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A review by beeeffjee
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
3.0
"The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson is a good book, to a point. The author does an excellent job of painting a vibrant picture of the setting, that is, 1890's Chicago. You really feel like you are there, amidst the construction of the worlds fair and the hustle and bustle of the city. That's because of the amount of detail that Larson provides the reader with it. Often, sections of the book are, in my opinion, over saturated with facts and information, especially in the sections about Burnman, the architect. Even though this book is nonfiction, it is written in a narrative style, and when there is a list of the meals being served in a certain place or the minor maladies that people suffered during the fair, it really takes you out of the story. I feel like it's just the author demonstrating the amount of research he had done for this book. However, sometimes it works, like when actual quotes from journalists from that time period are used to describe their experiences in the worlds fair. Bits like this, again, make the world feel alive. Speaking of the narrative, I found that the separation of the two stories was very distracting, and confused me more than once. They don't even have much to do with each other except the worlds fair. The stories might have been stronger if they were separated into two different books, one focusing on Burnman and the struggles before and during the worlds fair, and one focusing on the serial killer H. H. Holmes.
Speaking of H. H. Holmes, I feel that the parts with him were handled extremely well. Larson does a fantastic job painting a picture of a heartless killer. It was genuinely unnerving, especially only two of his murders were actually described. It spent more time showing the care he took in his demonic pastime. And again, the use of actual letters and quotes really make these sections stronger. I don't feel like I got to know Burnman as well as Holmes. It's like the sections devoted to Burnman were actually devoted to the fair itself, which I would be fine with if they made Burnman not as prominent of a character. When reading the Holmes sections, I was scared, and worried, because we spent time getting to know the victims. When reading the sections with Burnman, the only time I was really moved emotionally was when his partner died. Also, near the end of the book, we almost drop Burn man completely to follow the investigation of Holmes by a detective after the worlds fair. The book does end with a synopsis of what happened to Burnman after the fair, but that's not till the very end, after multiple chapters about the investigation, which makes the construction of the fair seem more and more like a non essential side story, which is weird because the book opens with Burnman.
I in no way think that this was a bad book, if fact, I rather enjoyed it, dispute it's flaws, the historical acurasy and attention to detail was at time mind blowing. As a story about one of Americas first serial killers, it was riveting, and the story of the worlds fair was incredibly interesting, but together, I don't believe they really meshed. The lack of interaction between the two story lines could be jarring I between stories. But other than that, I feel like it is a fantastic read for an avid history buff
Speaking of H. H. Holmes, I feel that the parts with him were handled extremely well. Larson does a fantastic job painting a picture of a heartless killer. It was genuinely unnerving, especially only two of his murders were actually described. It spent more time showing the care he took in his demonic pastime. And again, the use of actual letters and quotes really make these sections stronger. I don't feel like I got to know Burnman as well as Holmes. It's like the sections devoted to Burnman were actually devoted to the fair itself, which I would be fine with if they made Burnman not as prominent of a character. When reading the Holmes sections, I was scared, and worried, because we spent time getting to know the victims. When reading the sections with Burnman, the only time I was really moved emotionally was when his partner died. Also, near the end of the book, we almost drop Burn man completely to follow the investigation of Holmes by a detective after the worlds fair. The book does end with a synopsis of what happened to Burnman after the fair, but that's not till the very end, after multiple chapters about the investigation, which makes the construction of the fair seem more and more like a non essential side story, which is weird because the book opens with Burnman.
I in no way think that this was a bad book, if fact, I rather enjoyed it, dispute it's flaws, the historical acurasy and attention to detail was at time mind blowing. As a story about one of Americas first serial killers, it was riveting, and the story of the worlds fair was incredibly interesting, but together, I don't believe they really meshed. The lack of interaction between the two story lines could be jarring I between stories. But other than that, I feel like it is a fantastic read for an avid history buff