In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

This non-fiction book is basically about the murder of the Clutter family. From the beginning, the author lets the reader know this, and this to my surprise does not ruin the story. The author describes the life of the family and their relationships with one another as well as with their neighbors. He creates a bond between the reader and the family. Along with this, he describes the life of the murders, their motives, and true feelings. Truman helps the reader understand the murders enough so that one will not completely hate but even pity them. The book also includes the effect the death has on the neighborhood, the murders’ actions and consequences after the family’s death.

I personally enjoyed the book which was a surprise since I usually do not read non-fiction books. I enjoyed it because of the way the author formatted it. Unlike other informative works of literature, the tone was not dull. It seemed to have more of the feel of a story than an informative book, like a textbook. I also liked the fact that I was able to learn a few things, mostly geographical, about Kansas. The vocabulary also wasn’t difficult like Old English you may see in books like The Scarlet Letter. The only thing that I at first didn’t like because I found confusing was how the author went back and forth. He talked about the family, then the murders, then the family again and so on. I later appreciated how he did this since it helped me know what the murders were doing at the time the Clutters were doing something.

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Rosaamelia-11th grade