The Devil in White City by Erik Larson

MURDER, MAGIC, AND MADNESS AT THE FAIR THAT CHANGED AMERICA.

devil white city The Devil in White City by Erik Larson

This is the first non fiction book that I’m reviewing here on Book Review Babes.  The Devil in White City is an engrossing story that reads like a novel.  Indeed, the facts within are extraordinary, and with such a tale, it is difficult to believe how infrequently this story has been told over the years.  There are actually two narratives in this book.  One explores the fantastic Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, and the other is the story of America’s first serial killer, but both stories are entwined in incredible ways.

Daniel Burnham was the architect responsible for organizing the World’s Fair.  His is a tale of political intrigue, determination, and the realization of a dream. Burnham crosses paths with some very notable characters, including Thomas Edison, Annie Oakley, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Buffalo Bill, just to name a few.  But along the way he also faces corruption, deceit, and tragedy.

This Fair highlighted the best and worst of a budding American landscape entering a modern age.  It showed how teamwork and common purpose could come together against all odds to accomplish a feat of near perfection.  Something of this magnitude is a testament to the mentality of that age, I think.  I wonder if we could pull something like this off today with the same result.  However, even such a noble undertaking can have its dark side, and the World’s Fair of 1893 had a decidedly dark underbelly.

Many people saw the Fair as a sort of American Mecca… a place where they’d be able to seize their destiny and start anew.  This naive idealism is what caused young women to flee from their rural homesteads and farms to Chicago, in hopes of finding a job, and eventually a sophisticated and well to do husband.  Of course, these women generally lacked the survival skills to navigate life in the big city, and often found themselves lost and disoriented.

This set of circumstances sets the stage for our other tale, that of  Dr. H. H. Holmes, who preyed on these vulnerable young women.  He pretended to be very wealthy, highly educated, and quite sophisticated.  He was also extremely forward with his sexual advances.  He would meet women and promise them everything…marriage, children, stability…. understandably he was able to charm countless unsuspecting women.  Keep in mind, the concept of a serial killer was foreign to America at the time.  It wasn’t part of the psyche.

Holmes carried out his killings in awful fashion.  He put Jack the Ripper to shame.  He would gas, rape, torture, mutilate, burn, dismember, and dissect his victims.  He even bought an entire building where he carried out these awful deeds, and no one suspected him.  Even though the evidence was right there, he continued to get away with his wicked deeds.  These are the parts of the book where you want to scream at the cops that Holmes befriends…you want to shout at his creditors to investigate…you want to shake some sense into the unsuspecting women and tell them he isn’t what he seems.  It is a difficult story, made more visceral in the fact that it is all true.

Larson is a grand story teller.  There isn’t a lot of dialogue to rely on, as the book is told in narrative fashion, and Larson really did his homework.  But, he manages to captivate you with his incredible descriptions that make everything seem urgent and real.  One of my favorite literary devices is the metaphor, and Larson is a master.  With phrases like, “the heat rose with the intensity of a child’s fever” and “sentences wandered through the report like morning glory through the picket of a fence”,  I was instantly swept up in the sights and sounds of the place and time, which enhanced not only the beauty, but also the horror.

I loved the way The Devil in White City alternated between the two plots.  Juxtaposing Burnham’s feats of the impossible and magical against Holmes’ diabolical deeds at the same place and time was brilliant, leaving conflicting feelings of wishing to have been present to witness “Eighth Wonder of the World”, and thankful to have been spared the temptation to partake in such an event.  Avoiding Holmes’ advances may have been more difficult in reality than in the imagination of the reader.

If I had to name a flaw with the book, it would have to be the almost mind numbing detail presented.  It seems that nearly every nail and board and hammer is accounted for in Larson’s research, and some of these details became a bit overwhelming.  But don’t let that deter you.

The Devil in White City is a book that is full of the rapture of a magical time in history, and the terror of a twisted mind set free in a playground of innocence.

Natalina

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Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner

goodnight nobody Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner

At first glance, “Goodnight Nobody” appears to be your run of the mill classic chick lit.  While it is true that there are elements that will appeal to the traditional chick lit audience, the reality is that this is also a fantastic murder mystery, as well as an unapologetic commentary on the way women tend to lose themselves in their duties to others. It comes  from one of the most laugh out loud and brutally honest authors I’ve read in years, Jennifer Weiner.

The story involves housewife Kate Klein, who has been transplanted from New York City to the quiet town of Upchurch, Connecticut. She is married to a kind but distant career minded man and has 3 children.

While in the city, Kate herself was on the fast track as a journalist, and enjoyed fun nights out on the town with her best friend, Janie. But in Connecticut, she lives in a world of supermommies, mini vans, and designer diaper bags. Kate struggles to fit in, but she finds that she just isn’t really cut out for mommy-and-me pilates.  She remembers what it was like to be a free spirited writer, and grows weary of domestic life.

Her world is shaken by the murder of mommy extraordinaire, Kitty Cavanaugh, whose body Kate herself discovers. She finds herself completely wrapped up in trying to find the killer, and through this, discovers that not everything is what it seems in this perfect little town.

Things become more complicated when she finds that there is a connection between the deceased Kitty and Kate’s old flame, Evan. Although she hasn’t seen him for years, they meet again, and team up to try to get to the bottom of Kitty’s murder. In the process, they begin to rekindle some of those old feelings, leaving Kate confused and distracted as she tries to navigate her way through her feelings for Evan and her commitment to her husband.

“Goodnight Nobody” is a funny and honest look at how women struggle to fit in, and how boredom and doubt can sneak their way into even the most seemingly ideal of situations. The outcome is not necessarily what you would expect, and we are left relating to Kate, and cheering for her as she tries to find herself in a world where everyone tries to tell her who she should be, and where her loyalties should lie.   The title is a reference to the children’s book, “Goodnight Moon” in which a child says good night to everything in sight.  Kate says good night to nobody, spending most nights sleeping alone while her husband works.

The dialogue is funny and sincere, with some of the best comic relief delivered by best friend Janie, who joins Kate on her journey, and goes from drinking martinis in the city to Vodka and Pedialite cocktails in the suburbs.

I recommend this book especially to all women who find themselves trying to live up to standards that others have set for them, and who yearn to be loved in the way they deserve, without losing themselves in the process.
Natalina

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Welcome to Book Review Babes!

We are currently building the site so it may take on a few different schizophrenic personas over the next months as we toss ideas back and forth in a civilized manner over a cup of coffee and then move on to sipping Gins and Tonic…which will most likely end with us rolling on the floor pulling hair and bitch-slapping each other senseless until one of us gets our way. We’ll just have to see who the tougher babe is.

As my partner in crime is off the interwebs for a short time, I’ll wait for her to come back to see if we add in some photos to introduce ourselves to you all. I’d just go ahead and post some but she’s stronger than me and may punch me for doing so…which of course takes us back to the hair pulling and scratching…just no biting or hitting below the belt (at least not while she can see it coming).

coffee girls Welcome to Book Review Babes!

But without further ado, the Babes are:

CJ - who lets out her bloodlust by running Vampire Daze. She also has a couple of others up her sleeve because she seems to have a nasty case of multiple personality disorder. She’ll let you know when they’re up and running.

And,

Natalina – who chases down the paranormal and all other weird, wonderful and spooky things over on Extraordinary Intelligence. She also has her fingers in many pies (metaphorically speaking or we’d have very sticky keyboards) and we both may expand a little on ourselves with some mini bios…if we can be bothered. And you may choose to read them…if you can be bothered.

We don’t fool ourselves, we know you don’t give a tinker’s damn about us, it’s all about the books!

Well about that. We both read a lot. Not just books either, the occasional cereal box and junk mail gets a look in too sometimes. But we won’t be reviewing them. Unless of course it is an exceptionally well written cereal box or junk mail. What we will be reviewing is many different genres and every now and then – just to shake things up – we will give our separate opinions on the same book.

You can expect to find, drama, history, horror, thrillers, Sci-fi, award winning literature, classics, fiction, non-fiction, biographies and maybe even the odd graphic novel. What you won’t see too much of is chick lit. Neither of us are really into the romance genre. We may visit there every now and but expect it to be infrequently.

If you love books as much as we do we hope you’ll come back and visit, we’ll be posting reviews as often as we can. Damn, if you actually like what we write feel free to subscribe. Go on…please…our egos need boosting.

Happy reading.

CJ & Natalina

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