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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 51-78 of 78 (78 new)
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Karina,I forgot how much you like Dominick Dunne's writing, and I hadn't even made the connection between these two writers having shared this genre (probably because Truman's Capote's writing often spans genres). Do Mr. Dunne's novels freak you out like this? Do they mess with your sleep?
1.) Sorry, yes, I meant Infamous was the better movie of the two Capote biopics. They have different source material, so they each have a different tone. 2.) Hmmm, it does talk about the people Gary Gilmore murdered. I don't think it went into the heart-wrenching details the way Cold Blood did. I remember even though it was a long book, when it was done I wanted to sit down and read it all over.
Thanks, Vanessa. I don't think I've ever heard of Infamous. I'll keep it in mind.I've always wanted to read The Executioner's Song but I've always wondered if it was filled with a bunch of rape and murder flashbacks.
I know it talks about him beating his girlfriend. I don't remember anything about rape but I read it 12 years ago. I see some reviews mention it but I don't know about in what detail. It seems like if it were graphic, I would remember but my memory is highly fallible. Today I forgot how to do an API call I just wrote last week.
If it makes you feel any better, I just read a 4th grade Science article with my 10-year-old about "Adaptation," and it was like we were the same age. I was glad she knew the answers, when we took the quiz at the end! (What the hell, is 4th grade now part of a PhD program??).
Adaptation the movie??And I keep hearing American schools are behind.....
Hi Pat,If I may, could I recommend something of Truman Capote's? It's my personal favorite: A Christmas Memory
Um, I'm an educated woman, and I know you are as well, and I can tell you. . . I had to help my 7th grader with an art quiz today that I could just barely help her enough to get a "B" on, and then an "Adaptation" article, supposedly appropriate for 4th graders, with a quiz included that seemed like it was better suited for a freshman in college. I was as lost as both daughters.
Julie, I have a feeling that come December 1st I will be ready to read A Christmas Memory.
A Christmas Memory is my favorite short story of all time.Capote wrote about the Buddy character twice more in “The Thanksgiving Visitor� and “One Christmas.�
Pat,I'm going to make a weird comparison here, but this book I've recommended of Capote's reminds me a bit of Updike's The Maples Stories. Not in theme, at all, but in the way both writers were able to make individual words crack and pop right on the page. They both made me feel like I was underwater and I had just discovered that the ocean floor was littered with gold coins.
Thanks, Vanessa. All three of those stories are included in that compilation. I was just being lazy in writing the first title only.
Oh, sorry. I didn’t click thru. I didn’t realize until years after I read “Memory� there were others.
JV,I love witches anyway, so I'd happily contemplate Oz over this reality any day. Plus, with flying monkeys and houses falling from the sky, you stand an actual chance of survival.
Thanks, Jennifer.Your comment made me laugh. I totally understood. You were relieved the movie didn't suck, so you wouldn't have to lie!
Carmen,In my opinion, the caliber of his writing is much stronger in this story than in Breakfast at Tiffany's, but that story is a lot easier on the human psyche!
Julie wrote: "Carmen,In my opinion, the caliber of his writing is much stronger in this story than in Breakfast at Tiffany's, but that story is a lot easier on the human psyche!"
LOL True.
Julie - excellent review! I just finished last night and wanted to write mine before I read yours, or any other reviews. Wow, great photo of the Oz witch and that monkey - I'd say Hickock was the monkey and Smith was the witch.....maybe. Your comment about broken people was spot on. I'm still completely amazed at how Capote laid out the whole thing. The gallows scene....just...wow. Using the device of writing what the members in the witness gallery were saying during the process. Also Dewey, "shut his eyes; he kept them shut until he heard the thudsnap that announces a rope-broken neck." Precise and concise and yet shows (not tells) the reader literally everything, everything. I agree, this is one of those books that will stay with me forever.
Christine,Thank you. I loved that you focused on Capote's writing. Yes: wow! I hope you'll have an opportunity this fall to read A Christmas Memory, etc.
A first class review Jools - we both gave it 4 stars, for different reasons I think - for me this was really a 4.5 - I just got lost along the way occasionally. It's a shame you 'read much True Crime as Truman's friend Harper Lee, has a wonderful True Crime novel - Go Set a Watchman, which was brilliant!!
Maybe Breakfast at Tiffany’s next? I’m more interested in that book than this one but since watching the movie a while back with Phillip Seymour Hoffman I’ve been curious about the actual book. (Hoffman was always a wonderful actor to watch!) anyway, always love a good Julie review. Makes my day a little brighter
MM,I didn't realize that Go Set a Watchman was true crime. So interesting! I doubt I'll read it, but it's good to know.
Chica,I've read just about everything that Truman Capote ever published. I think he was an absolute genius of an author, but this book did too much damage to my psyche. For me, it was the ultimate loss of innocence.
Hey Jools, I don't know why I said that in my comment to you. I don't think Go set a Watchman is true crime at all. Another f*ck up on my part 😳
......it really is worth reading though👌
Ha! Well, it makes me want to read it MORE now that I know it's NOT true crime, so all's well that ends well!!xoxo
Wahayy, I'll hold you to that Jools - I hope you do! 🤗🎈
Two questions: (1) Do you mean you think Infamous is a better movie than Capote (there's also the original In Cold Blood movie, right?
(2) How much violence is in Executioner's Song?