Monday, October 27, 2008

In Cold Blood

Hey Janet,
I have to tell you that after reading Truman Capote's masterpiece, In Cold Blood, I've always locked my doors at night (and double-checked the locks before going upstairs). My husband likes to say, "We live in North Dakota, we can leave our doors unlocked" because we moved here from the East Coast. I know better -- that murder can happen anywhere -- even a farmstead in the heartland.

There are two DVDs that portray the terrible emotional toll on Capote in creating this book--Infamous and Capote. I would recommend both because they tell the same story in a different way. Infamous also explores a concept still important today -- how Capote blurred the line between fiction and journalistic reporting. Can one really present a "true account" when relying on memory and trying to tell a story in a dramatic, interesting way?

This month I'm staying away from the blood curdling and reading Capote's short stories including Breakfast at Tiffany's. However, I've noticed that we can't keep Stephenie Meyer's books on the shelf, even after buying additional copies!

Happy Halloween!
Kristen

1 comment:

sandi said...

Kristen, it's interesting you mention the "journalistic license" that Capote takes in the book. For about the past 10 years, this has become a trend in juvenile literature called "narrative non-fiction." While trying to maintain the historical perspective of events, undocumented conversations are worked into the book to keep the reader engaged. It's an interesting concept but not one I'm sure I like, especially when there are no individuals who were witnesses to the events doing the recounting. It lacks credibility to me.