TOW #16 – Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

John Berendt moved to Savannah Georgie in the 1980s and became completely enthralled. The people intrigued him enough that he decided to write the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil based off of them and their city of Savannah. In his book Berendt depicts himself getting to know the locals of Savannah, Georgia. He meets Jim Williams (wealthy antique dealer), Luther Diggers (inventor, in possession of deadly poison), Joe Odom (lawyer), Lady Chablis (transgender drag queen), Minerva (voodoo witches), Sonny Seiler (attorney) and Emma Kelly (well-known singer and piano player). The first half of the book is basically just Berendt getting to know the citizens and becoming a friend to some of them. Then in the second part Berendt learns of a murder. The murder of Danny Hansford, a male prostitute. Jim William is the accused and he claims self-defense. Berendt writes of four separate trials, the first two of which are overturned, the third is declared a mistrial and the four states Williams as a free man. While the main plot of the story is the murder of Danny Hansford, Berendt also tells the story of a community that refuses to accept change and who tries to avoid it at all costs.

                Berendt wrote this story, I believe, for two sole reasons. One because he was obsessed with the city of Savannah and wished more people visited it, and two because he wanted people to be aware of the injustice that revolves around not just sex-worker violence but homophobic violence as well. The first reason is proven with Berendts constant use of imagery that he uses to describe the city. The way he paints a picture of Savannah makes it seem so mysterious and beautiful that people can’t help but want to visit just to experience it for themselves. While the second is show through the whole process of the murder trials. Danny Hansford’s case is never given a clear ending. Throughout the trials all Williams does is slander Danny and make him out to be an angry drunk. Today, many gay male prostitutes are beaten and killed and are granted no justice. Berendt being a gay man himself, wanted to bring light this grave injustice by depicting it in his book. Even though in the book Hansford was never given justice, the real life Hansford was, on Feburary 2, 1982 Jim Williams was convicted and forced to face life in prison.