I finished my first book!

Be happy for me!

As part of this fifty-book craze, i'm gonna do little reviews, to a) get me in shape and b) Because it's what I saw someone else do, and I am shamelessly aping it. Speaking of apes, I saw part of Planet of the Apes. Hi-larious. We have to see it sometime.

Damn you, you dirty stinking apes!

1. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt.

This is a odd little book. I've heard commendations of this before, mostly in pop-culture filler trash, and most recently in Zz's booklist. I learnt there's a movie as well. I can't remember exactly, but I think the guy has done something recently as well. Anyway, here's a small synopsis of the book: It's about a town. Not just any town, but a specific town. Called Savannah.

Savannah is effectively in the Deep South, but it's become all weird and, not quite gentrified, just...dotty. Berendt does a good job of both getting and showcasing the odd characters around the town; the scientist with the deadly poison, the drag queen, the antique dealer, the grandiose houses. He manages to make it interesting without glorifying. Being a magazine writer helps.

There is effectively no plot: you read through about half the book just learning about the oddballs who live here. The only 'major' plot point as such involves a protracted murder trial involving the above antique dealer. The thing is, the characters themselves are so interesting, and writing smooth enough, the book doesn't really tend to bog down. There is plenty of asides, distractions, commentary, but essentially, works. He's convinced me enough to visit this place at least. Berendt himself put it best: the town is like a luxuriant glasshouse, tended by an indulgent gardener, so that the ordinary became extraordinary, and that the oddball eccentrics tended to survive. It's a good read. Lots of nifty facts, and I didn't realise how important this town is. Whitney invented the cotton gin there damn it! I love those things. Can't get enough of them. Ginny.

I might just update this post as I go along, possibly quite like some form of...say, a progress report. If the post gets too big, i'll break it up, yadda yadda yadda etc etc. Now go read.