Unlike most traditional journalism, In Cold Blood possesses a tremendous power to involve the reader. This immediacy, this spellbinding "you-are-there" effect, comes less from the sensational facts (which are underplayed) than from the "fictive" techniques Capote employs. The narrative reads "like a novel" largely because of the use of scene-by-scene reconstruction instead of historical narration, the ironic heightening of dialogue, and the skillful manipulation of point of view. (pp. 69-70)
Capote wanted it both ways: the impeccable accuracy of fact and the emotional impact found only in fiction. (p. 70)
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