Put simply, adherence to the truth in nonfiction makes a story feel right. Perhaps the most famous compromise of that standard is Truman Capote's imagined graveyard scene at the end of In Cold Blood, still considered the benchmark for what he called the "non-fiction novel." A brilliant study of a murdered family and the killers who are eventually hanged, there was no happy ending available to the writer. Capote felt a need to resolve that artificially, blighting his immense achievement in synthesizing research with dramatic storytelling with a dreamy and unconvincing denouement he always regretted.
Mark Mordue, The Australian, January 14, 2006
Mark Mordue, The Australian, January 14, 2006
Thank you, Mr. Fisher. I've missed your writing notes-n- quotes!
ReplyDeleteThank you, I've decided to bring them back.
ReplyDeleteI STILL want to see all your books available for Kindle! Especially Crimson Stain, mammoth Book of murder, Mammoth Book of True Crime, and Fall Guys. Are they ever going to be available?
DeleteCall me corny- I love the ending of "In Cold Blood"!
ReplyDeleteI like the ending, too. However, for a nonfiction book, it's too much literary license. In my opinion, Capote was a flawed but brilliant novelist.
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