean up the house - removing all the DNA and other clues. Perhaps it won't matter.

Dog ate my homework.

Crows swallowed the keys to the library.

Was chased from the house by lions.

So. I read the first few pages straight after unwrapping. Stopped. Had a week long migraine. Couldn't look at a book. (No probs with MN on phone ...)

I picked it up last night. Fussed and fidgeted and forced myself to keep going. There was mention of rope. I went to bed early (sans book.)

Today I am ill tempered and fretful. Number 1 Party Anthem and Britten's Canticles have had only limited success in bringing me back to normality.

I cannot believe I am doing this to myself. It's pretty clear that without this thread I would live and die without ever touching this hateful book. (Beautifully written and composed ...)

Never been so embarrassed in m'life. Will keep going. You are not my friend OP.

I've almost finished .

mmack don't worry, even if you remembered all the details, it wouldn't ruin the book for you. This book isn't about the plot. It's not a murder mystery, it's a deep exploration of every aspect of a brutal and desperate crime.

Haven't seen either of the films - would like to.

Have been thinking a lot about the people who were murdered, particularly Nancy, who was only 16 (just a little older than my DD). If she'd lived, she'd now be 71 - so sad to think of a whole life lost just because two men decided to kill for no reason at all.

Apologies for typos, phone's silly little keyboard and clumsy fingers don't mix

A few films have been made of this. I've not seen Capote, but there's another called Notorious, which stars Daniel Craig and the incredible Toby Jones.

I saw the film before I read the book, so I initially approached it as a work of reportage...I was thinking about the context in which the book was written, as opposed to the true crimes discussed. But it got under my skin. By the end, I was captivated, moved, and shaken. Brilliant book.

I've been following this thread but haven't contributed to it until now. I read it a year or so ago and m, whilst it is undoubtedly good, I was more sceptical about Capote's reasons for writing the book. This does show up more in the film, Capote, which I saw recently. He comes across as quite hard-faced in using the murder case for his own ends, quite unpleasantly manipulative. Just my thoughts, anyway.

Hackmum - Harper Lee'a contribution to Capote'a research is shown in the film and we see quite a bit of rivalry emerging between them over her novel being published first.

I absolutely loved this, when I read it last year. It was meticulous and compelling in equal measure. Plenty of research and detail, but written in such a way to make you keep turning those pages.

It does have that extra "edge" to it, as you keep being reminded that this was for real. Eek. Great choice by the way.

I just read the Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Cold_Blood) entry for it, and it says there are some exaggerations and fabrications, which is not totally surprising. But what I didn't know was that Harper Lee visited the town with him and conducted some of the interviews. Her contribution doesn't seem to be acknowledged in the book.

Just finished it. I really enjoyed it - it pulls you in right at the start, keeps you wanting to know more. I was also fascinated by the psychological profiling of the two young men, and surprised that even then, in the early 60s, psychiatrists were aware of the effect a childhood of emotional neglect and physical abuse could have on someone's personality. Perry Smith is such a strange and chilling character - capable of killing four innocent people and yet preventing his friend from raping Nancy because he thinks it's disgusting.

Several years ago I read Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent, and I remembered that he'd visited Holcombe and written about it. So I just checked what he has to say about the book, which is: "There was nothing particularly seminal about Capote's book. It was just a sensational and grisly murder story that pandered, in a deviously respectable way, to the reader's baser instincts."

He has a point, I think, though it's a little harsh. He also goes on to say that the people of Holcombe rather resented Capote for using the story for his own ends, and preferred not to talk about it - some of the teenagers he spoke to hadn't even heard of the book.

True Crime is not a genre I usually choose however I thought this book was excellent.

I particularly liked how he used different voices within the book, both to relate versions of the main events and to fill in the background, without overstepping into fiction or conjecture. His research must have been meticulous and I'm interested in finding out more about what drove him to write it.

It was an engrossing read, I found it thought-provoking and Capote shows sympathetic handling of a really difficult subject.

I'll definitely read more of his work.

Loved this

I studied this book at college and found it fascinating. I thought it was really well told and was able to make you feel some sort of sympathy for (one at least) of the killers whilst not detracting from the hideousness of the murders.

music I will watch that movie - thanks for that suggestion.

I would heartily urge anyone (everyone?) to listen to The Serial. It is utterly compelling.

And like ICB, is structured in a non linear fashion that allows different aspects of the crime to be examined seperately.

Also, the narration, like ICB, is a wonderful combination of in depth forensic examination of a legal case combined with coloquial, almost trashy asides, into human nature.

Read it last year for another book group - thought it was beautifully written. I concur about reading a bit about Truman life as he was writing this, and also watching Capote, as it's fascinating (Not to mention a masterclass in acting by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman). Will look forward to seeing what other people think of the book when they've had a chance to read it.

TheWordFactory Haven't listened to Serial but I wouldn't be surprised if it was influenced by this - it would be hard not to be.

Will start this this week, so marking my place on the thread!

bought it yesterday and only managed about 20 or so pages as I was going out last night but was pulled in from the start, as Clash said true crime is not a genre I have ever been drawn to.
I'll update when I've read more!!

I have read this several times for work.

I wonder if anyone reading this has also listened to The Serial on This American Life?

Have you noticed any parallels in the narratives structure? Style?

I read this a little while ago, interested to hear other peoples views, I hadn't read a true crime novel in this kind of format before