Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in Crazy Challenge Connection

May 03, 2019 BookishStitcher rated it liked it

Basically stories about Savannah and the people in it around a certain time in history. I'm not sure how this ended up on my list, and I've never seen the movie. The book was okay. ...more

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Jun 16, 2015 Beth rated it liked it

Shelves: borrowed, bio-memoir, mystery, read-in-2015

I liked it. The people were very interesting and kept me entertained for the most part. It did seem to drag on a bit but it was an enjoyable read. I don't think I would re-read it, but I'm glad that I read it. ...more

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Mar 24, 2016 Megalion rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: from-shelfari, year-read-2010

I've been wanting to read this book for a long time but never managed to really get into it.

This time I was able to segue into it perfectly coming off reading Fannie Flagg's amazing latest book, I still Dream of you because both reference a love of old houses/architecture from a time when they were built with character instead of as economy boxes with zero personality.

The book isn't really one story but a journey through the culture of a town and its colorful inhabitants. One that looks at how ...more

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Dec 02, 2017 Chelsey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-books, favorites, best-characters, worth-the-hype, read-in-2017, books-to-buy

4.5 stars, rounded up. Spoiler free review.

I really adored this book. It was recommended to me and I'm so glad I listened.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a nonfiction, true crime novel that follows a scandalous murder in Savannah, Georgia. The first half of the book introduces you to some very human, flawed, yet lovable and interesting people. The murder isn't discussed until the halfway point, but I didn't mind at all. The latter half of the book covers the subsequent trial and ev 4.5 stars, rounded up. Spoiler free review.

I really adored this book. It was recommended to me and I'm so glad I listened.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a nonfiction, true crime novel that follows a scandalous murder in Savannah, Georgia. The first half of the book introduces you to some very human, flawed, yet lovable and interesting people. The murder isn't discussed until the halfway point, but I didn't mind at all. The latter half of the book covers the subsequent trial and events that take place.

The characters are what absolutely made this book for me. However, don't expect this book to demonstrate profound character growth. In fact, I would say almost all but one of the characters is the same at the end of the book as they were at the beginning. For once, that's actually okay with me. This books describes what it would be like if you could peek into the lives of people and follow them for a period of time. Luckily, all the people were so fascinating, different, and unique that I was more interested in seeing what they did in their lives and how they reacted to the murder than I was in their character growth. And in a nonfiction book, I don't necessarily expect character growth. Chablis, Jim Williams, and Minerva were my absolute favorites. And okay, Chablis is amazing. I won't say much more about any character in particular, I think it's better to go into this book blind and discover the people for yourself.

The writing in this book was also fantastic! John Berendt is such a talent. I think this exact same story in the hands of any other author would have gone south real fast. Berendt was able to describe the history and scenery of Savannah just enough to set the tone and paint beautiful pictures without going overboard. At no point in the novel did I feel like I was trudging through meaningless, boring details. Every description had a place and a purpose. That is very difficult to do. I was also very impressed at how objective he remained. Despite this being a first person novel, I never really felt like his own thoughts and opinions influenced the story itself. The pacing was perfect; the sequence of events and character introductions were well thought out and perfectly placed in the novel. My one complaint is I thought there should have been just a couple more chapters at the end.

This book is best if you go in knowing nothing. I was shocked when the murder occurred and even more surprised with the events that transpired afterwards. If you like southern fiction and true crime, you will LOVE this book. Some people may be disappointed if they expect this to read like a typical true crime, but I didn't mind at all. I think this book is phenomenal and I'm sad that it's finished. Also, I am now going to plan a trip to Savannah to see the garden and the Mercer House. If you love great characters, an enthralling story, and wonderful descriptions of Savannah you will love this book, too. ...more

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