Taking Yourself Out of the Story

Taking Yourself Out of the Story
by Daniel Tucker
Review: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Random House, 1966)

After reading about the 1959 murders in Holcombe, Kansas depicted in In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, the feature which stands out most prominently to me as a piece of writing is the total absence of Capote from the narrative. As Rupert Thompson writes in the introduction to the 2011 Folio Society re-issue, Capote knew he had to “get the damn writer out of the way” for a story like this.

The memoir and first person account is so central to creative non-fiction works that it stands out in its absence from this genre-defining book. How might In Cold Blood have been different if Capote wrote self-consciously about his experience of navigating small town life as an eccentric reporter from New York City? While it would give us greater insight into the behind the scenes story that was undoubtedly rich and fascinating, it wouldn’t have been the “non fiction novel” that Capote used to manipulate millions of readers into caring about the deceased, the towns-folk and even the killers. And it would not have garnered reviews like this one from the time of its original publishing: “There may never have been a perfect crime, but if there ever has been a perfect reconstruction of one, surely this must be it.”