Truman Capote
1966
Around 340 pages
I am not a true crime junkie, which is a morbid trend in recent years. But every once in awhile there is a case that fascinates me, and the Clutter family is one of those cases. Hurray for Capote for doing something completely different but still readable.
Herb Clutter was a well-off and generous farmer, with a wife, a daughter, and a son at home. Two convicts, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, received incorrect information from a former employee of Clutter's that there was large amount of cash in the family's safe. Hickock and Smith broke into the Clutter house, murdered the family, and walked away with less than $50 in cash.
The entire tragedy was just so senseless, it really demonstrates how fragile life is. Your entire family could be murdered simply because someone mentally ill hears a false rumor about you. We've had some non-fiction novels before, but Capote really mastered the formula here. This is one of the most compelling stories we've had the List, and I knew the entire plot before it happened.
As far as the ethics of this, I'm not entrenched in either stance, but I do think Capote treated everybody involved respectfully, with humanity. Okay, hopefully this will fortify me against the B.S. coming our way.
RATING: *****
Interesting Facts:
Interesting Facts:
Capote became so famous and related to trials that he was called to help the Senate in an examination of the court case.
Capote opposed the death penalty.
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