Seen The Movie, Read The Book

Well, I've finally gotten around to reading Capote's In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences.

And it does deserve its reputation. It was a wonderfully written book, and seeing the film Capote certainly added some layers to my reading of the text.

The devotion that Capote felt for this tale is tangible. And the sympathy in which he treats Perry Smith is both touching and appalling. Capote seems to understand and in some ways admire Smith, yet he must have a resolution for his story, and that resolution is Perry's death.

In the five years that Capote lived this story, he has examined every possible angle, and every person, it seems, in the town of Holcomb...

Until one morning in mid-November of 1959, few Americans--in fact, few Kansans--had ever heard of Holcomb. Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shape of exceptional happenings, had never stopped there.

It is a deeply rich story, horrifying and sad, and at the same time a brilliantly literary piece of writing.

Next stop - the film version with Robert Blake, before Baretta, before Lost Highway, and before the murdered wife.