Sounds good!

I would like to read that book as well. I read parts in Spanish and most in English, but it has been a loonnngggg time.

Weighing In

I am in favor of 100 Years; that is definitely a title on my "oughta" list.

Next Selection

I would be interested in 100 Years of Solitude as a book club selection. That's one I would read with the group. When I joined for In Cold Blood I remember that the list you'd compiled at that time for potential picks featured Tropic of Cancer. I would read that as well.

Should have reads...

I've always wanted to read One Hundred Years of Solitude. Anyone else weighing in on this?

The Almost Moon

I can see what would be appealing about The Almost Moon. This book screams book discussion. I'm sure many libraries and individual book groups will choose it in the coming year. I have to admit, I am not a fan of the genre, however, and avoid it when making selections for my own branch book discussions. My vote would go more to books that are "should haves" or "always wanted to" selections, particularly books from other other regions. I know I could do better with World Literature.

What's Next?

Wellllll-I feel really out straight with the overdue books on every desktop I have at home and at work. I'm dying to get to Stephen Carter's New England White and can't renew it cause it's on hold for others, plus I have a big fat book for my Sept. book discussion that I haven't begun reading yet.
However, Ann and I were talking tonight about Alice Sebold's powerful new book. It can be read in a day or two and would make a great discussion - and maybe draw in some new people? It's called Almost Moon and I know Maryellen has read it too. Any other ideas would be appreciated!

Any Other Thoughts?...What's Next for Us?

Does anyone else want to pipe up on this one? There's still time, of course. Have you given any thought to what we should read next? Let's see some ideas.

Mixed Reactions

I finished In Cold Blood this weekend and in the end I think I liked it. Really, it was the last two parts- The Answer and The Corner that made the book for me. I don't seem to have the same problem as Sally and Laura did with the Why. Maybe it is my cynical nature/generation that suggests there does not always have to be a reason. I, like Laura, did not really feel any sympathy for the characters, although I did recognize that the reader was supposed to. I was surprised by how many people in the book were sympathetic to Perry. The trial was absolutely gripping to me. Did they get a fair trial?- I say no. Would they probably be convicted if they had?---yes. Unfortunately, civil rights were not an issue and the defendants were railroaded many times. Nevertheless, it was very interesting to read about. What I liked best about the book was the description of the people involved. Capote was really able to paint a picture. The description of death row and the different killers there really hit home issues about the death penalty and horror of the human psyche/human behavior. I also agree with Tim when he said that there was a shattering of innocence. This was clearly defined in my mind during the trial when Capote wrote that the killing of the Clutter family was not an issue in the majority of the state because of other killings going on. That sounds a lot more like the 21st century than the mid 20th century. Anyway, what I liked least was the fact that I had a hard time believing that there was not a huge amount of artistic license. I mean some parts of the book made me think "he has got to be making this up". Still, in the end, I thought it was a worthy book.

Why?

That's what I'm looking for too Laura. I just don't feel that Capote ever really answered that question. But then, perhaps the answer is that there isn't one.
I've been thinking a great deal over the last few days about random acts of violence. There's been a huge story in the NYTimes over the past week about the murdered family in Cheshire, Connecticut (not that far from where I was born and raised in Massachusetts). The cruelty and senselessness of the murders - an 11 year old girl was burned alive after being sexually assaulted - is beyond comprehension to most of us. The whole situation kind of mirrors the Clutter murders in that Cheshire is a sleepy little town where people still sleep with their doors unlocked at night. The murderers had no previous violent crimes to their names, though they had long records of smash and grabs and b and e's. What happens to suddenly push a petty criminal over the edge that way?
Today I was listening to the book in the car and Capote describes Dick's remorse at leaving his elderly parents to clean up after his check kiting scheme. Perry muses about how odd it is that Dick professes to actually care for his folks and even his children, though he's taken no pleasure from fatherhood.
I've always been kind of a bleeding heart, excusing criminals' behavior by believing that something askew in their past manifests itself in antisocial acts. The older I get the more I've begun to think that there are people who are simply born without a moral compass - remember Patty Duke in The Bad Seed? I don't know how else to answer the "why."

My Two Cents

I finished the book and I watched Capote this weekend. Never having read Capote before, I was often impressed by his turn of a phrase. Other times I found his seemingly random use of quotations a little weird. Watching the film, I learned, Capote purportedly had 94% retention of conversations (this was also confirmed by what I read online about him). Perhaps that accounts for his intermittent direct quotes. Nevertheless, I found it odd. As I read the book I eagerly awaited each section to find out what I would learn about the crime and I wondered whether readers of The New Yorker felt the same anticipation when this story was originally delivered in serial form. At least I was in control of when I would deliver the next piece. I was self-serializing. I couldn't wait to find out WHY WHY WHY??? In the end, I know this book was supposed to humanize the defendants, but it didn't work for me. These sociopaths not only took the lives of the Clutters but a certain way of life in Holcomb. The town was never the same once fear and distrust settled upon them. The movie only captured a fraction of the story in In Cold Blood, none of the crimes committed while the pair were on the run, and depicted all sorts of events that Capote didn't include in his own book. The movie is screen written from about 50 pages from Capote by Gerald Clarke. I'm almost tempted to read the Clarke book. If I hadn't read In Cold Blood, I don't know if I would have known what the fuss was all about. I didn't feel that I had a sense of the murder, of Capote, or Perry Smith. Other than Capote telling Harper Lee that he felt a sort of kinship with Perry, you don't really see why. He uses Perry and then stops writing and visiting when it doesn't suit him. He lies to him about details of the book, even when asked directly. I did not find anyone sympathetic except the Clutters and those they left behind to mourn and remember. I am, however, pleased to have read the book and to have experienced the incarnation of a literary style.