Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

By: John Berendt

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman, Will Damron, John Berendt

Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An enormously engaging portrait of a most beguiling Southern city: “Elegant and wicked.... [This] might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime."—The New York Times Book Review

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 flows 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.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a sublime and seductive listening experience. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, this true-crime book has become a modern classic.

©1994 by John Berendt (P)1995 by Random House Audio Publishing, Inc., All Rights Reserved Under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions, Reproduced by Arrangement with Random House Audio Publishing, Inc.

Critic reviews

“John Berendt has written a gorgeous and haunting blend of travel book and murder mystery. It is enchanting and disturbing and deeply atmospheric.”—Michael Herr

“Forceful, clear, gripping, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is the best nonfiction novel since In Cold Blood and a lot more entertaining, since Berendt’s book has everything going for it—snobbism ruthless power, voodoo, local color, and a totally evil estheticism. I read it till dawn.”—Edmund White

“John Berendt has the ability to make the truth read like an exciting novel. This book is original, funny, and bleak—and it beckons quite alluringly to armchair adventurers who are as curious about human nature as about the nature of certain places. I finished reading it convinced that Savannah, may be the greatest performance artist of our day.”—Ann Beattie

Performances added to the magic

The vocal performance was outstanding and captured every emotion of each character. Some of the chapters were a bit long but wonderfully written.

Good because its true

What makes this story so good is the fact that it is a true story and as crazy as some of the events sound they are in fact true.

Great!

Excellent story elevated by excellent narration. As a American from the south east, this book really spoke to me. The characters reminded me of my friends and neighbors.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

A friend recently asked me if I'd read this book. Of course I had! That is, when it was first published in 1995; when I added to my Bucket List a tour of Savannah with prerequisite martini in the Bonaventure Cemetery, alongside my intentions for tea on the highest sand dune in the North African Desert (from The Sheltering Sky). I remembered very well the spirit and spunk of the book, the debauchery, the snobbery, the scandal, the history, and according to Lady Chablis... 'Two tears in a bucket, motherf**k it'; I remember picturing that Mercer house during one of its high parties, tables spread with low-country deliciousness and magnolias, competing for room on the antique tables with the silver platters and chafing dishes owned by Jim Williams, but I'd forgotten the intimacy of the story -- the whispered in your ear type of telling that leaves you feeling like you were getting first hand the latest and most scandalous gossip. That was half the fun, the trivia and minutiae that gave each character such color that they almost jumped out of the book and told their own story.

I listened again this week, 22 yrs. after my first reading of the book and it felt completely new and fun, like catching up with old favorite acquaintances and all the new scuttlebutt. I didn't know that this is the story of an actual murder trial [see: James Arthur Williams and/or Brenda Dale Knox), known professionally as The Lady Chablis] because i never realized in 1995 that the book is categorized as *non-fiction,* though I surely should have. You just can't make up stuff this good! Not just a blast from the past, but a blast!

I decided that every community has it's characters and their legends -- those potboilers eschewed by the social pages and instead whispered directly ear to ear, we just don't have Berendt to write them out with such jazz and spice. This was an especially fun listen. The honeyed Southern accent(s) of the narrator make even Lady Chablis' raunchy stand-up routine sound like something Johnny Mercer himself might have penned a love song to. Woodman does an excellent of job of transporting you to the land of Spanish moss-covered oak trees, cobblestone courtyards, and the voodoo graveyard gardens of midnight.

As smooth as Savannah

I enjoyed my visit to Savannah this summer and managed to revisit the city again through "The Book." Hearing the author's interview at the end was a happy surprise. I read "The Book" years ago and forgot about the engaging characters. You don't have to visit Savannah to enjoy "The Book" but it definitely helps bring the story even more to life.

One of the best books I've read

I loved the larger than life characters in this book. I was so surprised to learn from the author that the book is a work of nonfiction. It was just a delightful listen! I was so wonderful I just may listen to it again. I highly recommend this book. My husband and I have to plan a trip to Savannah now and catch a Joe O tour.

Great narrator!

The narrator was really incredible! He made every single character sound different and believable! EXCELLENT!

A southern jem

Very well done. Great travel book to Georgia. The narrator was fabulous to listen to the changing voices for different people.

Best Book!!

Would you listen to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil again? Why?

Yes and I have.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?

Clary's

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

That Savannah is really in my blood and I didn't know it.

Any additional comments?

Read it and buy your plane ticket! Seriously!

incredible

the book is amazing, the narrator was perfect. I can honestly say this is the best book I've listened to so far! loved it!