Stopping by Red Hill Books, the neighborhood staple for the Bernal Heights bibliophile, I was on a mission to solve a mystery—what is out there for me to get lost in?
The store's true crime section is, unfortunately, only about three feet long and arranged at an unreachable height for everyone but Shaq. With my eyes straining to read the available titles, I wasn't sure where to even start. I thought about asking the helpful Red Hill Books staff, only both of them were in deep conversation with a customer over the validity (or lack thereof) of Dads Are the Original Hipsters.
I didn't really want to read a Mystery, a paperback with a badly designed cover assaulting the eyes every time you pick it up, which is often as the covers would brag. And, I didn't want to risk making an unwise decision, like settling for Helter Skelter only to experience sleepless nights waiting for a troupe of murderers to surprise me.
After circling the store about eight times, I remembered! Mrs. Rutger's American Lit class, Junior year. We had to pick an American-written novel and perform a creative presentation for a grade. I did A Farewell to Arms, heh. To one of the lesser enthusiastic of the students, my teacher suggested In Cold Blood because it was "violent." I totally recall her saying just that.
Well later, the student joked about how he only watched the movie. But, I always remembered the title as something I should read one day. I had read Capote's short story, "Breakfast at Tiffany's," so I couldn't fathom how he had written a "violent" true crime. During my wandering at Red Hill Books, I would find out! I finally located it in fiction, which was kind of annoying.
Very short synopsis—In 1959, rural Kansas, a town is shook up by the seemingly motiveless, bloody murders of a well-liked family. While touching on the investigation, the real focus is on the murderers themselves, their lives leading up the incident, their life right after.
Finishing it in only a few weeks (I'm a slow reader), I was lost in it. I expected it to read more like journalism, but it's skillfully written almost like fiction. Capote takes liberties with or enhancing the details of the "characters" lives. The way he illustrates Nancy Clutter chatting on the phone as a chipper teen girl would, the way Mrs. Clutter escapes the days away sleeping in her white socks and nightgown, the piggish eating habits of Dick and the root beer and aspirin Perry—all described in Capote's oddly spunky yet still shudder-inducing tone.
The only thing with this fiction-like journalism—or probably by definition, creative nonfiction—is that you, as the reader, should keep in mind that very term "creative nonfiction." Just like any piece of that genre, the author may take liberties, and not always to straight up deceive the reader, but to make a better story. Without getting into a debate on how much an author's truthfulness really matters in creative nonfiction, I just wanted to point out that this book is indeed creative nonfiction. Enjoy the story.
This isn't a "who-dunnit" mystery. While there are pointed fingers among the townsfolk, the reader knows exactly "who dunnit" less than twenty pages in. The mystery is the motive of the murder until that's actually solved. Then, the real mystery, the one that haunts the reader throughout the book, is finally addressed—Still, why did they do it? Once you understand their actual plan, and the failure in that plan, and more importantly who these men really are, you still wonder why they did it in the way that they did. I guess you can ask, What really makes a murderer?
Yes, I recommend it!
I had a wonderful journey with Truman Capote, tracking it down and reading it on the train to work and even on the beach in Santa Cruz (you know, just a little light reading on the shore). Currently, I am finishing up Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, as part of my true crime kick. I look forward to writing about that one, too!
Have you read In Cold Blood? What do you think?
The store's true crime section is, unfortunately, only about three feet long and arranged at an unreachable height for everyone but Shaq. With my eyes straining to read the available titles, I wasn't sure where to even start. I thought about asking the helpful Red Hill Books staff, only both of them were in deep conversation with a customer over the validity (or lack thereof) of Dads Are the Original Hipsters.
I didn't really want to read a Mystery, a paperback with a badly designed cover assaulting the eyes every time you pick it up, which is often as the covers would brag. And, I didn't want to risk making an unwise decision, like settling for Helter Skelter only to experience sleepless nights waiting for a troupe of murderers to surprise me.
After circling the store about eight times, I remembered! Mrs. Rutger's American Lit class, Junior year. We had to pick an American-written novel and perform a creative presentation for a grade. I did A Farewell to Arms, heh. To one of the lesser enthusiastic of the students, my teacher suggested In Cold Blood because it was "violent." I totally recall her saying just that.
Well later, the student joked about how he only watched the movie. But, I always remembered the title as something I should read one day. I had read Capote's short story, "Breakfast at Tiffany's," so I couldn't fathom how he had written a "violent" true crime. During my wandering at Red Hill Books, I would find out! I finally located it in fiction, which was kind of annoying.
Very short synopsis—In 1959, rural Kansas, a town is shook up by the seemingly motiveless, bloody murders of a well-liked family. While touching on the investigation, the real focus is on the murderers themselves, their lives leading up the incident, their life right after.
Finishing it in only a few weeks (I'm a slow reader), I was lost in it. I expected it to read more like journalism, but it's skillfully written almost like fiction. Capote takes liberties with or enhancing the details of the "characters" lives. The way he illustrates Nancy Clutter chatting on the phone as a chipper teen girl would, the way Mrs. Clutter escapes the days away sleeping in her white socks and nightgown, the piggish eating habits of Dick and the root beer and aspirin Perry—all described in Capote's oddly spunky yet still shudder-inducing tone.
The only thing with this fiction-like journalism—or probably by definition, creative nonfiction—is that you, as the reader, should keep in mind that very term "creative nonfiction." Just like any piece of that genre, the author may take liberties, and not always to straight up deceive the reader, but to make a better story. Without getting into a debate on how much an author's truthfulness really matters in creative nonfiction, I just wanted to point out that this book is indeed creative nonfiction. Enjoy the story.
This isn't a "who-dunnit" mystery. While there are pointed fingers among the townsfolk, the reader knows exactly "who dunnit" less than twenty pages in. The mystery is the motive of the murder until that's actually solved. Then, the real mystery, the one that haunts the reader throughout the book, is finally addressed—Still, why did they do it? Once you understand their actual plan, and the failure in that plan, and more importantly who these men really are, you still wonder why they did it in the way that they did. I guess you can ask, What really makes a murderer?
Yes, I recommend it!
I had a wonderful journey with Truman Capote, tracking it down and reading it on the train to work and even on the beach in Santa Cruz (you know, just a little light reading on the shore). Currently, I am finishing up Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, as part of my true crime kick. I look forward to writing about that one, too!
Have you read In Cold Blood? What do you think?
1 comment:
Hey Angela,
I've noticed you post a lot of great content about your passions and life in the Bay Area. I’m working for a new start-up called HeyLets and we’re trying to get people excited about doing what you do. We want our users to rediscover their city through mini-recommendations from people with similar interests and hopefully pay it forward. I was wondering, would you be interested in sharing some of your positive experiences in your community with us? We'd love to hear what you have to say and help you promote your blog.
Drop me a line if you’re interested in more info: adam@heylets.com
Thanks for your time and keep up the good work!
-Adam
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