Critic quotes:

“Capote invented a genre he called the ‘nonfiction novel,’ combining factual reportage with the devices of fiction.”

said by John Hollowell, detailing the nature of Capote’s genre

“Capote never lets the reader forget the moral horror of the crime, even while seducing us into a chilling intimacy with the killers.”

Hilton Als, touching upon the moral questions that arise from the novel despite the detailed accounts of violence

“Capote’s portrayal of Perry Smith is disturbingly sympathetic… He challenges our moral certainties.”

Stanley Kauffman, discussing Capote’s complex characterisation of Perry

“The murder of the Clutters was not just a tragedy—it was a rupture in the myth of small-town American innocence.”

Janet Malcolm analysing the impact of the crime on American societal perceptions. Challenging the idealised American life and dream