Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
by John Berendt
Publisher: Vintage (1995)
ISBN: 0-09-952101-6
Binding: Softcover
Pages: 388
Condition: Good [See Condition Guide below]
Synopsis:
Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty,early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case.
It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman's Card Club; the turbulent young redneck gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the "soul of pampered self-absorption"; the uproariously funny black drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young blacks dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else.
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Book Condition Guide:
EXCELLENT - No defects, little usage. May show remainder marks. Older books may show minor flaws.
VERY GOOD - Shows some signs of wear and is no longer fresh.
GOOD - The average used book with all pages present. Books with loose bindings, highlighting, cocked spine, torn dust jackets, fall into this category.
FAIR - Obviously well-worn and handled but no text pages are missing, however, it may be without endpapers or a title page. There might be markings, but they do not interfere with readability.
POOR - All text is legible but may be soiled and have binding defects. Reading copies and binding copies fall into this category
