Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
by John Berendt
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Read in July, 2008
The pace of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the second nonfiction book that I have ready in the past few weeks, vastly differed from that of Sedaris' When you Are Engulfed in Flames; in as much as the former deals with a narartive about a cloistered Southern town whose foundations are shaken by the murder of Danny Hunsford by the prominent Jim Williams, and the latter, a collection of humous essays written by the well-traveled Sedaris.
Midnight... was an entertaining and interesting...more
Midnight... was an entertaining and interesting...more
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Read in July, 1999
Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in...more
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Read in June, 2007
I chose this book for the title and the fact that I love Savannah. As a former Georgia peach, I think the story works because it is told from the view of an outsider, and because the cast of characters is quite an interesting ensemble.While each new character introduced is appealing enough to catch your eye, he doesn't go into too much detail to detract from the main story or main characters.
The descriptions of the place and the people and even the food are detailed enough to give the read...more
The descriptions of the place and the people and even the food are detailed enough to give the read...more
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I wrote this review shortly after reading the book:
MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL
I saw this book on Bill's bookshelf, and thought..what the hell. I've been wanting to see the movie, why not read the book first? John Berendt is well-known for his writing style in which he takes a real places and real people and turns them into a novel of observation, and changes the names and sequences of events. I didn't really catch onto this until about part way through. Honestly, from what I'd ...more
MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL
I saw this book on Bill's bookshelf, and thought..what the hell. I've been wanting to see the movie, why not read the book first? John Berendt is well-known for his writing style in which he takes a real places and real people and turns them into a novel of observation, and changes the names and sequences of events. I didn't really catch onto this until about part way through. Honestly, from what I'd ...more
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Read in September, 2006
recommends it for:
everyone.
I love this book to the point where I don't even really know what to say about it, because nothing I can say about it will be good enough to explain just how incredible this book really is.
After reading this book, I had to restrain myself from booking a flight to Savannah. It makes you want to be there, it makes you want to know the people, it makes you want to pick up and find a place just like it so you can move there. I am a city person through and through, but this book made me want to m...more
After reading this book, I had to restrain myself from booking a flight to Savannah. It makes you want to be there, it makes you want to know the people, it makes you want to pick up and find a place just like it so you can move there. I am a city person through and through, but this book made me want to m...more
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Read in January, 1995
recommended to Maureen by:
Esquire magazinerecommends it for: everyone
In 1945, Lady Astor described Savannah as "a beautiful lady with a dirty face." What makes the lady intriguing is not her beauty - it is the dirt. Berendt dished it up so high and wide in Savannah that residents there still refer to his writing as, "The Book."
The Book, like any volume that depicts the heart of southern culture, has a gothic aspect to it. To me, though, the account of the murder is the least interesting part of the story. It is the characters like th...more
The Book, like any volume that depicts the heart of southern culture, has a gothic aspect to it. To me, though, the account of the murder is the least interesting part of the story. It is the characters like th...more
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Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of the film
This was a decent book. There was a lot of mood, of which I'm a big fan. The characters all had the potential to be very interesting, but unfortuately, they weren't developed. That's not to say you don't spend a lot of time with them, or find out anything about them, it's just that you don't really give a damn.
The book is written by a magazine journalist who ends up living on and off in Savanah, GA for eight years to investigate and chronicle a murder and it's trials. This book is more ...more
The book is written by a magazine journalist who ends up living on and off in Savanah, GA for eight years to investigate and chronicle a murder and it's trials. This book is more ...more
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There was a lot of hype around this book a few years back, but in this case I think it is actually deserved. For one, Berendt is a skilled writer who understands how to tease a compelling story out of the material he’s working with. And, oh, what material! The true-crime mystery at the center of the book—whether the social-climbing, closeted gay antiques dealer shot his lover in cold blood or self-defense—is interesting enough, but Berendt decorates that story with outrageous character por...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in April, 2007
Having an aunt in New Orleans, the south has always intrigued me. Fantastic architecture aside, the culture and people are truly fascinating; though I'm often content to remain a casual observer, without really pushing myself to learn more.
With little more than an elementary curiosity for Savannah, I was quite thrilled when my mother brought over a box of books she'd been given by a friend and I saw this lying on top.
Through this book I feel as though I'd been given the ultimate opportu...more
With little more than an elementary curiosity for Savannah, I was quite thrilled when my mother brought over a box of books she'd been given by a friend and I saw this lying on top.
Through this book I feel as though I'd been given the ultimate opportu...more
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Read in February, 2008
John Berendt highlights his time in Savannah, Georgia, during which the murder of Billy Hansford by Jim Williams occurs. Jim Williams is tried in court four times for this murder. Throughout the course of the book and trials, a parade of colorful Savannahites march through Berendt's life.
This book is classified as non-fiction, but written with more of a fiction plot style. It's definitely unique, and I was left wondering how in the world Berendt wormed his way into this world. He repeate...more
This book is classified as non-fiction, but written with more of a fiction plot style. It's definitely unique, and I was left wondering how in the world Berendt wormed his way into this world. He repeate...more
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Read in January, 2003
recommended to ann by:
Newspaper reviewrecommends it for: Anyone who likes true crime stories, anyone who likes movie link-ups
The date I read this book is a total guess - because I love it so much I've read it almost every year!
I discovered it after reading a review in a Sunday paper, obviously a well-written review as it prompted me to go and buy the book, something never achieved before or since! I sat in a restaurant alone and read, and read, and read until it was closing time. That must say something!
This true story totally captures the hot, sultry mood of Savannah, and goes at that pace - any faster and I do d...more
I discovered it after reading a review in a Sunday paper, obviously a well-written review as it prompted me to go and buy the book, something never achieved before or since! I sat in a restaurant alone and read, and read, and read until it was closing time. That must say something!
This true story totally captures the hot, sultry mood of Savannah, and goes at that pace - any faster and I do d...more
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Read in June, 2006
The first part of the book describes several (in)famous and real (!!) inhabitans of Savannah, everyone got his own chapter. I highly enjoyed reading these character sketches.
The second part then is completely devoted to the crime - the antique dealer Jim Williams shoots his young lover Danny and claims it was self-defense. Over the course of eight years he is trialed four times. The author does not describe these trials in a John-Grisham-style, but focusses on the peculiar details, mixes it wi...more
The second part then is completely devoted to the crime - the antique dealer Jim Williams shoots his young lover Danny and claims it was self-defense. Over the course of eight years he is trialed four times. The author does not describe these trials in a John-Grisham-style, but focusses on the peculiar details, mixes it wi...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone looking for a laugh or just a good time
Even though it's not 100% accurate, this book is still about true people, situations, and places. And I'm amazed by that. As they say, you can't make this stuff up. Savannah is one fascinating, beautiful, strange place - and I've never been there! But I feel like I have after reading this book.
The only part of this book I don't quite enjoy is the long, l-o-n-g, trial(s). But leave trials to John Grisham, because the rest of this book is a thrill-ride a minute. The characters are all un...more
The only part of this book I don't quite enjoy is the long, l-o-n-g, trial(s). But leave trials to John Grisham, because the rest of this book is a thrill-ride a minute. The characters are all un...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
Whoever
So I have always loved this movie (probably something to do with John Cusack; Saunders, holler if you hear me!)and when I was purchasing books for the school library, it came to mind. I love true crime on TV and haven't had very much experience reading true crime stories. I am a sucker for authors who write chapters from different points of view and this book almost did that. This book was almost more of a collection of short stories, with each chapter focusing on a different Savannah charact...more
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I'm about 14 years behind the crowd on this one, but I can see why "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" caused such a stir. The characters are fascinating, even more so because they are real. Berendt achieves a nice balance of getting close to the people of Savannah -- from the fabulous Lady Chablis and voodoo queen Minerva to antiques collector/murderer Jim Williams and lawyer/pianoman Joe Odom -- and keeping enough distance to maintain his status as an outside observer. In a ...more
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Read in November, 2007
I think I just wasn't in the mood for this book, because I could tell when I was reading it that it was really good and well written and the characters were cool and the story was interesting- but I just couldn't get into it. I think it was me. Or maybe that I'd watched the movie first or something. Otherwise, this should've gotten four stars. Its cool to hear about another city so different from the ones we know, but I also got the sense that this whole story took place in some other time long ...more
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Read in July, 2008
I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with this book. I'd heard good things, but I found the voice so arrogant that it overwhelmed the story. I also couldn't get past the feeling that he was "making up" alot of what he was telling. I don't always have a problem with that in nonfiction, as long as I can't tell that it's happening; in this text, I really started to feel like I knew just where he was taking "creative" of creative nonfiction a little too far. This was tr...more
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Read in July, 2008
I just finished this book last night and I have some mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it was an entertaining and smooth read, which is always nice when I don't have much time on my hands and just want to read for enjoyment. In particular, I loved the scene-setting and character development. Berendt does a wonderful job of giving the reader a sense of all aspects of Savannah society. Now for the mixed feelings - I much preferred the first half of the book to the second. The author did su...more
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Read in October, 2007
This was based on a true story. The book was broken up in two parts. The first part was a character study on all of the different people the narrator meets in Savannah: an antiques collector; a drag queen who takes hormone shots twice a month to keep her breasts and feminity and shrink what's between her legs; a man who plays with flies and who has enough poison to kill the entire city; a couple who squat in various houses and bounce checks but are so charming that it's so difficult to prosecute...more
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Read in March, 1995
MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL - Ex
Berendt, John - Standalone non-fiction
Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty,early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfic...more
Berendt, John - Standalone non-fiction
Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty,early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfic...more
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