Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

A sangre fría by Truman Capote

10 reviews

bludgeoned_by_hail's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

3.5

Simultaneously good literature and good investigative journalism, casting a long shadow over its genre. 

It conjures a story, characters and themes from a list of facts and testimonies, while still managing to refrain from sensationalism and approaching the events with a surprising degree of empathy and tact. Its style of oral history/mosaic/reconstruction amalgam feels surprisingly current (no doubt because of its impact) and clearly recognizable in the thousands of hours of true crime mini-series and documentaries on any given streaming service nowadays. 

Unfortunately, just like many of its inferior successors, it also feels a bit repetitive, stretched thin or unable to prioritize some content over other at points. I understand that if you conducted this much independent investigation, cutting things must feel like pulling teeth, but that doesn't make segments like the in-depth description of the crimes of each inmate who happened to be on death row alongside Dick and Perry or the endless circumstantial opinions of the locals any less excrutiating to read. On the other hand, this "boring" meticulousness is also one of the biggest strengths of the book, especially when bringing the killers' portraits to life without leaning into voyeurism or romanticization.

Not the quickest or most fun read, but still timeless and fascinating nontheless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Minor: Religious bigotry

ibby2's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

halaagmod's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad

4.0

Extremely chilling, but utterly timeless in subject, artistry, and legacy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Murder

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Violence

Minor: Hate crime and Pedophilia

jbrown1120's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Car accident, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

lncvyz's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime and Racial slurs

Minor: Pedophilia and Rape

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.25

This text was jarring in that there was vibrant and comprehensive descriptions of seemingly innocuous details and then facts like Hickock's pedophilic tendencies were dropped into the middle of a paragraph, only to be left and then picked up again after dozens of pages. The descriptions of the Clutters, their family life, their friends, and their pastoral joys made the details of their deaths all the more profoundly upsetting. I appreciated the depth of research that went into this book and the information given on the communities the Clutters and their killers spent time in, but I am also, in some ways, upset with the lengths at which this book works to humanize the killers. It's bitter to feel something akin to empathy with either of them or the men that lived with them on death row.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

_carmel_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

A very slow book. I disliked the authorial voice and opinions, however it is a very important book in the space of literature. It is genre defining and also forces the reader to challenge their own beliefs and place them in an uncomfortable position. Excellent use of syntax. Makes you think. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

lilytheravenclaw's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Cursing, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, and Car accident

athereaderofbooks's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

2.0

Clearly, I would not recommend this true-crime novel. 

I will give kudos to a couple of aspects of this book: 

1. It was organized in a notable way. It started with showing the past of both the victims and their killers. Their environments were taken into consideration and you developed an idea of their character. Later it led to the investigation and we found out how the murder occurred through confessionals. Truman Capote followed the case until its conclusion. 

2. The entire book was thorough with everything. If something was mentioned it was never offhandedly, and we understood how everyone and everything contributed to the narrative. 

But despite these factors, I hated this book. This is the first time that I have read a true crime book, and this most definitely affected my rating, but this was horrific. Why would I want to read about an entire family being murdered

because some thieves wanted money??

How does one find enjoyment in such a subject when they themself could one day be the victim of such an unsuspecting crime? The Clutters likely never thought of this likelihood and look what happened to them. The only thing this book added to my life was more anxiety, and I already have enough. 

 On top of this, there have been multiple people who have contested the accuracy of this book, saying that there were many pieces of opinion inserted and falsehoods added into the book. (Not just random people online, but people who themselves have analyzed this crime.) 
 
This dragged on and on with a really excessive form of writing and the only interest I had was finishing this book so I could get it over with, understand what happened, and try to forget it. 

And to me, most importantly, there were multiple instances where racial, homophobic, and in general degrading slurs were used. This includes but is not limited to the n-word, the f slur, and out-of-date referrals to Asian, Black, and Native American people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying, Physical abuse, Excrement, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and War

cherryredmarlene's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

i changed the rating from 4 to 5 stars because i think and talk about this so much it would be weird if i’d only give it 4

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment