Savannah soap opera.

Okay, the only reason that I picked up John Berendt's 1993 book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was because the branch library I was browsing in had apparently just weeded all of their 900s, and this was pretty much the only thing that remotely appealed. When it appeared back when this writer was in braces, it had instant appeal, became a bestseller, was mentioned on This Old House and was made into film starring Kevin Spacey and Jude Law. That's right. Kevin Spacey and Jude Law. This must be compelling stuff.

Well, I'm always a little skeptical of bestsellers, and I seem to recall some sort of controversy over Berendt's truthiness in his 'plot'. In fact, Amazon calls the book a novel, but various aspects of the book (the real life trial it centers on, the people it depicts) are real and therefore should put the book squarely on the nonfiction shelves--which was where I found it. Publisher's Weekly considers it a travelogue, if that helps. I think you see from the title what I would call it.

However you want to pigeonhole the book, Berendt should get a lot of credit for finding a good story and the characters to go with it. The title refers to some voodoo mischief relating to the trial of a wealthy antiques dealer accused of murdering his lover in a fit of passion. Actually, that's one of the trials: like everything else in Savannah, things seem to be done a little differently. So along with the recounting of the four trials, we also hear of the denizens of this odd little city: the slightly disturbed inventor with a deadly bottle of poison and a surprising knowledge of the city water supply; the industrious voodoo witch; and most notably the over-the-top, sashaying Lady Chablis, formerly known as Frank.

It's kind of fun to watch soaps for a few minutes, and I did enjoy Midnight for about 2/3 of the book. But by the third of fourth go through with the trial, I was beginning to get a little bored. Even throughly odd people can become rather pedestrian if you spend too much time with them. Coupled with my distrust of Berendt's narrative (I'm the sort that likes a thick, definite line between my fiction and my nonfiction), I can only summon up a weak 'eh' by way of an opinion. If you like quasi-novel type travelogues with a true crime mix, it's worth a look.