The book In Cold Blood broke new ground in 1965 when Truman Capote blended a true story, a journalistic approach, and a novel’s accessibility. The book took the high-level events and combined it with a detailed dialogue in an effort to engage real people in understanding the motivation of the killers. Today, we have a lot of information about true crime stories – whether on television, in the movies, or in books by and about serial killers. In 1965, this book must have had such an impact and raised the priority of conceptualizing what makes people tick and how it relates to their ability to commit violent crime. SPOILER ALERT – if you want to read the book for the first time, you might want to stop now!
The focus on the killers was interesting, as was Capote’s understanding of how much past experiences play into the actions we take – whether good or bad. I was surprised when it emerged that Perry was the one who did the killing. Of the two killers, Perry seemed throughout the book to be the more appealing of the two men in that Dick was always so repellent and crude in what he said and in what he did, or alternatively so slick. Perhaps that crudeness and blatant nastiness was part of why I judged him more harshly – while I’m not a prig, I’m also not a fan of crass behavior or speech or of the slick con-man trope where criminals take advantage of the kindness/goodness in others. My reactions made me question my judgment, in that I was willing to be swayed by frontloaded superficial behavior rather than spot the more alarming behavior that was to come. As the picture of Perry emerged toward the end of the book, he was frightening. That capacity to “snap” is chilling.
The format of the book made it feel like I was reading like a novel, which was fine with me because I knew that Capote had done considerable research and had spoken to these men. He knew how they talked, so even if the quotes are retrospective paraphrasing, I can believe that they represent what the men said and how they felt. In some ways, this is an instance where the movie Capote provides some insight – the lengths to which the author worked to get things right. However, the book and movie raise the question of what Capote brought to the story, besides considerable writing skill. Did he slant or bend the story to fit his own perspective? Perhaps. But, then, how much did Perry and Dick skew the events to come out looking better? A fair amount, I would guess.
Trying to understand the people who commit such violent crimes is challenging. One of the most compelling parts of the story was the emerging distinctions between the two killers – there were many differences between them, as well as differences between them and people who are able to control their anger and violent impulses. The impact of the murders on the lives of so many people was also fascinating and sad. I was happy for Al Dewey – he was finally able to solve the case (with others, of course) and move on with his life. It was interesting that we heard so little from the surviving Clutter family members, but completely understandable that they did not want to relive this horrible part of their lives. It was a fascinating read and important to remember that events and emotions don’t end with the investigation and trial.
