I'm only 30 years late on getting around to this one. It's a standard bearer for the wacky and weird-but-true genre, and Berendt does a marvelous job of capturing both the people of Savannah and the prevailing attitude and culture at the time. Worth a read.

I HATED this book.

I originally DNF'd this book but picked it up again because my sister recommended it to me. This book is based on real-life events that occurred in the 1980's. However, I was uncomfy the entire time. This was written by a white man... had gross stereotypes, incredibly disgusting written sex scenes, racial slurs, etc. Being originally published on January 13, 1994, this is an old book and well, it just didn't do it for me. I also just did not enjoy the writing style.

Just arrived from Finland through BM.

What a pity this book ended. I must find a way to visit this beautiful city of Savannah.

The story is about the trial of Jim Williams, a Savannah's socialite and an international antiques dealer, crazy by the famous Faberge eggs, which was accused of the murder of Danny Handsford.

After had discovered that a super-saver fare to Savannah cost the same as an entree in a Manhattan restaurant, the author spent eight years fitting between these two cities. In this way, his travelogue is intertwined with Williams' story that have been tried four times in a middle of a legal battle.

A remarkable piece of work by John Berendt and I am looking forward to read more books by this author.

Below, some wonderful houses in the Victorian District in Savannah: Williams’ Mercer house, Lee and Emma Adler House and The Hamilton-Turner house mentioned to this book.
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But what about the Bird Girl Statue?

According to Wikipedia, "only four statues were made from the original plaster cast.

The first went to the Massachusetts garden.

The second was sent to Washington, D.C., and is now located in Reading, Pennsylvania.

The third was purchased by a family in Lake Forest and has never relocated.

The fourth and most famous statue was bought by a family in Savannah, Georgia, who named it Little Wendy and set it up at her family's plot in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia."

A film adaptation of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in 1997, directed by Clint Eastwood, where Kevin Spacey played the role of Jim Williams.
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The embodiment of "Truth is stranger than fiction". Great read.

I had this book on my list for a long time, and it was such a joy to read it. Such interesting characters, so much fun in one book, I thought it was perfect. The most amazing thing is that is is non-fiction and it is written in such a compelling way.

This is a story about Savannah, and about the colorful characters that live in it. There is also a self defense of murder in the middle of the book, and it is taking place after we learn to like the awkward characters, and enjoy their strange habits.

There is Jim Williams, a man who lives alone in a huge mansion, the Mercer House. He is a very wealthy person and he holds big parties that everyone wants to be invited to. We also meet Luther who have flies as pets, and maybe owns a poison that could kill everyone. And my most favorite character is Chablis, a drug queen, who fights for her rights and calls everyone "child". She is so funny and so adorable. It is impossible to ignore her charm.
Here is the scene where they me:t "I dance, I do lip sync, and I emcee," she said. "Shit like that. My mama got the name Chablis off a wine bottle. She didn't think it up for me though. It was supposed to be for my sister. Mama got pregnant when I was sixteen, and she wanted a little girl. She was gonna name her La Quinta Chablis, but then she had a miscarriage, and I said, 'Ooooo, Chablis. That's nice. I like that name.' And Mama said, 'Then take it, baby. Just call yourself Chablis from now on.' So ever since then, I've been Chablis."
"A cool white wine for a cool black girl," I said.
"Y-e-e-e-s, child!"
"What was your name before that?" I asked.
"Frank," she said.
And there is Minerva, the psychic old lady, that tries (and succeeds?) to do black magic, and to talk to dead people. And strangely it looks to fit perfectly fine, and she does not look completely crazy.

We also get to dig in into the trial, and learn about what happened. It is structured brilliantly. And it is especially amazing how Berendt succeeded to bring so many characters to life, that the reader can actually feel like they know them.

Huge 5 stars. I wish that I can find more books like this one.

Berendt introduces those not from the South to a totally different world and a real-life crime. We happened to be in Savannah when Clint Eastwood was doing the film, and also met several of the characters, including a performance by the lady of a thousand songs.

I read this book late in 2020 and I found it ok. Some parts of it I found boring and had a hard time keeping my focus on while reading, especially long dialogs about Savannah and this person and that person. I needed more to happen and take place. I really liked it when it involved the crime case, but like I said, the other parts I got bored over.
I decided to listen to it on audio this time around, I wanted to give it another chance and I must say I enjoyed it more than when I read it. The narrator is really good and gave this story something "extra".

n  "If you thought that last bump was vulgar, honey, watch this one!"n

I'm having a difficult time deciding whether John Berendt set out to make mock of Savannah from the get-go or whether he was trying to write a sincere travelogue/murder story about a city that just happens to be filled to the brim with laughable oddities, eccentricities and a most perverse, inwardly directed, indeed almost incestuous sense of moral rectitude and appropriate behaviour.

Berendt certainly had no shortage of "characters" with which to people his oddball narrative of a city that, in terms of its appearance, now has to be characterized as one of the glittering jewels of the South - Lady Chablis, a very talented drag queen who was utterly committed to her life's calling; an old man who walks an imaginary dog; a very clever inventor, almost certainly a manic-depressive, who claims to have a bottle of poison powerful enough to destroy Savannah's entire water supply (the locals can accurately gauge his mood swings by how much of his breakfast he consumes before leaving the local café); Danny Hansford, a gay male prostitute categorized by his friends as "a good time not yet had by all" who is killed in what the police termed a lover's quarrel; Minerva, a practicing voodoo witch who consults her dead husband in the hopes that he will provide for her by telling her what numbers to play at the track and assists her friends by be-devilling their enemies with black magic fetishes; and, finally, Jim Williams, the local antique dealer, con artist, high roller, swindler and effete charmer who miraculously manages to perjure his way through four consecutive murder trials to an ultimate acquittal in a new city with an uncontaminated jury pool.

While one might say that MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL is in the same genre - novelized true crime - that's where the resemblance to the likes of IN COLD BLOOD stops. The New York Times Book Review said it far better than I could. This "... might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime."

Entertaining, informative and, oddly enough, quite hilarious. Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

John Berendt's well-known (non-)fiction work is the story of a murder. But it really isn't, it is actually more of a masterfully told story about a number of people in Savannah and the place itself. I just love this author's narrative and the first time I read the book I did it in a couple of long sittings, due to the fact that I couldn't bring myself to put it down. If you for some reason would not want to invest the time in this book, watch the great (and sadly underrated) movie! Then read the book.

Rich people do be like that

*image review: https://lenaleigh.blogspot.com/2021/1...

All best sellers should be this good. The author completely transported me to a Southern gem where eccentric "people flourished like hothouse plants tended by an indulgent gardener."

Yes, starting halfway, this is a true crime/legal thriller about the many trials of Jim Williams but even then it's woven together with the stories and characters of Savannah herself. Savannah is the star.

Playing the audio version while reading the paperback it was interesting to see how many names had been changed! I suppose the locals had no idea the book would be so popular it required translating into Norwegian and Japanese. That was too much infamy for a lazy realtor, lol.

Like many who have read this before me, Savannah is now a bucket list must see destination. A five star read of the true crime genre.

Engaging true crime story set in Savannah, Georgia. Reads like a novel. - Beth H.