What does Literary Non-fiction mean

[alexsprecker]

I think that it means that although a true story, the way Capote writes, makes it feel as if the book is actually fiction. He does this by connecting the family members and the killers to the reader, making the reader not only feel bad for the family's death but also, in some regards, the reader feels bad for the killers. Capote also does a great job at describing the scenery of the murder scene just as a fiction book this ties back to the idea of Literary Non-fiction
because obviously the book is non-fiction but with the word Literary attached to the name it makes it feel more like a fiction book. 

[lukewormald]

I agree that it makes it feel more like fiction, however I don't believe that it is necessarily due to the emotional connection between the character and the reader or his vivid description. There are plenty of fictional novels out there that fail to establish that connection between the reader and the characters and lack vivid descriptions of scenery and events. It is also due to the style in which it is written. It reads like a story. If you look at a news article recounting a crime it is usually just listing the type of crime, location, time, victims, and suspects if there are any and is usually not more that a page long. The sheer volume of information sets it apart from a traditional crime report. A one page crime report can evoke sympathy for the victim, but still does not read like a novel or contain enough information to be considered one.