Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: Amazon.co.uk: John Berendt: Books

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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.

From the Back Cover

The best non-fiction novel since In Cold Blood and a lot more entertaining' Edmund White
'John Berendt's enthralling new book is an exotic cocktail: two hearty measures of travel-book whimsy mixed with a slug of real-life murder, a dollop of old-world affluence and a sprinkling of off-centre sex... It's not hard to see why this has sent coachloads of tourists heading for the swampy Georgia coast' Robert Winder, Independent

'Berent - 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

'388 pages of perfect story telling - wildly funny, occasionally alarming and utterly enthralling' Moira Shearer, Daily Telegraph

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

34 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (34 customer reviews)

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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just doesn't get any better, 7 Nov 2007

By

M.J. (Halifax. N.S.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (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.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quirky, Lurid, Vivid, and Thoughtful, 23 May 2000

By

H. Callaghan "Alice in Wonderland" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (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.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entrancing, intriguing, evocative and very good, 24 Feb 2007

By

Rivercassini "Rivercassini" (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (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

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 6 days ago by R. A. Davison