- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (1 Jun 1995)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0099521016
- ISBN-13: 978-0099521013
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 281,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (Vintage)
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Product Description
Review
'Elegant and wicked . . . Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime.' (The New York Times Book Review )
'The best non-fiction novel since IN COLD BLOOD and a lot more entertaining' (Edmund White )
'Enthralling' (Robert Winder, Independent )
'Berendt - and the reader - are in travel-writer heaven . . . This is a book which leaves you amused, spooked and introduced to a new piece of America' (Mark Lawson, Independent on Sunday )
'Perfect storytelling - wildly funny, occasionally alarming and utterly enthralling' (Moira Shearer, Daily Telegraph ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
'The best non-fiction novel since IN COLD BLOOD and a lot more entertaining' (Edmund White )
'Enthralling' (Robert Winder, Independent )
'Berendt - and the reader - are in travel-writer heaven . . . This is a book which leaves you amused, spooked and introduced to a new piece of America' (Mark Lawson, Independent on Sunday )
'Perfect storytelling - wildly funny, occasionally alarming and utterly enthralling' (Moira Shearer, Daily Telegraph ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Product Description
The best non-fiction novel since "In Cold Blood" is a true story of intrigue, murder, forgery and eccentricity set in the steamy, surreal atmosphere of Savannah, Georgia. The unpredictable twists and turns of a murder case are skilfully interwoven with a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Loved this book. I had no idea what it was about since I hadn't seen the movie and had avoided the hype years ago. Now, reading it for the first time, I'm amazed. I wasn't too excited at first--the first half of the book is just okay; entertaining but nothing that great, but the second half took off and just flew! This book got me reading more southern American literature and I came across a fantastic book called "Bark of the Dogwood" by J.T.McCrae which was actually just as good as "Midnight."
"Midnight" is probably the only book on the bestseller list I've read that deserved to be there. Jim Williams is an amazing character, and a real person, or was. We will never know the real truth of what happened (don't want to give away the plot), but even so, it makes for one heck of an entertaining read. Would also recommend the books "Prince of Tides" by Conroy and "Bark of the Dogwood" for two other southern books that don't pull any punches.
"Midnight" is probably the only book on the bestseller list I've read that deserved to be there. Jim Williams is an amazing character, and a real person, or was. We will never know the real truth of what happened (don't want to give away the plot), but even so, it makes for one heck of an entertaining read. Would also recommend the books "Prince of Tides" by Conroy and "Bark of the Dogwood" for two other southern books that don't pull any punches.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Apparently, this book has been so influential that it has significantly increased the tourist traffic through Savannah. After reading it, it is easy to understand why - even I found myself itching with the urge to visit the place at some point, if for no other reason than to see if half the stories told about it were true.
Part travelogue, part true-crime thriller - with copious supernatural elements also thrown into the mix - the book defies simple description, and the author uses precise, non-sensational, almost diffident language to describe a superabundance of eccentric, larger-than-life characters and bizarre and mannered social rituals.
The story has, as its loose focus, the relationship between local millionaire Jim Williams and his handyman/lover, Danny - a relationship that ends in Williams shooting the younger man dead. Was it murder, or self-defence? Berendt does not pretend to offer any answers, instead settling for telling the few facts that he can actually attest to (and, added to which, of course, is a good dollop of the entertaining hearsay of the Savannah-ites he meets), and leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions.
Trial and retrial follow on, and behind the courtroom scenes one senses a world of political manoeuvring, old enemies, and the genteel but ultra-conservative morality of the Old South. Williams, enigmatic and cunning on one hand (he privately discusses deliberately changing his testimony with the author before a meeting with his lawyer), on the other possessing a deeply gullible streak (he plays Psychic Dice and engages a voodoo priestess to assist at his trial) is a compelling character, who has been known to hang Nazi banners from his window ledge to foil rude film-makers attempting to shoot Civil War movies in his neighbourhood. His lover, Danny, the beautiful hustler with an emotional age of nine, is hardly any less eccentric, growing sulky and violent when women he has only just met refuse his offers of marriage.
But it is also the story of the city itself, and its inhabitants take centre stage. Inhabitants such as the charming but amoral entrepreneurial neighbour who runs a constant gamut of lawsuits for passing bad checks and failing to pay his bills, (and who we first meet when an aggrieved elderly woman throws a brick through his window), and the bawdy, wonderful Lady Chablis, transsexual entertainer, who crashes the black Debutantes' Ball when the author rashly refuses to take her as his date. The verismultitude of characters is striking, and they are wonderfully, sharply drawn.
The title, "Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil", refers to the graveyard where the voodoo priestess conjures the spirits of the dead to beg their assistance in Williams' case (and also to nag her dead lover/voodoo mentor for winning lottery numbers). This balance of the poignant and the hilarious, the tragic and the comic, is what characterises this story and what ultimately makes it such an enjoyable, and yet haunting read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Wonderful, just wonderful. The best book I have read all year. Berendt weaves an evocative and insightful picture of Savannah into a gentle yet disturbing murder mystery with a twist. Each and every character - and there are lots of the them - is equisitely drawn and immediately engaging. Each espisode is enchanting and well worked into the slowly developing plot. The prose is by turns sparse and luxuriously, perfectly suiting the book itself. Read it or regret it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Savanah - such an unusual way of life
This is a review by Burry Port Bookworms:
Curiosity was aroused from page one for the bizarre behaviour and personalities outlined by the journalist narrator and his... Read more
Curiosity was aroused from page one for the bizarre behaviour and personalities outlined by the journalist narrator and his... Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. Dunlop Ferraro
A beautiful old town, a murderer in its midst
Published in 1994, Midnight In The Garden Of Good and Evil chronicles the period when New York writer John Berendt lived in Savannah, Georgia and paints a portrait of the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by R. A. Davison
More than double the fun
It is not often that I laugh out loud at a book but Berendt's masterpiece got that reaction more than once. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Bob
A book of two halves!
This book was like two different books put together. The first part didnt enthrall me I have to say. Read more
Published 14 months ago by ttofee
Not for me
Disappointed in this book, I did take a chance on buying it, but with all the positive reviews and synopsis available, I thought it was worth a go. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Horses
The people are the gems in this book!
An entertaining, at times hilarious, surreal and slightly serious book, that leaves you surprised at how many different and interesting characters live and work in Savannah. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Maria Staal
One in a million
I was recommended this by a friend, I'd heard the name but knew nothing about it at all, so this was a very pleasant surprise. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Victor Ward
midnight in the garden of good and evil
Read the book after i saw the film.still enjoyed the book ,its great.
Published 20 months ago by Mr. D. Brown
loved this
Loved this booked, it was recommended by an american lawyer, he himself was enthralled by this book which he had read over 7 years ago. I loved it. Read more
Published 22 months ago by pocketwoman
The ability to write naturally
Wonderful. The storyline could have been so dull, but it is John Berendt's writing ability that has captured the whole feeling of the people and the area. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2010 by Sam Carew
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