At the heart of Truman Capote's writing was his dedication to, and fascination with, the importance of style. In seeking to elevate the art of storytelling Capote forged together various techniques, and, at least for the second half of his career, he embarked on a fusion of journalistic, cinematic, conversational, and literary writing styles. The result, according to Capote, was the creation of a new art form, something he called the nonfiction novel.

Capote's storytelling techniques nurtured, fostered, and almost welcomed controversy. Critiques of his work were often as varied as Capote's literary devices. Although the body of his work is generally held in high regard, Capote was criticized in the early part of his career for being no more than a short-story writer and was often classified as a southern Gothic romanticist. Later he was criticized for not meeting his early "promise," and, finally, debate swirled around...