"In Cold Blood," by Truman Capote and "The Executioner's Song," by Norman Mailer, are two works of non-fiction murder accounts, a genre energized by the talented Capote. Both narratives revolve around the murders of innocent people and the perpetrators behind them. Capote and Mailer conducted comprehensive research into the crimes; Capote in particular travelled to Kansas and interviewed all involved extensively. Mailer wrote his book from audiotapes of the interviews. Capote and Mailer incorporate different styles of writing in their texts; Capote's language is lavish, detailed and has more of a flourish whereas Mailer's language is bare, scant and colloquial. Mailer's entire book is kept close to how people actually talk as he wrote the majority of the book from audiotapes of interviews conducted with the people in Gary's life. Capote uses colloquial language too but in a less obvious way to Mailer. He confines it to dialogue or consciousness of the character.
Both of these non-fiction works are submerged in violence and brutality. Although the murders are the central focus of the novels and can be seen as the catalyst for the narratives, violence was an almost everyday occurrence for the lives of the perpetrators, especially Gary and Nicole. Nicole is arguably the character that suffers the most violence between "In Cold Blood" and "The Executioner's Song." From a young age she was abused by 'Uncle Lee', one of her father's friends. She was first committed when she was fourteen. Mailer's description of the violence towards Nicole is matter-of-fact. He tends to focus on the men that Nicole has been with rather than Nicole herself. Nearly all of Nicole's relationships were abusive. She was beaten by multiple different men and seems to have no regard for her own safety. One of the most violent relationships she finds herself in is with Joe Bob Sears. She meets him after leaving Steve Hudson who she married only a few months beforehand.
