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olivia_piepmeier 's review for:
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
by John Berendt
mysterious
medium-paced
I first read this as a pre-teen and long regarded it as a favorite book. Twenty years later, it was a difficult read for a variety of reasons but I wanted to see it through.
It bothers me to no end that it’s considered nonfiction but the exact events as described in the book didn’t happen exactly that way. It’s written in an engaging way, so perhaps Berendt felt that altering the timeline and making up conversations that kept to the spirit of the characters/story was the way to go…but in this day and age of fact having varying definitions, I can’t deal with it.
As a southerner, though not from Georgia, it certainly captures some old fashioned ideas of what it means to be southern and “polite.” It feels very familiar in that way, particularly as this took place in the 80s and was written in the 90s. I grew up with these people. Savannah is unique, there’s no doubting that, but still the southern status quo feels a little universal. Also, it’s problematic AF. It’s almost funny how problematic it is and thinking of how long it was on the best seller list. The reach this book got. Whew. Just affirming racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia (though it seems like Berendt did like Chablis). For better or worse, this is a product of it’s time. I rather dislike how much I loved this book at such an impressionable age.
For these reasons, I’d have difficulty suggesting it to someone whole heartedly unless they were very interested in Savannah and/or murder trials.
It bothers me to no end that it’s considered nonfiction but the exact events as described in the book didn’t happen exactly that way. It’s written in an engaging way, so perhaps Berendt felt that altering the timeline and making up conversations that kept to the spirit of the characters/story was the way to go…but in this day and age of fact having varying definitions, I can’t deal with it.
As a southerner, though not from Georgia, it certainly captures some old fashioned ideas of what it means to be southern and “polite.” It feels very familiar in that way, particularly as this took place in the 80s and was written in the 90s. I grew up with these people. Savannah is unique, there’s no doubting that, but still the southern status quo feels a little universal. Also, it’s problematic AF. It’s almost funny how problematic it is and thinking of how long it was on the best seller list. The reach this book got. Whew. Just affirming racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia (though it seems like Berendt did like Chablis). For better or worse, this is a product of it’s time. I rather dislike how much I loved this book at such an impressionable age.
For these reasons, I’d have difficulty suggesting it to someone whole heartedly unless they were very interested in Savannah and/or murder trials.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia
Moderate: Murder