This chilling nonfiction novel about a brutal 1959 killing in Holcomb, Kansas makes powerful reading. Author Truman Capote (1924-1984) writes superbly as he recreates the events of this horrid crime, and lets us peek into the minds of the perpetrators. Dick Hickock and Perry Smith were losers who took it on faith from a fellow inmate that a certain farm family in Western Kansas had a cash-filled safe in their house. There was no such safe, and all these punks got for their terrible deed was $40. The author examines the family background of the two killers, their friendship, and their crime. We also learn about their capture, trial, and life on Kansas' death row. Ever mindful of the victims, Capote also lets us know the four members of the Clutter family who tragically lost their lives. Capote apparently hoped to make a powerful statement against the death penalty, but his subjects are hardly the type to elicit sympathy. Still, this is a superbly moving (and at times disturbing) nonfiction novel.
Victoria - 4
Maya -
Jennifer -
Regina -
Stacy - 4
Gina - 4.5
Jules - 3.5
Cris - 4
Melanie - Opted not to read :(
Kasie -
Questions -
- How does Capote build suspense despite the fact that readers know the ultimate outcome from the beginning of In Cold Blood?
- In what ways is In Cold Blood like a fiction novel? How does Capote report the facts and allow different voices to speak without using a journalistic style?
- In Cold Blood starts with details about the Clutter family's last day alive. Did any of the details particularly stick out to you? Did Capote make you feel attached to the family by sharing these details?
- Were there any other characters you empathized with because of small details Capote wrote about them? Bobby Rupp? Alvin Dewey?
- Why do you think Capote split the narrative into three sections? Why do you think he did not describe how the murders happened until Dick and Perry were caught and gave their confessions?
- Did you feel sympathy for Dick or Perry at any point?
- How did Capote humanize the killers? Were you surprised by how likable they could seem despite the brutality of their crime and unremoresefulness to the end?
- Capote seems to paint Perry in a more sympathetic light than Dick. He seems sensitive and even kind at points; however, by the end you find out that Perry committed all four murders. Did that surprise you? Did you sympathize with Dick more than Perry at any point? Or did you not buy any of the kind characterizations?
- Do you think Dick and Perry were sane? Did the psychiatric analysis of them and descriptions of other cold blooded killers surprise you? Scare you? Make you think differently about violent crime or the death penalty?
- Rate In Cold Blood by Truman Capote on a scale of one to five.
