Crime and Punishment

In 1959 on a farm in Holcolm, Kansas, the Clutter family was brutally murdered. The death of the farmer, his wife and two of their children, shocked the local residents who were horrified at the violence and perplexed by the motive for the killings. 

When news of the crime reached New York, author Truman Capote - a successful novelist, celebrity darling and bon-vivant - sensed there was more to the story. He travelled with his childhood friend, To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee, to Kansas to investigate.  Over the next few years Capote became engrossed in the mystery. He became close to the men arrested for the crime and to the sheriff determined to see justice done. In 1966 Capote published In Cold Blood, his story of the crime, and in doing so invented a new form of writing -  a merging of journalism and fiction that Capote called the 'nonfiction novel'. 

I have read In Cold Blood twice and each time I marvel at the way the Capote has crafted this book. Describing in minute detail the events on the day of the murder, the trial and the aftermath, Capote draws the reader in to the scene of the crime. He alternates the narrative with the life stories of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock - the men who would convicted of the murders - and the tale of Alvin Dewey, the local policeman who would not rest until they were convicted.  

Capote apparently took no notes as he interviewed people for his research and relied on memory to recreate the dialogue he recalls in the book. So perhaps it is here that a degree of creative license enabled him to shape the tale to fit his vision of a good story. The result is a tightly woven crime thriller, built on unfolding layers which, in the end, also presents the moral dilemma of capital punishment.  For me, In Cold Blood is as close to perfect as a novel can get - a page turner with a fascinating story, interesting characters and beautifully descriptive prose.

It is no wonder that the story garnered the attention of Hollywood. In recent years two films have been made focussing on Capote's time researching and writing about the crime.


The film Capote (2005) stars Philip Seymour Hoffman in an Academy Award winning performance as the author.  Harper Lee is portrayed by Catherine Keener. Chris Cooper plays Alvin Dewey. The film was also nominated for best picture, supporting actress, director and adapted screenplay. The film is excellent and clearly demonstrates how Truman was affected by the murders and his involvement in writing this book. 



The following year, Infamous (2006) was released. In this film English actor Toby Jones plays Capote. He is joined by Sandra Bullock as Harper Lee and Daniel Craig as murderer Perry Smith. The film also features a who's-who of Hollywood with cameos by Jeff Daniels, Peter Bogdanovich, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sigourney Weaver, Isabella Rosellini, Hope David and Juliet Stevenson. 

Both films are excellent and it is hard to compare and contrast. Hoffman and Jones give different, equally excellent, portrayals of Capote. There is a lot to admire in both films, and they are well worth seeing, but on balance I think Capote is the better film.  

The Sting in the Tale

The final instalment of Steig Larsson's Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2007), brings Lisbeth Salander's tale to an end. This review may contain spoilers for the handful of people who have not read the bestselling books or seen the films.

Part three begins where the previous book, The Girl Who Played with Fire, finished. Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is back at his desk as editor of Millennium magazine. Lisbeth Salander is in hospital fighting for her life. As she recovers, she must fight for her freedom when she is charged with murder. Blomkvist has always believed in Lisbeth and is committed to proving her innocence. Along the way, Lisbeth confronts her past and seeks vengeance on those who done her wrong. Former spies, corrupt cops, and a whole range dodgy crims populate the story with a complex web of interwoven sub-plots adding to the adventure.

Lisbeth remains such an interesting character - complex, mysterious and utterly unforgettable. Unlike anyone I know, Lisbeth drives this series on and makes it so exciting. I would have liked to have more of her in this book and unravel more of her mystery.

The book is not perfect - it could have been shortened with some of the subplots whittled down. But having read the three books in rapid succession, my feeling at the end was one of relief and sadness. I was delighted to have read the series and enjoyed my time with the fascinating Lisbeth, but I was saddened that it was all over and that Larsson would not have any more novels to come. 

Daniel Alfredson returns to direct the Swedish version of this film, reuniting Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace. The film requires viewers to have seen the previous movies, or to have read the books, to understand what is taking place. Lacking the action of the previous instalments, much of this film takes place in court rooms and hospitals. There is a great deal of suspense and tension that will keep you engaged to the end, but as is often the case, the book is so much better. 

My reviews of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire are also on this blog.

To have and have not

The proverb 'the rich get richer and the poor get poorer' neatly sums up the gulf that has been growing between the classes in most Western societies. Inequalities of wealth are causing health and social problems that impact on society as a whole.

In The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better (2009), epidemiologists Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett explore the ill effects of the class divide and argue that greater equality is better for everyone. Tackling topics such as mental health, obesity, education, imprisonment, drug use, teen pregnancy, trust, violence, child wellbeing, social mobility and physical health, the authors show that outcomes in these areas are far worse in societies where there is less equality. Looking at 23 countries, they draw on a huge evidence bank - including data from the UN, World Health Organisation, Census, and elsewhere - to build a compelling case for a more equal society.

Unsurprisingly,  Scandinavian countries and Japan are at the more equal end of the scale, while the UK, USA and Portugal are on the complete opposite side of the divide. The rest of the countries explored fall somewhere in between. For America the researchers have broken down the data even further on a state by state basis.

In early 2010, shortly after the book was released,  I was at a conference focussed on outcomes for children. Many of the esteemed presenters cited this book during their sessions, stating that Wilkinson and Pickett's findings had matched their own research on child health, education and wellbeing.

I read this book in between Presidential debates of the recent US elections which provided an interesting backdrop to my reading as the gap between rich and poor is greatest there. While the politicians debated tax cuts, government intervention, 'Obamacare' and the like, there was a missed opportunity to really talk about the vast social inequities that have grown in recent decades.

It is clear that the weight of the evidence Wilkinson and Pickett have unearthed was compelling, but it was less clear what could be done about it other then fixing the taxation system that allows loopholes to the super-rich. There is a lack of political will to make the changes necessary to bring about a more equal society, so this book should be compulsory reading for every politician at all levels of government. The cumulative impact of the evidence was overwhelming but it is easy to despair at the prospects of any change.

I am glad that I have read The Spirit Level, but I cannot say it was a particularly enjoyable read. It requires the right frame of mind to absorb the detail. It was repetitive in parts and the scatter graphs illustrating the prose were dull. Overall, however, I think it is an important book which provides a compelling case for equality and I would recommend it.  The book was re-released in 2010 with an improved subheading - "Why Equality is Better for Everyone" - and a chapter responding to critics. There is also an Equality Trust website which summarises the research and provides other resources.