Murder stories: fiction vs non-fiction - who wins?

Conrad Barclay
In November 1959, in the small and tight-knit town of Holcomb, Kansas, the Clutter family were killed one at a time with a sawn-off shotgun by two young men - Perry Smith and Dick Hickock - in the robbery of a radio, a pair of binoculars and a 'lousy $43.' The first meeting of the killers, their planning of the crime, the murder and their subsequent capture (I will not give away what happens next) was all documented by Truman Capote through his close personal interviews with the killers, local residents and investigators and compiled into his groundbreaking book In Cold Blood.

A mixture of storytelling and journalism, the novel creates an intimate image of the men behind the murders whilst simultaneously taking the reader through the captivating development of events, describing the whole story in detail yet still sustaining a level of suspense to keep the pages turning.

Book of the Week

The Grapes of Wrath ­ by John Steinbeck
Recommended by ­ Sebastian R Erskine

The year before the book’s publication, the author, John Steinbeck, revealed a string of doubts in his diary, opening shortly after the beginning of the book, and appeared desperate to compose a piece of literature, which was ‘one of the really fine books and a truly American book'.

Yet, he admitted that, 'I am assailed with my own ignorance and inability’.  The author’s dubious attitude did not become a harsh reality, and, in fact, one can now consider the book, not only ‘really fine’, but also a true masterpiece, successfully vivifying a troubled time in American economic history.

Hard Times for these times?

by Fahad Al-Amoudi
Hard Times for These Times was the original title for the Dickens novel which he presented in weekly instalments in 1854 in his magazine, Household Words. In fact, Dickens toyed with the idea of several titles for his episodic novel including The Grindstone, Something Tangible and Rust and Dust, however, he eventually settled on Hard Times because it consolidated the various themes in the novel. Hard Times really represents not only the literal sense of characters falling on hard times but seems to encompass the sidelining theme of the novel which is the emergence of the working class as a powerful voice in politics.

Dickens was taking a contemporary snapshot and relating the attitudes and competing philosophies of Slackbridge and Stephen Blackpool whilst not necessarily commenting on them.  So why is this important? Well, I think after careful assessment it is fair to say that Dickens’ masterpiece is genuinely contemporary and timeless by nature. Young audiences tend to be put off by classical works of literature for several reasons but mainly because they feel they are irrelevant or too distant. I believe, however, that the issues presented in the novel about education and politicians echo through to today.

Book of the Week

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Recommended by Ryan Williams
While it is at heart a story of childhood friendship and growing up, Kazuo Ishiguro manages to thread a much darker and melancholy plotline into Never Let Me Go, expressing the importance of memories and unity throughout the terrible experiences during life.

Nominated for the Booker Prize in 2005, Ishiguro creates a novel that hooks the reader, containing gripping tension between the characters.

4 books to take to a desert island

Calum Maclean


In the highly likely event that your solo mission to sail around the world in a bathtub fails, you will almost certainly find yourself upon a desert island. Marooned, surrounded by a huge expanse of water with no means of escape, there is nothing you can do except wait to be rescued. Your attempt at a world record is in tatters, as is your chance of making it back to Southampton in time for their game against Watford next weekend.  Gutted.

However, there is one positive (two if you count the tan): you happened to have packed four books, providing yourself with entertainment until your rescue. None of the books you selected have anything at all to do with survival or how to live on a desert island, because you felt certain that your bathtub would work, leaving you with four books which can be used merely for entertainment.

Book of the Week

Friday Night Lights: a Town, a Team and a Dream by H G Bissinger

Recommended by Joe Hill

Friday Night Lights documents the Permian High School football team, otherwise known as the Permian Panthers, throughout the 1988 season. It is not just a football book, however; it is a book about American society in general. Permian High School is situated in the West Texan town of Odessa, where crime is high and race is an ever-prominent issue. The book details the high percentage of whites living on the more affluent side of town, while the black and latino percentage, with a few exceptions, live on the less desirable, ‘north of the tracks’ part of town. The book is not only about the school, it is about the town, and in a broader sense, America.