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awalsh1212001's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and War
kate001's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Suicide and Car accident
ibby2's review against another edition
5.0
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
crustywhitedog's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
emy_clemy's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
js304808's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Animal cruelty and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
calamityin's review against another edition
1.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Pedophilia, Racism, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Fatphobia
ashwaar's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Car accident
goldyyy's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
directorpurry's review against another edition
4.0
Engaging with any type of true crime media, be it audio, visual, or literary, should bring prominent ethical questions to mind. (Believe me, I say this as a lover of all things true crime.) Thoughts of exploitation of the victims, the families, and sometimes the perpetrators, should be seriously considered. The closer the crime, the higher the cost. In this case, a book about a murder in 1959 being read (first sometime around 2013 and then a second time) in 2021 has a much lower feeling of exploitation than a book about a murder in 1959 being published in 1965 does.
In creating In Cold Blood, Capote did just as many things wrong as he did right. Reading this book is a deeply literary experience. Being a piece of history - not to mention a reread - there is considerably less suspense than, say, a brand new fiction novel. But the building sense of dread created in the first act is truly masterful. The audience knows what is going to happen, and yet... I knew exactly what was going to happen. I remembered the murder confessions in fairly explicit detail for reading this almost eight years ago; but I still found myself drawn into the story and carried along by the narrative force. The writing itself is poetic at times and plain at others, but always fitting the story this piece works so hard to tell.
When creating true crime media, I firmly believe that every action taken should be as respectful and ethical as possible in order to respect the dead, at the very least. The legacy of this book is far from spotless. Not only are there allegations that segments of this book were misleading, if not entirely fabricated, and Capote's methods of interview and investigation have been questioned both by contemporary witnesses and other journalists and authors after the fact.
There are times when the story is simply too convenient - elegant moments present themselves for a striking visual or convenient meetings and resonant conversations occur in a way that is particularly rare outside of a piece of fiction. Even while writing this review, I often found myself considering what descriptor to type out - was book or novel actually the word I wanted to use? The controversy of that line is certainly a mark against this book, but only in its ethos, not in its place in literary history or even the American consciousness of crime.
I certainly view this piece much differently than I did when I read this first as a 15-year-old. The way Perry Smith is presented as a particularly sympathetic player is both difficult and powerful. He is at once "the bad guy" and also just misunderstood. I think the first time I struggled to understand how that dichotomy was drawn - teenagers are not exactly known for their understanding of gray morality - but I see it a little better now. I can both condemn these men and understand how they saw themselves - not as the villains but misunderstood heroes. There are many depths to the human mind and it's very easy to misrepresent one's self - especially to one's self.
I don't research for my reviews, but I did for this one. Partly because I didn't want to misrepresent the controversies around this book, but also, at least a little bit, because I wanted to do what I could to respect the dead as well.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit, and Religious bigotry