I wish Stephen King would rewrite IN COLD BLOOD. I'd like to see his take on it.

[raccoon]

But alas, I doubt if I'll ever see that.

[Paladin]

1. I Don't Think I'll Ever See It, Either.

Thank God.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. That is a creepy thought for a book.

I love Stephen King, but I am not sure I would want to read any nonfiction true crime book that he writes.

[SheilaT]

3. Why?

Truman Capote did an amazing job. It's not a story that's crying out for a rewrite.

[raccoon]

4. It would be a lot longer, for one thing. Also he'd go more into the internal demons

that haunted various characters in the book--not just the perps.

[Goblinmonger]

5. But then it's just fiction.

We get to know the perps because that is who Capote interviewed. And clearly became infatuated with. Which makes the book the kick ass read it is.

[SheilaT]

6. You do know that

In Cold Blood, while I think it was originally considered a novelized version of what happened, is based on exactly the events as they took place? It's not fiction, and over the years I don't believe I've ever read anything that suggested Capote got anything wrong.

[raccoon]

7. Yes, I realize that it's supposed to be based on exactly the events as they took place, but it isn’t

Some of it is fictionalized. I don’t mean just like conversations between members of the Clutter family, but other stuff.

Most notably, the final scene of the book where Dewey runs into Susan Kidwell, now an adult, in Valley View Cemetery, never occurred. (In Cold Blood (1967) - FAQ Capote himself has admitted that he invented the final scene where Detective Dewey runs into Susan Kidwell, one of Nancy Clutter's girlfriends, in the cemetery. www.imdb.com/title/tt0061809/faq)

Alvin Dewey, who was present at the hanging of Hickock and Smith, said Perry didn't apologize for the murders.

In the book, Perry is constantly correcting Dick's grammar; in real life, his statement revealed grammatical errors which would indicate Perry wasn't such a stickler for grammar. Ralph Voss said that in the book mentioned below.

In Ralph F. Voss’s book, "Truman Capote and the Legacy of In Cold Blood", University of Alabama Press, 2011, ISBN 0817317562) he discusses how another writer (I'm thinking the name was Tompkins, but I'm not sure) had gone to KS and talked to people and found that some things weren't as detailed in the book. One that stands out in my mind is that Josephine Meier, wife of Wendell Meier, assistant sheriff at Garden City, said she rarely talked to Perry.

I think Capote did a lot of embellishing. I think he made Perry Smith out to be less cold-blooded than he was in real life.

Which doesn't take away from the book--it's still a great book.

If you're interested in ICB, I highly recommend Voss' book.

[SheilaT]

8. Hmm. My library does not have the Voss book.

I need to master how they do interlibrary loan.

Thank you for the information. Still, I can't imagine why you'd think Stephen King the right person to revisit this case. Oh, well.

[raccoon]

9. I got the book on interlibrary loan, too.

King--Maybe because lately I've been listening to DUMA KEY and a relative is reading 11/22/63.
Ha, that is the connection, the time period!