In Cold Blood
It's the quiet that gets you. The stillness. The calm. Without fuss or exclamation or judgement, Capote lays out the circumstances around the gruesome 1959 murders of the Clutter family - and his lack of emotion makes it all the more terrifying. It's a straightforward, almost logical approach to an event that can never make sense, no matter how carefully it is analyzed or how well it is researched.It is this carefully crafted writing style that puts you in the minds of the killers, more so than any appeal for sympathy or understanding ever could. Throughout the book you maintain a certain degree of detachment from the victims, from the community left reeling by their brutal deaths, from those that worked tirelessly to deliver justice for the crime.
Unsettling, painstakingly detailed, and beautifully composed, In Cold Blood has absolutely earned its reputation as one of the greatest American novels ever written.
