Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
John Berendt, 1994
True crime Mystery, thriller & crimeContemporary fictionLiterary fiction
A reporter drifts into Savannah's closed world of antiques, manners and eccentrics, where a killing turns social comedy into something darker.
Feels like curiosity and unease. About society.
A page from the book
What a city gains by refusing to let the world in.
For me, Savannah’s resistance to change was its saving grace. The city looked inward, sealed off from the noises and distractions of the world at large. It grew inward, too, and in such a way that its people flourished like hothouse plants tended by an indulgent gardener. The ordinary became extraordinary. Eccentrics thrived. Every nuance and quirk of personality achieved greater brilliance in that lush enclosure than would have been possible anywhere else in the world. John Berendt.Berendt first visited Savannah in 1981 and ended up staying for years; he reported the book over nearly a decade, living part-time in the city.
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- What is Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil like?
- Feels like curiosity and unease. About society.
- What should I read after Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?
- If you liked Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, try One of Us Is Lying (Karen M. McManus), The Maid (Nita Prose) and The Briar Club (Kate Quinn).
A taste of the feed
What a parent’s ambition feels like from inside the child.
My hand hurts within minutes. It’s pathetic, I guess, but I can’t remember the last time I wrote anything longhand. Plus I’m using my right hand, which never feels natural no matter how many years I’ve done it. My father insisted I learn to write right-handed in second grade after he first saw me pitch. Your left arm’s gold, he told me. Don’t waste it on crap that don’t matter. Which is anything but pitching as far as he’s concerned.
One of Us Is Lying · Karen M. McManus
The phrase adults use to end arguments, taken apart by someone who won't.
Life really hasn’t been very fair to you, Pete. I’m sorry about that.“ ”Mom says life isn’t fair, and that’s all there is to it.“ ”Your mom says that to justify the fact that *she* isn’t being fair to *you*,“ Mrs. Grace said calmly. ”which is mostly what people mean when they say life isn’t fair. It isn’t, which is why people should endeavour to be *more* fair to one another, not less.
The Briar Club · Kate Quinn
The terrifying possibility that destruction can birth a terrible new beauty.
They’ll pull your life apart and stick it back together with vomit and shit, but it’ll still be more beautiful than you ever thought possible.
The It Girl · Ruth Ware
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