Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
A nonfiction narrative centered on Savannah's eccentric society and the Jim Williams murder case, where fact and storytelling intertwine.
Work Information
The atmosphere of the city lingers even more strongly than the outline of the crime.
Following the murder trial in Savannah, the book carefully sketches the city's eccentric residents and social climate. Alongside the mystery of the case, it brings into view place-memory and class tension.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Vintage
- Published
- 1999-07-06
- Pages
- 400 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 13.23 x 2.31 x 20.29 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780679751526
- ISBN-10
- 0679751521
- Price
- 2952 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/History/Americas/United States/20th Century
THE LANDMARK NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, NOW A MAJOR MUSICAL COMING SOON TO BROADWAY • 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 • 30th Anniversary Edition with a New Afterword by the Author. 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. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a sublime and seductive reading experience. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, this true-crime book has become a modern classic.
The son of two writers, JOHN BERENDT grew up in Syracuse, New York. He earned a B.A. in English from Harvard University, where he worked on the staff of The Harvard Lampoon. After graduating in 1961, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in publishing. Berendt has written for David Frost and Dick Cavett, was editor of New York magazine from 1977 to 1979, and wrote a monthly column for Esquire from 1982 to 1994. Berendt first traveled to Savannah in the early 1980s, when he realized that he could fly there for a three-day weekend for the price of “a paillard of veal served on a bed of wilted radicchio” [p. 24] in one of New York’s trendier restaurants. Over the ensuing eight years his visits became more frequent and extended, until he was spending more time in Savannah than in New York. Part of the appeal, Berendt says, lay in the city’s penchant for morbid gossip: “People in Savannah don’t say, ‘Before leaving the room, Mrs. Jones put on her coat.’ Instead, they say, 'Before leaving the room, Mrs. Jones put on the coat that her third husband gave her before he shot himself in the head.” ( Entertainment Weekly , 3/11/94, p. 52) Since the publication and unprecedented success of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil , Berendt has become a Savannah celebrity and was even presented with the key to the city. “I took it down to City Hall one night to see if it would work, but it didn't.” ( Syracuse Post Standard , 4/5/1994)
Reviews
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この本を片手に・・・
俳優として、そして映画監督としても成功しているクリント=イーストウッドの作品ということで，映画の方から見てしまいましたが・・・、やっぱり、原作の方は描写がより一層、肉厚です。あの映画が気に入ったなら、絶対に原作も読むべき。全米一、美しいとされるサバナの気候、建築・美術、そして人々の生活・特性が主人公の主観と客観が重なり合いながら描かれています。空気、香り、騒音、光など土地へのそして人々への作者の愛情がミステリーというジャンルにもかかわらず、所々垣間見える、そんな柔らかさももっています。絶対に、この小説を片手にサバナを旅している人が世界中にいると思うけど・・・。私もそろそろ仲間入りかな。
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妖しくも魅力的な人々
何の予備知識もなく手に取った本だったが、不思議な魅力に引き込まれて最後まで読み通してしまった。 舞台はアメリカの南部、東海岸に位置する大西洋に面した街Savannahだ。Savannahは古い歴史を誇るが、交通の便が悪いこともあり周囲の街から人的にも経済的にも隔離されており、多数の広場と復刻された南北時代の趣のある建物が広がる、美しく一見のどかな地方都市だ。 主人公はニューヨークに在住する雑誌ライターだが、偶然訪れたこの街に魅せられて1年のうち何ヶ月かをこの街で過ごすようになり、次第にこの街の妖しくも不思議な魅力を持った住人と交流を深めることになる。本書の魅力はまさしくこの不思議な住人達だ。 本書には余りきちんとしたストーリはないが、メインといえるのはJim Williamsの殺人事件だ。Jimは貧しい少年時代を過ごすがアンティーク売買で財を成してSavannahに移り住んだこの街の新興名士の一人だが、実はゲイであり、若いヒモのDannyを射殺してしまう。故意か正当防衛かを裁判で激しく争うが、新事実が次から次に出てきて二転三転する。その過程でJimは次第に呪術師の黒人女性Minervaの念力に依存するようになり、裁判は更に不思議な展開を辿る。 それ以外にも弁護士資格を有するにもかかわらず仕事もせず、実質的には無一文なのに、家賃を払っていない家で怪しげな観光事業を行い、日夜友人達とどんちゃん騒ぎを繰り広げるJoe Odomや、一見美しい黒人女性だが実はホルモン注射で女性になりきろうとするダンサーのChablisなど、不思議な人々が多数登場する。 実は読み終わった時点では本書は小説だと思っていたのだが、後書きでこれがノンフィクションであると知って愕然とした次第で、それぐらい不思議な人たちが不思議な行動を取る話で、個人的にはかなり気に入りました。
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サバンナはサバンナでも
ジョージア州サバンナという古いアメリカの南部の町で繰り広げられる風変わりな住人の物語です。てっきりフィクションだと思っていたので、読後ノンフィクションだと知って大ショックでした。ここで語られる人達の変わっていることと言ったらそれはもう想像を絶しています。フィクションでもちょっとやり過ぎだと思ったくらいです。どれくらい変わってるかって、そりゃあ読んでからのお楽しみです。 映画は本の強烈な面白さには遠く及びませんでしたが、ニューハーフのシャブリちゃん本人が出演しているので必見です。
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キャラクターで読ませる物語
クリント・イーストウッドが映画化したということで、前々から気になっていましたが、実話に基づくというストーリー自体は正直それ程面白いと感じませんでした。ストーリー展開よりも、サバンナという街に魅了された作者（EsquireやNew York Magazineの編集者、コラムニストを務めたJohn Berendt氏)が出会うキャラクターの魅力で読ませる作品です。 上記の大衆誌でライターを務めたという作者の経歴からか、文章は大変読みやすいです。英語を勉強中の方、映画が気に入って原作にチャレンジしてみたいという方にはお勧めします。
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Mezzanotte nel giardino del bene e del male
Lo stile del linguaggio è molto curato nella ricerca della semplicità e facilità di lettura, i periodi sono relativamente brevi e scorrevoli, non vengono usati quasi mai termini ricercati e le espressioni idiomatiche usate sono abbastanza intuitive. Risulta quindi un buon libro su cui far pratica per chi sta studiando l’inglese. La copertina è un po troppo leggera sembra di aver tra le mani una rivista più che un libro, al contrario la carta delle pagine è di buona grammatura e piacevole al tatto. La trama è basata per lo più su persone e fatti reali, ed è incentrata sulla descrizione della città di Savannah e dei suoi cittadini da parte di un giovane giornalista che come tutti cede al fascino alla magnificenza e alla singolarità dei luoghi e dei personaggi incontrati. L’impressione che ho avuto ad inizio lettura è stata quella di esser immersi in un mondo elitario o addirittura in un epoca fuori dal tempo stesso in cui è ambientato il romanzo, un’atmosfera tipo anni venti, simile a quella del Grande Gatsby di Francis Scott Fitzgerald tanto per fare un esempio, atmosfera che sembra percepita è desiderata dai personaggi stessi della storia. Il titolo diventa sempre più eloquente avanzando con la lettura che piano piano mette in mostra la duplice faccia delle medaglie, anche di quelle più lucenti. Sperando di esservi stato utile auguro a tutti una piacevole letura
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The fils and bookgh
I have the DVD of this film which I rewatch many times so thought I would read the book. I love them both and they are a look into another era which is stunning and beautiful and which sinks into degradation on a very sad level. I would give them both 10 stars
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very nice experience
it gives experience that story happening in front of you. and you watch all as you are the one neighbour to mencers house. ....
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Second time
When I hit 60 I promised myself I would never again reread a book. If I am gonna read all the books I hope to read, it’s one time and one time only. Except for this book I really need to reread this book
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The cattiest, drunken vibe of a book you will ever read
This book is just saucy. It’s like a dip into a pool of a naughty other world where murder and drunkenness and the cattiest of society are all just gorgeously mainstream. I mean who doesn’t love a good drink while you shoot a lover? If you’re up for reading a great story that is as much vibe as story, make yourself a drink or a pitcher of drinks, and cuddle in.