When was midnight in the garden of good and evil written

New York native Berendt lived off and on in Savannah for eight years, interviewing locals and gathering material for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print.

All requests for permission to publish or reproduce the resource must be submitted to the rights holder. Critics generally were unimpressed with the film adaptation of John Berendt's book or with The Lady Chablis, who played herself in the movie. Author Carl Solana Weeks , Savannah. Originally published Jul 10, Last edited Jan 16, The Book The book is constructed loosely around the shooting of male hustler Danny Hansford by internationally known antiques dealer Jim Williams in May and the subsequent four murder trials that lasted more than eight years.

John Berendt Photograph by Marion Ettlinger. Article Feedback Why are you reaching out to us? Share this Article. Joe Odum. Another character who could be the subject of a book on her own is Lady Chablis.

Chablis had just come out of Dr. She immediately annexes Berendt as her chauffeur. The funniest moment of the entire book occurs toward the end when Chablis tries to attach herself to Berendt as his date to the black debutante ball. Berendt refuses Chablis as his date, but she manages to make an entrance there anyway.

What follows is highly entertaining. When Clint Eastwood directed the film version, Chablis plays herself in the movie. Things picked up after that but classism continues to be a thread throughout.

I enjoyed Chablis and even Joe Odum thumbing their noses at tradition and high society. One theme that Jim Williams puts into play is the power of magical thinking. He does this through a game he invented called Psycho Dice. As he rolls the dice, Williams sends out strong vibrations for the numbers he calls, thinking that doing so improves his odds.

He cools down his young, irascible chauffeur, Danny Hansford by sending out powerful thoughts. He engages the services of voodoo practitioner Minerva, who scrapes up graveyard dirt and touts the recollection of good thoughts thirty minutes before midnight and the utterance of curses for the thirty minutes after midnight as powerful prognosticators.

View all 28 comments. With a murder thrown in for good measure. The book has a real sense of place, as Berendt so beautifully describes this city. I could go on. View 1 comment. This was a decent book.

There was a lot of mood, of which I'm a big fan. The characters all had the potential to be very interesting, but unfortuately, they weren't developed. That's not to say you don't spend a lot of time with them, or find out anything about them, it's just that you don't really give a damn. The book is written by a magazine journalist who ends up living on and off in Savanah, GA for eight years to investigate and chronicle a murder and it's trials.

This book is more or less This was a decent book. This book is more or less one long magazine article, detailng the events, and lives, but never really giving you sympathy for any of the characters. It does a fine job of keeping the mystery of whether Jim Williams really did the deed a secret, but in comparison to In Cold Blood by Truman Capote which I'm reading currently this is not worth the effort.

View all 9 comments. Oct 11, Lena rated it it was amazing Shelves: non-fiction. There was a lot of hype around this book a few years back, but in this case I think it is actually deserved. And, oh, what material! The true-crime mystery at the center of the book—whether the social-climbing, closeted gay antiques dealer shot his lover in cold blood or self-defense—is interesting enough, but Berendt decorates that story with outrageous character portraits There was a lot of hype around this book a few years back, but in this case I think it is actually deserved.

Be wary of the movie version of Midnight, though. Good actors, bad adaptation. If you like the book, however, you may want to watch it just to see the notorious drag queen play herself. Sometimes, truth really is better than fiction. View all 5 comments. One advantage of bringing fresh eyes to an old town like Savannah, Georgia, is that the newcomer can cross social, racial, religious and economic lines with relative ease. Reporter John Berendt made the most of it in this bestseller. Midnight is a penetrating look at Coastal South culture that is zestily written and a hell of a lot of fun to read.

While I enjoyed the ensuing movie very much, I like the book even more because it can take more time doing its job -- basically following a very bemus One advantage of bringing fresh eyes to an old town like Savannah, Georgia, is that the newcomer can cross social, racial, religious and economic lines with relative ease.

While I enjoyed the ensuing movie very much, I like the book even more because it can take more time doing its job -- basically following a very bemused New York reporter Berendt around in search of answers to a controversial murder, as he crosses paths with Uga the "Damn Good Dog," meets Luther the "fly man," gets special permission to visit the Married Women's Card Club, learns about the hustler who was "the good time not yet had by all," dabbles in hoodoo, and of course makes the acquaintance of Lady Chablis, who had to tape her "Thing" down before she appeared in public.

And for all the eccentricity, you'll actually learn a lot about Savannah! Used copies are plentiful, too, even in hardcover. Go for it! Mar 22, Jonathan Ashleigh rated it really liked it Shelves: recent. The writing was great, the story was led into in an interesting way, but the trial was trivial and so were many characters that were introduced in the first half of the book.

That said, I feel like I should have more good things to say about a book I enjoyed reading so much. Shelves: book-club-made-me-do-it , blog. Murder, gullah, drag queens these are a few of my favorite things. There's probably not much I can say about this book that hasn't already been said, but that won't stop me. I saw the movie when it first came out and loved it, but just never got around to reading the book.

I thought that the entire book would be about the murder trial of Jim Williams, the prominent Savannah antiques dealer accused of murdering Danny Hansford with whom it was rumored he was having a sexual relationship. While a generous portion of the book is dedicated to the details of Williams's four trials, the book is much more than that. This is a collection of stories about the people and history of Savannah--some of it true, some of it embellished, and some of it flat-out fabricated.

The characters are eccentric, but likable particularly The Lady Chablis--the foul mouthed drag queen who has labeled herself "The Grand Empress of Savannah;" she's by far my favorite character, followed by Minerva, the fascinating practitioner of voodoo. And, while I knew he was probably a scoundrel, I also liked Jim Williams, who insisted on continuing to live in Savannah because "it pisses off all the right people.

Here's my verdict: who cares? It should also be said that the cover art for the book is perfect. The bird girl of Bonaventure Cemetery stands there like Savannah itself, prim and old-fashioned, holding out both good and evil--head cocked in curiosity to see from which bowl her citizens will take.

Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder Feb 26, Phrynne rated it it was ok. I found this one a struggle. Several times I stopped and looked the title up again on Goodreads to make sure it really is non fiction. Surely all those weird characters could not really have existed in one place. Surely there must have been a huge amount of artistic licence going on. The court cases themselves rang true but ended up not being a major part of the book. Two stars because the author writes well.

My struggle to read it was based purely on disbelief and not at all on the quality of t I found this one a struggle.

My struggle to read it was based purely on disbelief and not at all on the quality of the book. Apr 03, Montzalee Wittmann rated it it was ok. I would be gone from that town soooo fast.

What creepy people! With the strange people you knew the murder mystery would be just as creepy, but not good. Easy to figure out that Jim and Danny were lovers right away. Why hide it in this town? You have a man that only puts make up on one eye, a man who walks an invisible dog, a man that hordes enough poison so he can at sometime k Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story by John Berendt is a weird story about even weirder people!

You have a man that only puts make up on one eye, a man who walks an invisible dog, a man that hordes enough poison so he can at sometime kill everyone, and a transvestite dating a man. These are the sane people! I wasn't impressed with the writing, the plot, or the mystery. His weird characters were weird but that was it. Not my kind of book. View all 6 comments. Due to all the hype, I went out of my way to get this book.

I needn't have bothered. It didn't impress me. The author admits he mixes fact with fictional embellishments, which is sometimes 'okay', and sometimes not. In this instance, it was more of a 'not'. If you love Savannah, or Georgia in general, you'd probably enjoy this book as he totally nails the ambience of that city, and its locals.

If you're looking for a riveting true crime book, this one may not be very enthralling. Aug 18, Jennie Damron rated it really liked it. So this has been on my TBR pile for many years. I am glad I read it and enjoyed the read, but not like I thought I would. Parts of the book seemed unnecessary and disrupted the flow of the story. The writing was well done and I like that the author lived and mingled with the people of Savannah before, during and after the murder trial.

I think that gave the book a deeper resonance and flavor than if he had just researched the trial and the people involved. This was unlike any true crime book I have ever read.

In some cases it didn't even feel like a crime book, but almost like a good novel. I will say that Savannah is now a place I would like to visit based on the way he wrote about it. You can tell he loved the city. It definitely is worth the read and I'm glad I finally read it. I first read this book some 15 years ago, after being lent it by a friend. I now have my own copy. It is a book I go to every few years for a visit. And I must be due for another visit sometime soon.

Jul 26, Maxwell rated it really liked it Shelves: owned , audiobook. The perfect mix of character study and courtroom drama, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil paints a fascinating picture of Savannah, Georgia. It's a moody, atmospheric novel that draws you in with its exquisite descriptions and eccentric cast. There are aristocratic snobs and drag queens, punk rock teens and possibly murderous millionaires. It all sounds a bit too good to be true--based on a series of real events from the 's-- and maybe it is.

How tolerant are they when it comes to the crossing of sexual, racial, or class lines? Do you think that people would put up with Joe Odom and his countless misdemeanors in a city with a different character from Savannah? Might he end up in jail if he lived somewhere else? Do you find him amusing? How much sympathy do you have for him? Reading the book, did you hope for him to be acquitted? Why, or why not? Do you believe that Williams was being deliberately offensive when he displayed this flag?

If so, why? How would you describe the shift in climate after the murder? How did they adjust their attitudes? After everything you have heard about Lee Adler, do you go along with the general opinion people have of him in Savannah? Do you think that the reservations so many people hold about him spring from the fact that he is Jewish? Would his actions and behavior be more good-humoredly accepted if he did not happen to be Jewish? What were his real feelings towards Jim Williams? What was he trying to get out of him?

Is Chablis as frivolous a person as she likes to present herself as being? What does her argument with Burt at the nightclub tell you about her character? I have felt it many times" p. Do you think that Williams is correct? Do you find that relations between the races in the Savannah that Berendt describes are healthier, or less healthy, than in other parts of America?

What might the high black crime rate indicate about the city? What does the black debutante ball tell you about the black community—or at least that part of the black community—in Savannah? Why is Chablis so scornful of the ball and the people there? Do you sympathize with her feelings? At the St. It was a chilling tableau, the more so because it was meant to be surreptitious" p.

What does this say about attitudes in Savannah? Release date November 21, United States. United States. English French. Warner Bros. Malpaso Productions Silver Pictures. Box office Edit. Technical specs Edit. Runtime 2 hours 35 minutes. Related news. Sep 13 The Wrap. Jul 1 Den of Geek. Contribute to this page Suggest an edit or add missing content. Top Gap. See more gaps Learn more about contributing.

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