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A review by alagasianflame
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
As one who was more interested in H. H. Holmes than architecture history, let me say the high rating is largely due to the fact that Larson manages to make committees and ledgers equally as fascinating as a man who built his own murder castle without anyone noticing. This is accomplished by the extensive backgrounds Larson lays out for practically every major player involved in the designing and building of the Fair. At the beginning, these winding expositions seem extraneous and, at times I’ll admit, perhaps even a little dull, but they serve as a foundation upon which is built the later trials and tribulations of the Fair’s designers, much of which was apparently caused by interpersonal strife and not, necessarily, pure financial or physical deterrents. By turning flat facts into tragic or triumphant events in the personal lives of the men (and occasional woman) involved, they come alive and make this tale something more engaging than a dusty history text book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Racism, Child death, Death, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness