Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Wasn't what I was expecting.  More about eccentric people in Savannah Georgia than actually about the crime.  

This book was purchased by my wife, but I was short on audible credits so I thought I'd give it a go. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a fun read, but that's about as far as I would go with it. The character development was interesting, but nothing really grabbed me towards them. This might be a 3.5 star rating; give this book a go if you are interested in Savannah, but that's about it.

I'm not a fan of novel-style nonfiction. I tried to push through but I have absolutely no interest anymore. 

  When I go into a book based on its synopsis, and it sells me a terrifying story with ghosts, magic, and things that would chill anyone's blood, I expect this to be the main theme of the plot once I start it, but, in the case of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” that wasn't the case.
I'm not saying that the story is bad, on the contrary, if I had gone into it knowing that it would be a book based on something real that happened in Savannah and that it would be about a murder that they are trying to defend, which also involves (AS A BONUS) magic and witchcraft, I think I would have liked it more, but instead, I started it when I was looking for something scary and that maybe has some ghosts, and I ended up bored and annoyed because I had already read 47% and nothing happened, so I paused it.
It was not until this year when I decided to pick it up again, that I started to enjoy it more by being aware of the story I was going into.
It's all based on a case of self-defense murder, or so the defendant's defense, Mr. Williams, calls it, towards a young man who already had a criminal record, and who seems to be, even after death, still tormenting him, so he will have to resort to “extra” help to be declared innocent. Whether he succeeds or not, I'm not going to tell you, you'll have to read the book to find out.
Of course, knowing that it is a slow-paced reading, especially at the beginning, but from the middle onwards it starts to get more interesting.
If you like crime readings, especially those based on true stories, with a little magic in between, this is your book.
 

Some young jerk gets killed
no one seems to mind that much
the parties are fab.

4.5. A love letter to Savannah, Georgia with a host of eccentric misfit characters. While murder and scandal were themes that jumped off the pages. This was not a gory true crime non fiction but a narrative non fiction , that was as much about the history of Savannah and the incredible characters of its inhabitants. While some of the residents had questionable intentions and morals they certainly made fascinating characters to put in a book!

I was excited to read this one because it's in the true crime genre and is about a murder in Georgia. I was definitely in the mood for this type of book. And then I opened, began to read, and was left utterly disappointed...

This is supposed to be about a murder, but that was merely a backdrop. The book was filled with a guided tour (so-to-speak) about Savannah and the people who live there...A LOT of people. There were so many that had nothing to do with the murder I was lost as to why they were even written about. If I wanted a book that gave me a history lesson on Savannah I would have gotten one.

The crime itself made up a miniscule few chapters, and what was there wasn't very intriguing. The trial and procedure were skimmed over and lacked any depth so I'm not exactly sure how this person managed to slip away from prison three times.

This book has a lot of high reviews from other readers so maybe it's just me.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is probably one of the most atmospheric books I've read in a while. I listened to the audiobook, and I highly recommend it. I'm not sure I would have rated it 4 stars without experiencing the story through Jeff Woodman's narration. My guess is it'd lie closer to 3 as some sections may have dragged a bit in the first half.

Before reading, everyone should be aware this is a nonfiction novel, reads like a novel, and the author uses artitistic license to accomplish that. He addresses it in his acknowledgements and had discussed it elsewhere as well. It's not straight nonfiction true crime that simply walks the reader the facts of the case. It creates a thorough and complete story that is very interesting. I remember reading that the book was extremely well-received by the people of Savannah.

The characters studies are interesting, and the language will be very accessible to most people (which is understandable given the author is a magazine writer). The way certain things are talked about or addressed is indicative of the time and place in which it was written, so keep that in mind.

I recommend this to anyone who likes true crime or general fiction.

Pros: Like Stephen King, Berendt has the great knack of describing people's interactions in small-ish town America that feel authentic. And like Jonathan Franzen, he has the eye for detail to describe certain biases, preferences, and physical items that let you know he really did spend the time in the environment and can give you a window in. It's pretty funny and enjoyable. Beautiful title, great cover photo.

Cons: This is more my fault than Berendt's, but I didn't know that it was nonfiction. With a title as wondrous as that, I somehow didn't expect a nonfiction legal case. Not what I expected, not really what I was in the mood for, and not exactly my kind of book. If you like nonfiction crime stories that profile an environment, I expect you'll like it more than I did

Hierdie een het lank op my Kindle gelê en ek het net nooit sover gekom om te lees nie. Soos dinge gebeur, het ek dit begin lees net nadat ons ‘n reis na Georgia en South Carolina beplan het, onder andere na Savannah waar die boek afspeel. Ek het dus die boek ook geniet uit daardie oogpunt, as reisgids.

This book is a rough read, and (in my opinion) very little like the movie (which I preferred, oddly enough...)

Read #2: I don't know why but the second reading of this book was world's apart from the first one. Maybe it's because I realized it was a nonfiction book that just felt like a novel, but I loved the characterizations, the descriptions of Savannah, and the trial itself. Now I feel like I need to rewatch the movie to see if I like it as much as I did the first time around.

Gossip cleverly disguised as commentary upon the citizens of Savannah, Georgia. Mmm, good.

My impulse is to say that Berendt got lucky in meeting such a cast of characters, but really I guess that's part of the art of narrative nonfiction–letting yourself be open to all the weirdos. This is a perfectly-observed page turner. Even the first third or so–before the “crime drama” sets in–is totally compelling scene setting.

PS: the movie is so bad. Stacey warned
me that it was terrible but I had to check it out anyway. I was so curious about how they were going to put such a complex story into a 2-hour movie and the answer, of course, is very badly. I advise just watching clips of the Lady Chablis on YouTube.

I liked this book about Savannah and what happened there in 1981 and afterwards. Just learning about the city's history and its inhabitants was worth the read. I look forward to seeing the movie.