Wednesday, June 18, 2014

IN COLD BLOOD

In Cold BloodIn Cold Blood by Truman Capote
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

IN COLD BLOOD - Can you imagine the torrent of creativity, where two writers are confined to a Kansas motel room, penning what eventually became a sensation: “In Cold Blood”? All these years later, the vanguard non-fiction novel, endures not only for the story it tells. But, also for the creative process by which it was birthed. Many years earlier, Truman Capote and Harper Lee were next door neighbors, children that grew up side by side, in Monroeville Alabama. Truman stayed with cousins and “Nelle” had a father who was an attorney who owned the town's newspaper. “In Cold Blood” details the murders of the Clutter family by killers, Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Smith. Capote and Lee interviewed case investigators and locals taking thousands of pages of notes. Was the book as factual as Capote’s staunch assertions? Probably not, but who cares? The book is regarded even today as the definitive example of the true crime genre. However, Capote was bitterly disappointed that he did not win the Pulitzer. Soon thereafter, “To Kill a Mockingbird” (by Harper Lee), on the other hand, did win the Pulitzer. It was an overwhelming smash success. But, it’s said that was too much for her to handle. She never wrote another book. Which is yet another interesting facet to the mystery of Truman Capote and Harper Lee.

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1 comment:

  1. Harper did write a sequel to Mockingbird, the controversial & only recently published Go Set a Watchman.

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