Essay On The Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil

The book I chose to do for my book review was the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. This suspenseful story was about a 1981 murder trial in Savannah, Georgia, and was written in 1994. The author was John Berendt and he draws a clear picture of what Savannah's residents were like by using the themes of money, isolation, illusion, and good versus evil.
The book begins by explaining how the main character came to simultaneously live in Savannah and New York. He describes his childhood fascination with Savannah, and his preconceived idealistic view of the city. Once he visits Savannah, he decides to rent an apartment and live there most of the year. He begins to adjust to Savannah and describes various eccentric characters in vivid detail. Among these descriptions includes Joe Odom, a swindling financially unstable musician, who works his way out of sticky situations using his charm and wit. Lee Adler, a confident, is the self-declared savior of Savannah society. Lady Chablis is an outspoken drag queen, who receives routine shots of estrogen. There's also Luther Driggers, a disturbed man, who possesses
However, in true Southern Gothic fashion, Berendt shows that below the surface, Williams is a prideful, mystifying subject with hidden homosexual tendencies. Danny Hansford is his much younger assistant and lover and has a history of violent and destructive behavior. Though the evidence in the case is inconclusive, Williams has an extreme faith in his ability to use his acquired wealth, power and prominence to extract himself out of any situation. Williams represents the authority and destructive perceptions that self-righteous attitudes can bring, while Danny Hansford represents a less powerful, poorer population that others see as worthless and