The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Dear library,

I don’t think you realize just how much I truly want Erik Larson’s, In the Garden of Beasts. I think that if you realized how much I enjoyed The Devil in the White City then you would know that I must read In the Garden of Beasts to really feel as though my life is complete.

Sincerely,

Brooke

 Review:

In case you haven’t heard of Erik Larson, his writing style is similar to In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, probably one of my favorite books of all time. Larson has the remarkable ability to weave in facts about history by telling a story, so instead of reading a reference book on facts about the Chicago World’s Fair, I’m actually reading the story of how the Chicago World’s Fair was created and how a serial killer was able to get away with killing numerous women during this time period.

Yes, I did say serial killer. Now I see that I’m peaking your interest instead of making you yawn. The only reason I stumbled upon Erik Larson and his vivid and amazing writing was because I was looking for some nonfiction pieces to share with my students. The library happened to have book discussion kits over this book, so I checked one out and started reading. And then I could not put the book down.

There were times when I would skim over chapters about the creation of the World’s Fair just so I could get to Dr. H. H. Holmes and his various ways of “taking care” of people. While reading this book, I actually started to question my own morality. Really, what kind of person am I to really want to get to the “good parts”, when in this instance, getting to the good parts meant reading about a serial killer’s escapades? However, I think it had more to do with Larson’s writing then my own morality, because I was so involved in Holmes’s morality or really immorality.

This book was written in 2003, so I’m sure I’m a little late to the game, but Larson’s new book In the Garden of Beasts has gotten a lot of hype this summer. Currently I’m number 47 on my library’s reserve list. Hopefully the library will come to its senses soon and I will be delving into the history of Germany during Hitler’s reign.