The Story Behind a Nonfiction Novel: An Interview
January 16, 1966
By GEORGE PLIMPTON***
In Cold Blood" is remarkable for its objectivity--nowhere, despite his involvement, does the author intrude. In the following interview, done a few weeks ago, Truman Capote presents his own views on the case, its principals, and in particular he discusses the new literary art form which he calls the nonfiction novel...
Why did you select this particular subject matter of murder; had you previously been interested in crime?
Not really, no. During the last years I've learned a good deal about crime, and the origins of the homicidal mentality. Still, it is a layman's knowledge and I don't pretend to anything deeper. The motivating factor in my choice of material--that is, choosing to write a true account of an actual murder case--was altogether literary. The decision was based on a theory I've harbored since I first began to write professionally, which is well over 20 years ago. It seemed to me that journalism, reportage, could be forced to yield a serious new art form: the "nonfiction novel," as I thought of it. Several admirable reporters--Rebecca West for one, and Joseph Mitchell and Lillian Ross--have shown the possibilities of narrative reportage; and Miss Ross, in her brilliant "Picture," achieved at least a nonfiction novella. Still, on the whole, journalism is the most underestimated, the least explored of literary mediums.
*** Mr. Plimpton is editor of The Paris Review, which has made a specialty of the long, tape- recorded literary review.
For the full interview, click HERE:
Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (1965) probably aroused more discussion and enjoyed more publicity than any other book published in America during the last decade. The author was once quoted as saying: "I think most of the younger writers have learned and borrowed from the visual, structural side of movie technique. I have." (Truman Capote, quoted in Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews, ed. Malcolm Cowley (New York: Viking Press. 1959),
No one can read Capote's book without being struck by its filmic construction. Hence In Cold Blood ' which was made into a film, raises two important critical questions. To what extent does the influence of film operate legitimately in fiction? And why is it that literary works which use filmic techniques so often prove unsatisfactory when transferred to the screen?
Murray, Edward. “‘In Cold Blood’: The Filmic Novel and the Problem of Adaptation.” Literature/Film Quarterly, vol. 1, no. 2, 1973, pp. 132–137. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43795412. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020.
To read the full story in the Literature/Film Quarterly, click HERE.
Truman Capote wanted to break away from fiction to awaken the world to a new genre by melding imaginative writing with journalistic reporting, so he wrote a nonfiction book—with a little flair. With his friend Harper Lee, he investigated the true account of the murder of Herbert Clutter's family in Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959- Capote befriended the family, friends, and killers of the Clutter family to tell this horrific story. He presents the events chronologically with his "unnamed narrator" revealing everything from a "detached" viewpoint; however, it becomes apparent in Part II that the killers, or "Persons Unknown," are shown some sympathy by the author. To read the full article in JSTOR, click HERE.
Noel, Melissa W. “A Cold Manipulation of Language.” The English Journal, vol. 100, no. 4, 2011, pp. 50–54. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23047778. Accessed 17 Apr. 2020.