Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

111 reviews

bring_me_a_book's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder

pagesfromhome's review against another edition

2.75

dark informative slow-paced

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This was my first dive into Erik Larson's writing, and while I loved his style (lots of details that really put you in a moment), I think this fell a little bit flat for me. It felt like he just wanted to write a book about the World's Fair, but decided to throw in the story of H.H. Holmes to make it a bit more interesting. From what the book tells, there's essentially no connection between Holmes and the Fair, so pushing them into a book together doesn't make sense.

That said, I loved the sections about the fair and genuinely wish that had been the entirety of the book rather than being pulled between the two different stories. Even though there are times when Larson dives into characters with no real conclusion on them until the last part of the book, he does such a vivid job of building them that you kind of forgive it. All in all, not a waste of a read, but I doubt I'll be reading it again or thinking too much about it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping

dobermaier's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark informative reflective medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder

Moderate: Child death, Racism, Cultural appropriation

Minor: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury

sophialib's review against another edition

4.5

dark informative tense slow-paced

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love the way this book was written but a little bit hard to get through bc there is so much information

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder

psdarlin's review against another edition

3.0

informative reflective medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Murder

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Kidnapping, Colonisation

Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol

alicelalicon's review against another edition

3.5

dark mysterious slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, Toxic relationship, Murder

annabunce's review against another edition

3.0

dark informative medium-paced

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Meh. I probably should have just read the wikipedia article about H.H. Holmes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder

rachelsheplak's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail

crownoflaurel's review against another edition

3.75

dark informative sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Colonisation

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Classism

Minor: Mental illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

alagasianflame's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

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As one who was more interested in H. H. Holmes than architecture history, let me say the high rating is largely due to the fact that Larson manages to make committees and ledgers equally as fascinating as a man who built his own murder castle without anyone noticing. This is accomplished by the extensive backgrounds Larson lays out for practically every major player involved in the designing and building of the Fair. At the beginning, these winding expositions seem extraneous and, at times I’ll admit, perhaps even a little dull, but they serve as a foundation upon which is built the later trials and tribulations of the Fair’s designers, much of which was apparently caused by interpersonal strife and not, necessarily, pure financial or physical deterrents. By turning flat facts into tragic or triumphant events in the personal lives of the men (and occasional woman) involved, they come alive and make this tale something more engaging than a dusty history text book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Colonisation