This book gives me the best reading experience ever!!! I nv so consistently enjoy reading a novel as this one! And ironically, it isn't even a fiction work! It's categorized under a rather obscure genre, which I guess can be called non-fiction novel. The entire structure of the book has a feel of a novel, though there is a little resemblance to a continuous chain of short stories as well, but all the characters and the events mentioned in the book are based on real facts and observation of a journalist (except for a few minor points of the story).
The novel is basically about what a newspaper columnist, John Berendt (the author), encounter, observed and interviewed on a group of interestingly bizarre eccentrics in the town of Savannah, Georgia, US, as well as the mystery and court-case of a murder crime. And gosh, Savannah really do have lots of fascinating eccentrics, ranged from the self-made antique seller Jim Williams, the ever-charming and hospitable real estate shark Joe Odom, the weird inventor Luther Driggins who happens to possess a bottle of poison strong enough to kill the entire townspeople if he ever decided to poison their source of water, the vulgar but captivating transvestite Lady Chablis, the voodoo priestess Minerva, who uses graveyard dirt to put curses on people as well as conduction voodoo rituals in the graveyard 30 minutes before and after midnight (the 30 minutes b4 midnight is for doing good, the 30 minutes after for doing evil, thus the title)... etc etc.
All the characters are so remarkably bizarre that it's almost impossible to believe that they're all real-life people. One reason why so many eccentrics exist in Savannah is bcuz the town have always have an unusual high tolerance towards unconventional people, and in fact, they become like some sort of minor celebrity in their charming, secluded town. Some of the aura of the Old South still lives in Savannah, and people who have watched or read Gone With the Wind will know what I mean immediately: the elitist party that they have all the time, the upper class etiquette, and the charming hospitability most of the townspeople have with them all the time. Savannah truly seemed to be disconnected from the world around them, and the town stubbornly refuse to give in to any foreign influences, espeacially from the Yankees (North). It almost seems as if the Confederates nv lose the American Civil War after all!
The murder trials at the 2nd part of the book is also a great read. For a guy who has nv read any books on court cases (ya i know it's about time I expose myself to John Grisham), I enjoy reading about the proceedings of the trials. The best thing about the 2nd part is that eventhough there is a grim murder trial going on in town, the people there still are as charming as ever, and the writer's good story-telling skills really makes reading the book a pure joy!
It is amazing I nv took any notice of this book until I accidentally stumbled upon it after a long, complicated links search using Amazon.com (ya, reading reviews is one of my hobby). There is no book I enjoyed reading more, for even books that I love so dearly (e.g. 1984, The Lord of the Rings) somehow always contains small parts that I find it a chore to read thru. But there is none of that in John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I heartily recommend it to all book lovers!!!
Oh ya, in case u have already watched Clint Eastwood's movie adaptation of the book, know that the critics find the book much more superior than the movie. So even if u dislike the movie, juz go give the book a try! I'm sure u'll be as eager to travel to Savannah as I am now after reading it!!! =D
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