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Julie G's Reviews > In Cold Blood
In Cold Blood
by
by
Julie G's review
bookshelves: kansas-territory, buddy-reads, reading-road-trip-2020, true-stories-or-so-they-say, you-ll-need-an-antidepressant, 60-from-the-1960s
Sep 27, 2020
bookshelves: kansas-territory, buddy-reads, reading-road-trip-2020, true-stories-or-so-they-say, you-ll-need-an-antidepressant, 60-from-the-1960s
Reading Road Trip 2020
Current location: Kansas
How can I explain this? It was like I wasn't part of it. More as though I was reading a story. And I had to know what was going to happen. The end.
If you ask a random American to name a book they associate with the state of Kansas, they will most likely answer The Wonderful World of Oz (a story more popularly known by the movie's name, The Wizard of Oz).
If you ask a devoted reader the same question, you will get Oz, for sure, but you'll have a quick second answer: In Cold Blood.
Having already read Frank Baum's underwhelming story about Oz several years ago, I knew this book would be my obvious choice for Kansas.
But I didn't want it to be.
You see. . . although I respect Truman Capote as a writer, I am not the reader for this. I don't read “true crime� novels, and I don't read horror, real or otherwise.
And this is horror. Real life horror. And it is. . . horrific.
I can't think of a better way to express to you what my experience of reading this book looked like this week other than to share this photo of a beloved Seinfeld episode:
As implausible as it seems, both The Wizard of Oz and In Cold Blood do share something in common. . . two really creepy bad guys:
But, even though I'm trying to lighten the mood with a little humor here, it's only an act. I experienced nothing but heaviness this week. This is a heartbreaking true story, and, even though I believe it to be Mr. Capote's magnum opus, I can only express the greatest relief that this particular read is over. (Thus four stars, not five. Five, for me, means I look forward to a reread).
This is a story of broken people who broke people. It was soul crushing for me.
To be murdered. To be murdered. No. No. There's nothing worse. Nothing worse than that. Nothing.
Current location: Kansas
How can I explain this? It was like I wasn't part of it. More as though I was reading a story. And I had to know what was going to happen. The end.
If you ask a random American to name a book they associate with the state of Kansas, they will most likely answer The Wonderful World of Oz (a story more popularly known by the movie's name, The Wizard of Oz).
If you ask a devoted reader the same question, you will get Oz, for sure, but you'll have a quick second answer: In Cold Blood.
Having already read Frank Baum's underwhelming story about Oz several years ago, I knew this book would be my obvious choice for Kansas.
But I didn't want it to be.
You see. . . although I respect Truman Capote as a writer, I am not the reader for this. I don't read “true crime� novels, and I don't read horror, real or otherwise.
And this is horror. Real life horror. And it is. . . horrific.
I can't think of a better way to express to you what my experience of reading this book looked like this week other than to share this photo of a beloved Seinfeld episode:
As implausible as it seems, both The Wizard of Oz and In Cold Blood do share something in common. . . two really creepy bad guys:
But, even though I'm trying to lighten the mood with a little humor here, it's only an act. I experienced nothing but heaviness this week. This is a heartbreaking true story, and, even though I believe it to be Mr. Capote's magnum opus, I can only express the greatest relief that this particular read is over. (Thus four stars, not five. Five, for me, means I look forward to a reread).
This is a story of broken people who broke people. It was soul crushing for me.
To be murdered. To be murdered. No. No. There's nothing worse. Nothing worse than that. Nothing.
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Reading Progress
January 3, 2020
– Shelved
September 20, 2020
–
Started Reading
September 20, 2020
–
8.16%
". . . Mrs. Clutter, though unrelaxed herself, had a relaxing quality, as is generally true of defenseless persons who present no threat."
page
28
September 21, 2020
–
11.95%
"". . . nothing scares you," she said, commenting upon a generally recognized quality of Mr. Clutter's: a fearless self-assurance that set him apart, and while it created respect, also limited the affections of others a little. "I can't imagine you afraid. No matter what happened, you'd talk your way out of it.""
page
41
September 22, 2020
–
18.37%
"Several murderers, or men who boasted of murder or their willingness to commit it, circulated inside Lansing; but Dick became convinced that Perry was that rarity, "a natural killer"--absolutely sane, but conscienceless and capable of dealing, with or without a motive, the coldest-blooded deathblows. It was Dick's theory that such a gift could, under his supervision, be profitably exploited."
page
63
September 23, 2020
–
23.62%
"But who hated the Clutters? I never heard a word against them; they were about as popular as a family can be, and if something like this could happen to them, then who's safe, I ask you?"
page
81
September 23, 2020
–
26.82%
""I've seen some bad things, I sure as hell have. But nothing so vicious as this. However long it takes, it may be the rest of my life, I'm going to know what happened in that house: the why and the who.""
page
92
September 23, 2020
–
29.74%
"". . . that family represented everything people hereabouts really value and respect, and that such a thing could happen to them--well, it's like being told there is no God. It makes life seem pointless. I don't think people are so much frightened as they are deeply depressed.""
page
102
September 25, 2020
–
55.39%
". . . she looked again at the faces on the kitchen table. "Think of him," she said, placing a finger against the front-view portrait of the blond young man. "Think of those eyes. Coming toward you." Then she pushed the pictures back into their envelope. "I wish you hadn't shown me.""
page
190
September 26, 2020
–
67.06%
"Dick trotted down to the ocean's edge. . . here and there stopping to collect a seashell. As a boy he'd so envied the son of a neighbor who had gone to the Gulf Coast. . . and returned with a box full of shells--so hated him--that he'd stolen the shells and one by one crushed them with a hammer. Envy was constantly with him; the Enemy was anyone who was someone he wanted to be or who had anything he wanted to have."
page
230
September 26, 2020
–
82.51%
"For ten miles and more, the three men ride without speaking.
Sorrow and profound fatigue are at the heart of Dewey's silence. It had been his ambition to learn "exactly what happened in that house that night.""
page
283
Sorrow and profound fatigue are at the heart of Dewey's silence. It had been his ambition to learn "exactly what happened in that house that night.""
September 26, 2020
–
85.13%
""I lay awake wondering if either one was bothered by it--the thought of those four graves.""
page
292
September 27, 2020
–
91.25%
"Wearing an open-necked shirt (borrowed from Mr. Meier) and blue jeans rolled up at the cuffs, he looked as lonely and inappropriate as a seagull in a wheat field."
page
313
September 27, 2020
–
100%
"Green, a suavely tough little septuagenarian, has an imposing reputation among his peers, who admire his stagecraft--a repertoire of actorish gifts that includes a sense of timing acute as a night-club comedian's."
page
349
September 27, 2020
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 78 (78 new)
Great review, Julie. Soul crushing is a good way to put it.
Based on the late hour this review is posting, I see you weren’t exaggerating about the insomnia! 😳 Sorry to hear that this was such an emotionally draining experience for you (and not in a good way). Sounds like you may need to pull over, find a cheap motel or truck stop, and catch a little shut-eye before resuming this Road Trip of yours. 😉
Julie, an honest review of this most disturbing book. Soul crushing indeed. Take care.
This has been my most anticipated review of yours and the excerpts were chilling me with suspense (even though I was familiar with the plot). I do scare myself with true crime shows like Dateline on occasion but somehow in the hands of a writer like Truman Capote feels like it would be too much! I need a soothing narrator to get me through it!
I've owned this book for years and have never read it. I'm not the right reader for this book either. Fantastic review, Julie.
Fantastic review. I've wondered how you were handling it since you started. I read it in my youth, and remember a couple of sleepless nights even then. I hate true crime because it reminds me that evil exists in this world, and I prefer to keep that knowledge on the back burner. Imagine Capote living this for years while he researched and wrote it.
Julie, I read this as a teen and somehow I think it was easier to read at that time than it would be now. Even though I knew it was a true crime story, somehow I nearly convinced myself it was fiction. Now I know that true evil like this really does exist, and it would be even more frightening. A splendid review! (By the way, the witches of Oz never kept me up at night but those damn flying monkeys sure did!!)
Truman Capote must have been deeply affected by this story as he was researching. However, he narrates the story like a detached observer. I think he did an excellent job to keep his personal feelings out of the story.
This is a wonderful review, Julie, and I love the images you included. I haven't read it for the exact reason you stated -- I don't do true crime. I did see the movie; was it similar (if you've watched it?)? I admire you for going outside your norm with this one. If you meant the no sleep thing literally...... wow do I relate, this past week has been awful. I hope you meant it figuratively, though I know you suffer with insomnia too.
Thank you, Keyo. Prior to this, I've had no interest in seeing Capote. Now I must see it!
Thanks, Lisa. I'm so glad it's over!
Julie wrote: "Thank you, Keyo. Prior to this, I've had no interest in seeing Capote. Now I must see it!"I hope you'll like it 🤗🌸
James,What I've learned is that cheap hotels and truck stops are filled with cold-hearted killers waiting to shoot everybody in the face with their shotguns. So I will keep on driving for now.
(And I will NOT be picking up any hitchhikers!).
You’ve been really brave, Julie, and this is an honest, wonderful and fair review.
Such a wonderful review, Julie and I loved the line "This is a story of broken people who broke people. It was soul crushing for me." which seems to have summed up your experience very well. At least this leg is over and onwards across the country. Best of times ahead!! :):)
Kimber,What a thoughtful comment. Thank you (and thank you for all of the love you've given this "road trip" of mine).
Let me suggest a few narrators who might lighten the tone of this horror story, if you listen to an audio book: Fred Rogers, Tom Hanks, and David Sedaris. I wonder if any of them are available?
Anne,You'd most likely love the writing here, and the psychiatric analysis of the criminals at the story's end, but I can't exactly recommend this, unless you'd also love losing an entire week of sleep.
Oh, gosh, Julie. And here I was trying to be comforting. Guess that backfired. 😳😬😅I know I’m late to the party, but I LOVE this whole “road trip� idea and look forward to seeing where it takes you next. Hope your next stop is less scary and depressing. 🤞🙏
Why I loved your review more than the book is a mystery. And, oddly enough, I enjoyed the film as well. I was younger when I read the book and I find (for myself) some writing styles are better appreciated after 40... anyway, another great On the Road review!!
PS� not that you look even close to 40 yet... 😎
I’ve had this book for about 500 years and strangely have never read it! ..... and I am a big fan of the true crime writing. I think I guessed it would be a dark, chilly and harrowing read. I’ll get to it one day. Your honest review was excellent.
Your review said it all- will I ever read it? I doubt it- I don’t need a reminder of how evil people can be and I think I have enough disrupting my sleep, without adding the horror of this book. Thanks for the heads up:)
Great review Julie. I think I would have stuck to re reading Wizard of Oz, but it’s good to experience something out of your normal genre. 💕
I have to admit I was a little surprised you picked this one, given its gruesome subject, and am impressed you committed to it, sleeplessness and all. Great review. I read my battered, vintage copy a few decades ago and remember how disturbing it was. An incredibly nuanced telling of "broken people who broke people". I think it probably broke Capote too, in the end.
Thanks, Fran. Who needs Halloween, to feel scared?
Thanks, Diane.Oh, I can only imagine what this did to Mr. Capote. I have felt like this after one week:
Thanks, Candi. You're so right. I would have been horrified to have read this in my youth, but for different reasons. As a mother, you can not help but understand how the parents in the Clutter house felt. When Mrs. Clutter begs the killers, "Please, don't hurt my children," you know that is the lowest bar for her. She has been reduced to her lowest common denominator and then. . . Give me flying monkeys over these two monsters. . . any day.
Thank you, Julie, this book has been recommended to me by so many people through the years, but I have not read it. Now I know I would likely never sleep again if I did, so I can just tell people that I can't read it now, or ever.
I agree, Musa. In fact, I didn't observe that he referred to himself at all until the last 20 pages of the book. (He referred to himself as "the journalist").
Hi Jenna,Thank you. No, I was being literal about the sleep deprivation. I suffer from occasional insomnia, but my struggles this week were 100% from this disturbing story. (And, no, I haven't seen any movies about this book or about the writer. Have you seen Capote?).
Very interesting review. You are nervier than me. My unread copy continues to reside in a bookcase for 'later'...maybe a bright , sunny day...
Pedro,I appreciate your comment, calling this a "fair review." It is becoming more and more important to me to acknowledge good writing, even when the story isn't what I was in the mood for, or even if I don't like the protagonist or the subject matter. There is no getting around it here. . . this is some exemplary writing at play, and to overlook that (even though I hated reading the story), would be almost a criminal act itself. Damn, the twists and turns he takes here. It's a work of art, in that regard.
The Toby Jones movie about him (Infamous) is great and is the better of the two, although both deal with the writing of this book. It sounds like this was exhausting but IF you want more in the same vein, The Executioner’s Song is also excellent. I read both after I was on the jury for a murder trial (something I’m glad I will have almost no statistical chance of doing again.)
Peter,Thank you. I'm sorry that time restraints and a pandemic prevented this buddy read of ours from being far less entertaining than our experience of Cold Mountain.
I look forward to your thoughts on this one, when you're ready.
Hi Julie, I enjoyed your review and feel your heaviness of heart. I own this book and haven’t read it for this reason. I saw the film but don’t remember it so don’t mind reading the book. I know he was a rival to the author Dominick Dunne, whom I love. I am interested in Capote’s writing though so thank you for an honest review.... Now go to sleep for the next 10 days!
Ha! Thank you, James.My Reading Road Trip started on Jan 1 of this year and it was so well organized, I had it plotted out, going state by state, as though I was actually in a car.
I have maintained, more or less, the books I originally researched, but the logistics of having access to certain books during a pandemic has messed up some of the order now. While the library is still open, I've got to strike while I can. I think I've got 12 more states to go, and I'm feeling the pressure, but I'm determined to finish by Dec 31!
Oh, Heidi. Thanks for the laugh. Let's just say. . . if, hypothetically, I was lucky enough to look 40 as I started this book, then, hypothetically, after no sleep, I look about 70 now.
Julie, like you I am not one for true crime. Although I will happily read a (fictional) horror novel, nothing scares me more than true crime. It is scary precisely because it is ... true!However, I did read In Cold Blood as I understand it to be the Alpha and Omega of true crime. Too dark even for a brooding figure like myself.
Maybe I should try Breakfast at Tiffany’s instead?
Most readers would probably prefer be sucked into a cyclone and spend their vacation in Oz than stop in Truman Capote's Kansas. Get some sleep now with a nice book like My Dog Skip.
Richard,Thank you. I do believe this will be a brilliant read for you. And, after a few months on antidepressants, I may be able to look back on this reading experience more objectively, too!
Antoinette,I think we can both feel content knowing I read it quite thoroughly for both of us.
Thank you, Sandra. You know. . . I found Baum's original Oz so dull, I definitely needed a different take on Kansas. . . but, yes, this read required courage!
Thank you, Robin. It surprised you and me, both. I just found this and it seemed appropriate to share, given your comment:
Julie, I’m so sorry, this sounds like it really hurt. I think Capote couldn’t quite finish the book with the same gusto he started with, b/c those prison interviews with the murderer were eating at him - am I remembering this right? I hope that what you’re reading now is healing you. Love the Seinfeld bit, and the Capote quote, above. Love this road trip idea - it’s been fun to follow you!
The film was good. A former boss of mine’s brother directed it, and I remember being so relieved by how good it was.
Cheri,This is one of those stories that is going to stick with me for the long haul. I can only celebrate the caliber of the writing, offer up blessings for the victims and pray for the return of sleep!
Lori,I literally read this in the sunlight. . . in the middle of the day. I tried once to read it at night, and it was a disaster. It gets less scary toward the end of the book (though Capote did decide to add the unnecessary details of why other inmates were on death row with Perry and Dick--the only time I found his writing a bit over-the-top, and the reader is freshly terrorized by new accounts of rapes and murders).
Great review. I don't read 'true crime' either, and so I never picked this up. I've only read Breakfast at Tiffany's by him.
I really need to read it, I loved the movie
I've seen it 5 times!!!
but I've never felt I am ready to read it yet