Have you ever had your image of something so irrevocably shaped that whenever you hear it mentioned, you immediately visualize it in a particular manner? I have discovered that this has happened to me with the city of Savannah, Georgia. Even though I have never been there, I have an indelible impression of its people and places carved into my mind.
Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil has shaped my image of Savannah to such an extent that visiting now may only disappoint. Since so many of the characters in both the book and movie of that title have either died or moved on it would be like a family reunion with all your favourite relatives not in attendance.
John Berendt wrote Midnight in 1994 as a recounting of how he came to be in Savannah in the eighties on a whim and ended up becoming so fascinated with the city visiting on and off for the next ten years. Part travelogue, part gossip column, part murder mystery, but mainly a lot of fun Midnight introduces us to a wide variety of characters, situations and places which if this were a work of fiction we would accuse the author of suffering from a surfeit of imagination.
While Clint Eastwood's film adaptation of the book revolves around one incident, the murder of a hustler by his wealthy employer cum homosexual lover, the book spreads its net wider. What takes place in the span of a year in the movie are the events of around ten years in the life of Savannah. The murder and the ensuing trials act as a tailor’s dummy that Mr. Berendt can dress in the various colours and styles of Savannah.
Antique dealer and restorer Jim Williams (the accused murderer)'s circle of friends, acquaintances and enemies spreads into every nick and cranny of life in Savannah. From his lawyer Sonny, who represents Uga, the bulldog mascot of The Georgia Bulldogs football team, to The Lady Chablis, the cross dressing female impersonator, this group gives proof to the saying that variety is the spice of life.
Article comments
1 - DrPat
Nice review of a squirrelly book, G-Man!
2 - Martian Anthropologist
I own the movie but haven't watched it yet. I heard it wasn't good, but based on your review I'll have to watch it. It sounds fascinating.
3 - alpha
Nice Review. A...good book...usually. I did appreciate the New Yorker's picture of the South as I am a southerner become New Yorker hating the South.
And the womens' group meeting on schedule. Not so different than the Westchester group.
Even liked the movie just not as much.
4 - Nancy
This was one book where I liked it & it's movie, thoroughly enjoyed all the characters, and thanked God I didn't actually know any of them! But it did spark a determination to go visit Savannah sometime - preferably when the hurricane season is over, in the winter.
5 - Bruce Kratofil
I spent a day in Savannah a couple of weeks ago -- we've been vacationing for the past five years on one of the barrier islands down there close to Savannah, and always spend a day there.
I didn't read the book till after my first visit, but loved it. Of course, already having seen the Mercer House, the squares, etc, meant I didn't have to use my imaginiation.
The movie is OK -- obviously it has to take considerable liberties with the actual events, because otherwise it wasn't filmable.
In addition to Midnight, good portions of these movies were filmed in Savannah: Forrest Gump, Forces of Nature, Bagger Vance, the original The Longest Yard, Glory. I'm probably forgetting some.
Oh yes, there is no open container law in Savannah -- you can go into a bar, order a beer in a "to go" cup, and walk the streets drinking it. Particularly useful along the waterfront.
6 - Pat Cummings
This book review has been selected for Advance.net. You’ll be able to find this and other Blog Critics reviews at such places as Cleveland.com’s Book Reviews column.
7 - Phillip Winn
I love this movie, love it, love it, love it. Now I have to read the book, too!
8 - alpha
Phillip. It was a really good movie adaptation. Fun. But the book was better and will give you more story for your dollar. Definitely to be read which I didn't think when it was first published and reviewed -- "Oh yeah, a book about a stuffy town in Georgia." I was wrong. Not about the stuffiness, just the book.
Besides, how many titles get that good besides A Streetcar Named Desire?
9 - Nick Jones
I loved the book, liked the movie. I found The Lady Chablis to be the most fascinating character; there's no-one else who could have played her. I especially love the scene where she tries to seduce John Cusack's Berendt.