Eric Richards's Reviews > In Cold Blood

This year I am on a mission to read many of the classic novels that have escaped my view. I've always thought of myself as "well-read", but a careful analysis of My Books reveals quite a few shocking gaps. Well no more!

Enter Truman Capote and In Cold Blood. Considered by many to be his defining work, I was not even aware that this was a true story prior to delving into it. Boy am I glad I delved! This book was a joy to read. Written as if it were a thriller novel unfolding before the reader instead of a documentary or non-fiction book, it maintains an incredible amount of suspense. Capote's writing is both simple and beautiful at the same time. His clever turns of phrase produce a fearful dread in one moment and a heartbreaking poignancy in the next. I had no idea what I was missing by overlooking Capote, but I am now quite excited to explore some of his other works in the future just to immerse myself in his command of the language again.

One of the tricks of this book is to give as close to a complete version of the events and the people involved in them as could be. I felt as if I knew all of these characters. Each one, and especially the two perpetrators, is fleshed out. And while I can't say that I felt particularly sorry for the ultimate fate of the murderers, the book allowed me to feel a profound sadness for the lives that produced them, which is a testament to the massive amount of research that must have gone into their backstories as well as Capote's masterful writing.

This book will stick with you for a while. It doesn't offer any simple answers. It shows how complicated and nuanced life is, how beautiful and cruel it can be. The final pages offer a brief scene that is haunting, sad, and absolutely lovely. A fine description of this work if you ask me.