Second time I read this book. The first time was thirty years ago and I was quite impressed by it, by the gruesome murder, the progress of the criminaSecond time I read this book. The first time was thirty years ago and I was quite impressed by it, by the gruesome murder, the progress of the criminals, the story. Now, with a bit more perspective, i am even more in awe of the great writing, the peeling of the layers surrounding the events, the journalistic effort of a young Capote trying to stay objective and failing to do so, the commentary on the America of the fifties, masculinity, death penalty, values... No wonder this masterpiece put Capote in the literary map and almost destroyed him. A lot has been written about this "true crime" book pioneer of sorts. Every night on TV we can see shows that revisit the genre with the same tropes: the shattered normality, the community in the grips of fear, the aborted futures, the hidden threat, the "couldn't have happened to a nicer family", the destroyed lives and the revenge thirst, the forgiveness, the banality of violence, the psychological blind spots... However, "In Cold Blood" digs even deeper and reveals the author himself, falling for the half-breed Perry despite himself, catching himself midway to justifying his crimes. But also needing a conclusion to the story in the shape of an execution, preferably by hanging. It also reveals a veiled contempt -and admiration-, all rolled in one, for the values of middle America, its harsh puritanical ethos, its grit and its beauty, the casual racism, the hypocrisy of piety and the tenuous bonds of family. The author has a clinical eye for nuance and creates a world of pain and loneliness from what is normally just another story in the front page of a local newspaper in Kansas. It elevates the whole thing to Greek tragedy territory with destiny and chance taking the wheel beyond human comprehension. That's what makes this a great read. I could go on about the individual characters... the parents of "Dick", mired in disbelief and helplessness , Perry and his paranoid sensitivity, a kid that could have been somebody if things hadn't been so warped , the dogged determination of the investigator Dewey with a zeal one wished was universal, the solid Mr. Clutter and his model family if we make exception for his sickly depressed wife, the townsfolk carving a life in the prairies, the "principled" judge, the cell companions, really an amazing cast of characters caught in a slice of time. The structure of the book is also unique. This is no murder mystery. We know straight away who did away with the Clutters. And yet, the few "why's" and "how"s" that are left keep the reader stuck to the story. Top shelf stuff. ...more
A lively 270 page book that starts with a single premise, money is a reflection of trust and the historical and societal circumstances around it. It iA lively 270 page book that starts with a single premise, money is a reflection of trust and the historical and societal circumstances around it. It is a (very) useful fiction. Then it goes on to explain the big historical changes in the idea of money. We jump from ancient tablets of accounting and perforated metal beads to gold coins or giant Swedish copper plates and the first bumpy experiments with paper money in China or the money-less societies of pre-colonial America. Then we come to the European first bankers, the first global currencies and the parity with gold problems. By the time we start seeing the first corporations we also discover the massive bubbles like the Mississippi Company created by John Law, a character that deserves his own movie as he practically ruined France. As an American, you'll discover amazing facts about who used to print money and how many types of currency were in circulation at one point (answer 8,000 plus!) . We explore gold-parity and its problems with President Roosevelt and, later on, with Nixon and how tethering money to a metal is not ideal. we more or less get to today's world of dwindling cash-in-circulation (it is still piled somewhere undetected) and , of course, the mad dash towards digital currencies with all the new set of dilemmas it causes as a real "store" of value and even delve into what might be a future without banks . Better than a mystery novel.
It is admittedly light reading and inspired by the Planet Money style of narration (from anecdote to general principle) . But that makes it so readable that I would recommend it to any teenager without trepidation . And it is a wonderful way to open doors to further exploration , even disagreement about what pairing with gold means or what bitcoin's future might look like. In the end you really get a bit dizzy as you contemplate that all your savings are really dependent on us trusting each other and little else. ...more
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