Rating: 
Summary: A charming read with bizarre characters!
Review: The story is intriguing and well written. On audio, it's delightful. What a collection of annoying, pretentious characters! Lady Chablis is a hoot! It's hard to guess how the book will end and puzzling to try to figure out what really happened between Jim Williams and Danny Hansford. The author does a great job in making the story very much like a novel. Although it is non-fiction, I'd like to know for sure how much is real and how much is the author's creation. The book makes Savannah interesting enough to stir a desire to see the city, even if only to check out the mentality of its population! An especially interesting and revealing aspect of this book is its subtle discussion of the present-day relationship between white Christians and the blacks and Jews of Savannah. Excuse me for a minute while I call my friend from Savannah to ask about some of Berendt's zany characters. In the meantime, I suggest you read the book. :-)
Rating: 
Summary: Too Strange To Be Fiction!
Review: This was my second reading of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". Initially, I read it four years ago when it first came out and thought it was a good story. With the eclipse of four years time and the opportunity to see a screen version of an adaptation of the story, I decided it to read it again as it came out in paperback.Overall, it's clear that while I did enjoy the movie, it was an oversimplification of the book but it did capture the story's essence. However, in comparison to the actual story, the movie indeed pales. This second reading had me clearly tuned into the fact that this was actual history -- not fiction. Keeping that in mind, I was entirely captivated by what a small city or town can keep it self believing or not believing. This is a testament to the strange elements within every human being. One can easily understand how Berendt came to be captivated by Savannah during his years there as it certainly doesn't resemble the day to day world in America on the surface. Yet again, in other ways it does -- simply more brazenly, public and dramatically. I continue to love the character Chablis. Minerva was fascinating and the overall irony of what happens to the main character at the end is deep at the heart of much of what we fundamentally hold true with our Judeo-Christian society here in the United States.'When one does wrong, they pay for it in some way.' While for a while it seemed that Jim Williams believed he was immune to his due for his actions; he certainly paid a rather high price! Utterly fascinating. It's pretty hard to write an entire series on the strange encounters of Savannah at that time and I regret that from the entertainment point of view. Yet, this is real life, in a real city at one particular point in time. An Outstanding Read. An Almost Unbelievable Story! Daniel J. Maloney
Rating:
Summary: What is this book, anyway?
Review: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is perhaps the most unlikely longterm hardback best seller in publishing history. It is neither fish or fowl and trying to account for its popularity must have given the book publishing industry fits. I enjoyed the book but can't really say why. Part travelogue, part true crime, part essay, part character study and all very strange, the book meanders around over a several year period of time while the author visits Savannah, GA for extended periods, gets to know his neighbors, gets to know some of the strange local characters, gets caught up in a murder trial, backtracks to fill in the blanks there, participates in several 'subplots' having to do with voodoo and an engaging transvestite, the Lady Chablis, and manages while doing all this to tell us very little that is personal about himself. Ultimately, the book suffers, I think, from a lack of structure. It is so all-over-the-place that many readers are going to be frustrated. But each part of the book can be enjoyed for its own sake. The overall result is not a coherent whole, but a pleasant - and unique - reading experience just the same.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book Written Ever
Review: From the mouth of a 16 year old: This book was one of the best books i have ever read. I enjoyed the character plots and how they all intertwined in the lifestyles of Savannah. Minerva and her trademark purple glasses, and Joe with his house parties, and everyone else in this story keep the reader on their seat wanting more. And to think that these people are real(i saw them on GMA about when it came out in paperback)justs makes you think! I even went as far as to use piece of this story for an early interp piece and did fairly well. Although i cant say as much for the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
Rating:
Summary: Too Much Hype
Review: MIDNIGHT is the kind of book that takes a while to get into, but once you're in, you stay put. The beginning of this book is slow because it's mostly introduction to characters, the city of Savannah, and how Berendt came to be in Savannah. Plot setup, all in all. But once the murder happens, the plot gets rolling, and the pace becomes faster and faster until it's a roller coaster ride that cannot be stopped. This book takes you on unimaginable twists and turns as you wonder if Jim Williams was a murderer or if it was only self-defense. Not a book to be forgotten for many years, the hype was still too much to hold up to expectations.
Rating:
Summary: I've fallen in love with a book!
Review: This book grabbed me by the ankles and pulled me in. It's full of suspense, murder, small town gossip and everything inbetween. Lady Chablis left me laughing outloud and wondering what she would do next. The movie that was made from this book is a gem also. I would recommend this to anyone that has ever lived in small town and relished in it's quirkiness.
Rating:
Summary: True Crime + Real Life = Interesting Novel
Review: I do think that this book qualifies as a novel rather than non-fiction, even though Berendt mixes elements of a real murder with his (we assume) truthful observations of Savannah life. When I read it as a novel, I enjoyed it tremendously with very few reservations-- the characters danced through the pages and the wealth of detail that he provided made them feel alive to me as I was reading. I was very interested in the outcome of the murder case by the time I reached the end of the book and he successfully carried across this sense of looking-glass justice where you simply can't believe that someone like that (who collects faberge and loves antiques) could be convicted by our courts for killing a violent rent boy. Even if I thought he should be, the book created a sense of disbelief by placing the murder in the context of the new south. What always troubles me about books like this is what happens when I begin reading it as non-fiction. It's hard to escape a certain guilt when I consider that that murder victim is at one and the same time a real person who recently lived and a character in a novel, serving the purpose of the book's author in creating his portrait of modern Savannah. This troubles me, at least a little. Chablis has already written her own book in response to this one, but nobody will ever hear Danny's real voice and this book must stand as his remembrance.
Rating: 
Summary: Not really a "non-fiction" book
Review: This is supposedly a "non-fiction" book, but it is not. If you don't believe me, read the Author's Note which appears at the very end of the book, and I quote ".....I have taken certain storytelling liberties, particularly having to do with the timing of events. Where the narrative strays from non-fiction, my intention has been to remain faithful to the characters and the essential drift of events as they really happened." Instead of saying his book "strays from non-fiction" why doen't he just come right out and admit, "some of this stuff is made up."
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful and intriguing story line keeps this book moving
Review: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt made for a wonderful read. The interesting twists and turns imbedded within almost every chapter make you want to keep turning the pages. Although Midnight reads like a novel, it is actually based on historically accurate details relating to Savannah, Georgia and it's society. This creates for an interesting genre, probably falling into the realm of historical nonfiction. The entire book is based primarily on the murder of a young man in Savannah, and his supposed killer, another gentleman prominent in Savannahian society. However, leading up to the actual murder, the author introduces a series of other Savannah natives, all of them quite interesting characters. From drag queens to lawyers, businessman to hustlers, you are able to meet individuals on both ends of the spectrum. I find it rather difficult to make a comparison between this book and another of its type, being as this is the first one of the sort that I have read. I was entirely captivated by this sort of literature and would love to get my hands of another similar piece. Berendt did a great job of writing from a technical standpoint. The setting centered the book in the heart of the South, Savannah, Georgia during the 1980's. Being born and raised in Iowa, I found the sharp contrast of lifestyles enthralling. The characters, well, WOW! As I said before, there was such a dynastic scale or personas that it created for a complete surprise every chapter when he would introduce somebody new. My favorite by leaps and bounds, however, had to be Chablis. The initial description we receive creates a vivid picture in my mind: "She was wearing a loose white cotton blouse, jeans, and white tennis sneakers. Her hair was short, and her skin was a smooth mild chocolate. Her eyes were large and expressive..." Then, a few pages later, we get another entirely different scene from the author, putting almost a disturbing picture in my mind. "Chablis suddenly burst into view, looking like raging fire in a skimpy sequined dress with jagged red, yellow, and orange flamelike fringes hanging from it. She wore huge hoop earrings and a wig of long black curls. The audience cheered as she strutted down the runway, working every nuance of the rhythm, shaking her behind like a pom-pom, whipping it from side to side." As you can see from looking at the characterization in the book, Berendt also uses great description. He uses the same intense description all throughout the book, describing everything from houses to parks to squares to people. The imagery was simply amazing. I don't believe that there was any strong symbolism or theme within this piece. The author just stuck right to the main plot of describing typical Savannah life, taking us on a journey, letting us witness people and events. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book for everybody. Those younger than "teenager" probably would find this book a bit over their heads, as it does contain some rather adult context and material. But I still hold my stance that anybody ready to read a book that will seemingly involve them in the plot should open the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt.
Rating: 
Summary: A real drag going off track
Review: The book unfolds with a simple narrative of a town called Savannah. The author attempts to introduce us to the town's most eccentric folks. As the introductions drag on, one starts to wonder where the story was going on. When part 2 opens with the murder of the hot-blooded lover of a dubiously gay socialite, I figure that it is a whodunit. But it isn't. As you plod through the narratives about the court room drama (which is barely there), you realise that the author still hasn't decide who or what the focus is. When you get to the end of book, you are left wondering why you even bothered to get there in the first place.
|
