One of the most important aspects of a non-fiction book is that it be truthful. In fact, that is one of the only criteria. Truman Capote's In Cold Blood has raised some serious thoughts on whether or not it can be trusted in the literary world as completely factual, as Capote himself stated. It is extremely important that authors who state the work they have written is true, that it is, for the most part, unbiased and as factual as possible. One of the few pros of spicing up a true story is to make it more interesting. Audiences want to read a story that has a flair. In Cold Blood has recieve rave reviews since its' release in 1965. "Conrad Knickerbocker called the book, 'a remarkable, tensely exciting, moving, superbly written 'true account''" (Source B). However, even with kind literary reviews, Capote is still accused of false information, as examplified by the quotation marks around "true account." …show more content…
Bobby Rupp, Nancy Clutter's boyfriend at the time of her death, noticed that Capote lied when in the book, it says Bobby ran three miles to the Clutter farm, when in reality he and his brother drove (Source A). Many close friends and/or family members of the Clutters have noticed errors. Not only are details about the Clutters last few days, but so are facts about their murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Reverend James Post stated that Capote exagerrated Dick's pedophilia, "... it didn't happen. And other things... lies, just to make it a better story" (Source B). Capotes' lies and exaggerations may seem to add something special to the story in the eyes of an average Joe, but to those who knew anyone involved in the plot of this book, it could hurt