Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

58 reviews

larareads's review against another edition

4.0

dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Transphobia, Murder

Minor: Sexual content

themis_biblos's review against another edition

3.25

dark mysterious slow-paced

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I don't know man. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Antisemitism, Classism

ruthypoo2's review against another edition

3.75

emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

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This books weaves a very wide lens view of Savannah, GA and a specific community of people living there and involved directly with, or at least on the periphery of, a real-life murder that took place in the 80s. The bulk of the book introduces the reader to the history and personality of Savannah, as well as a variety of eccentric characters who play a role in the story. Details of the events leading up to and following the murder serve as bookends to the author’s description of his time researching the story in Savannah and interviewing its residents to obtain their impressions of what happened.

John Berendt does an excellent job creating an interesting atmosphere of the particular historical city of Savannah, and is respectful in relaying his impressions of the uniquely entertaining personalities he encountered. More than anything, the neighborhoods and communities included in the book ooze with old-fashioned southern charm and gentility.

I listened to the audiobook and feel the narrator, Jeff Woodman, delivered a superb characterization of every individual in the story with lovely diction and subtle accents. His performance thoroughly enhanced my enjoyment of this book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Classism

cooliuscaesar451's review against another edition

3.25

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Trafficking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment

librarymouse's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny mysterious slow-paced

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I was 43% of the way into the book before the murder promised to be the central focus of the book took place. After readings the author's note and understanding his desire to introduce all the players bed the murder, I understood the point of it. It also somew at mimicked the slower pace of life in Savannah, as opposed to a place like New York, where the author hails from. There's some exploration of bigotry and biases in tradition and among the players in the book that lack self awareness and the murder isn't really the most important part of the story being told. It's what times the players together, at a lot of points, but it seems to be one wild and weird Savannah thing in a sea of wild and weird Savannah things. Chablis is referred to with the correct pronouns for the entirety of her time on the page and after reading this, I want to know more about the planning for Savannah's squares. So many crimes were committed by the people in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Antisemitism

Minor: Incest

trashbinfluencer's review against another edition

3.25

challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Antisemitism, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

mal_reads_books's review against another edition

2.75

challenging dark funny informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

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It took a while for me to warm up to this book. The first half was slow and felt like reading a slice-of-life fiction, which is not my cup of tea. Even though it had some interesting, eccentric people, I found myself bored and wanting to quit at times. I was expecting the book to focus more on the murder case, but it’s not even mentioned until close to the halfway mark.

Nevertheless, I’m glad I made it to the end because I gained a more comprehensive understanding of the city. I liked reading about Savannah’s history and how society there functioned. It featured people from all walks of life, many who I didn’t find likable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Transphobia

Minor: Antisemitism, Abortion

Nazi and Confederate references, along with the n-word, are mentioned at least a handful of times.

meganisspooky's review against another edition

4.25

funny informative mysterious reflective

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I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend the audiobook- the narrator did a good job with the Southern drawl of the characters. The story was interesting and surprisingly funny. The descriptions are wonderfully rich.

It is true crime, but the first section is just an introduction to the wacky and weird cast of characters, so the book feels more like a written account of the author’s experiences in Savannah (that happens to include a murder trial) rather than strictly a true crime deep dive. 

Definite content warnings for racism and homophobia, so be aware!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism

manda_allstars999's review against another edition

2.25

dark informative slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Murder

cyberhavok's review against another edition

3.5

dark mysterious medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Murder, Classism

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia