Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil

Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

48 reviews

rainieschulte's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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d_ae's review against another edition

2.25

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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booksbeyondthebinary's review against another edition

4.0

informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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lindseyas's review against another edition

4.25

funny informative lighthearted relaxing tense medium-paced

This was a really fascinating read. What starts as a study of the residents of Savannah, Georgia and their history becomes a story of a long-winded and pretty disastrous tale of a court case. This was a great work of nonfiction that properly focused on the people of Savannah — it was clear that the author was trained a journalist, his interviewing skills, his ability to lace his way into the lives of people and to get into pretty strange situations making the novel what it was. These people were larger than life and it was a stellar read to introduce yourself to a different place at a different time with a rich, dramatic culture. It was pretty hilarious, full of great history and built with an engaging structure to keep you tuned in. I desperately need to take a trip to Savannah now.

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paronomaniac's review against another edition

3.0

funny informative mysterious sad medium-paced

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ireadinbed's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny reflective slow-paced

I really appreciated the writing style and the slow rambling way the author led us through the city and the story.

I found the murder that centers a large part of the story incidental to me. I liked to read the book a chapter at a time, just little vignettes.

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anna_hepworth's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 27%

So, I was not entirely sure that this book was for me at the outset, when it was labelled 'a non-fiction novel', or some other malarkey. What I wasn't expecting was that the narrative voice would dislike all the characters, and yet not pass judgment on racism, dubious use of nazi paraphenalia / memorabilia (and yes, it was called memorabilia, and I should have stopped at that point), or the ongoing destruction caused by a conman.

I could put up with the rambling narrative, with each chapter only loosely linked to the others. I probably could have dealt with the range of shady characters. I could accept the implied level of self-loathing of the narrator, even if it made me decidedly uncomfortable.

But the ongoing racism was starting to wear, and the introduction of Chablis, who is both Black and trans was the point that I was asking myself why I was reading this. Up to a point, Chablis was entirely plausible. But referring to their cis female friend as a 'real girl' and then presenting attitudes to Black men as angry and violent made me realise that I had no desire to be reading this story, and 'realism' (or whatever the descriptor was) be damned, this book wasn't worth reading.

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asreadbybrad's review against another edition

3.5

challenging reflective slow-paced

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mackenzi's review against another edition

3.75

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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sjduncan's review against another edition

3.75

dark mysterious medium-paced

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