Reviews with content warning for Antisemitism - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

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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trashbinfluencer's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced

3.25

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mal_reads_books's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

2.75

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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rainieschulte's review

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challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

3.0

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lindseyas's review

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funny informative lighthearted relaxing tense medium-paced

4.25

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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ekstanding's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

2.25

I think on the sense of taking a real historical event and making it fictitious was an interesting choice. However, I also think it was an easy cop out for a white author to use the n word a bunch. Also when it came to the writing, it felt a little disjointed. Basically like a poorly put together autobiography. Some points of the story didn’t feel necessary to the overarching plot of the Williams trials.

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asreadbybrad's review against another edition

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challenging reflective slow-paced

3.5

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sjduncan's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

3.75

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