If you read nothing else this week...
Afonso Campos extoles the virtues of one of America’s finest pieces of modern literature, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt, is a welcome exception to my reading habits. It is not a work of fiction, but rather the enthralling true story of a murder and the events surrounding it. It is doubtlessly one of the finest works of modern American literature. It maintained a place on the New York Times' Bestsellers list for over 200 consecutive weeks after the initial publication.
Set in Savannah, Georgia – arguably one of the weirdest, yet most beautiful cities in the United States – the story unravels at a typically Southern pace. Rightly slow, and oddly soothing. While reading it, I can almost feel the warmth of a perfect Savannah summer night, with the sounds of a moody, dark piano jazz being played a few houses down.
The story, interesting as it is, is not the focus of the book. Rather, Berendt lets the city and its eccentric characters take centre stage. The author really captures what it is about each of the characters that makes them so interestingly real; from the crazy old man who walks a leash without a dog through Oglethorpe Square to Jim Williams, the wannabe aristocrat around whom the story revolves.
It isn't every day that one finds a work of non-fiction that is as linguistically ornate as a work of fiction
It isn't every day that one finds a work of non-fiction that is as linguistically ornate as a work of fiction. Berendt's language, while not overwhelmingly similar, does have undertones that remind me of early Nabokov, yet it captures something that is incongruently worthy of Harper Lee. An element of subdued, distorted reality is prevalent throughout the book and is especially prevalent in the cemetery scenes, set in the heart of Southern voodoo country. The writing is luxuriant, much like the people and the city. It is near perfection. Berendt captures the essence of this picturesque, yet oddly disconnected place in deepest, darkest Georgia.
While there is an eponymous motion picture somewhat based on the book, it could never do the 'novel' justice, despite an outstanding performance by Kevin Spacey and an appearance by a very young Jude Law. If you have not had the fortune of visiting Savannah, upon reading the book you will want nothing more than getting on to the next fight to Atlanta and catching the Greyhound that gets you as close to Mercer House as humanly possible.
