The Devil in the White City has to be one of the most reviewed non-fiction books in the book blogosphere. I can see why – it reads like a novel. So much so that I hear Leonardo DiCaprio bought the rights and is planning to play H.H. Holmes himself.
The book is divided into two alternated (and practically independent) stories: the history of the Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 and that of H. H. Holmes, America’s first documented serial-killer. The slim connection between the two is that Holmes lived in Chicago during the Fair and used the influx of strangers to get away with many murderers.
The first chapters mostly deal with the pre-Exposition events, when architects were hired, committees formed and blueprints drawn. The mission of this impressive group of men was to make the event the greater, larger, more magnificent thing ever seen, especially greater, larger, more magnificent than the recent Paris Expo. I’m sure Freud had a thing of two to say about this desire to “out-Eiffel Eiffel“.
Almost 120 years later, you can tell Larson also fell for the Fair’s spell, but I must confess I often thought “Columbian who?”. Excuse me my ignorance, but I had never heard of the Chicago Exposition before. I did know about the St. Louis one, but then again, there was Judy Garland singing “Meet me in St. Louis“ – not that makes an event last!.
(Talking about marketing, although I liked the book, I felt a bit cheated by the way it was promoted. I was not “murder, magic and madness at the Fair that changed America“. I was more “group of men try to become immortal by organizing a humongous Fair, while in another part of Chicago a serial-killer is on the loose, and in yet another part of the city – because it’s also an interesting story so why not put it in? – a madman kills the mayor”. From the way it was promoted, and from Larson’s introduction, I thought Holmes actually killed (or at least met his victims) at the Fair).
Larson chose his topics well and would be hard pressed to make them sound boring. He tells delicious anecdotes about Helen Keller, Buffalo Bill, Tesla and Susan B. Anthony, but the best part were the micro-stories. They made the Fair come alive: the couples who wanted to marry in the Ferris Wheel, the firemen wounded and killed, the Women Committee’s political battles. My favorite was the one about a Ferris Wheel passenger who had panic attack and another passenger’s drastic measurements to control him:
A woman disrobing in public, a man with a skirt over his head – the marvels of the fair seemed endless.
I looked at many photos of the Fair while reading the book and have to agree with the critics that said that by choosing a neo-classic style, the architects might have lost the opportunity to create something truly ground-breaking and memorable. Because let’s face it, the Ferris Wheel is great, but did it really revolutionized world architecture the way the Eiffel Tower did?
But no matter how exciting a World Fair is, it’s almost impossible to compete with a well-told story about a serial-killer. I wouldn’t be surprised if this part was included after Larson’s editor said something like, “Well Erik, the Fair is a fine idea, great potential, but why not er… spice it up a bit? How about including a serial killer? I’m sure there were some around.”
There were moments during the audiobook (read by Scott Brick), where I got goose-bumps, especially with the graphic descriptions of Holmes’ evil deeds. It made it extra hard to go back to the Fair part of the story.
I must have spent hours on Wikipedia navigating between articles about Daniel Burnham, the Flatiron Building, Graceland Cemetery, the zipper, Cracker Jacks and the Titanic. I always have great respect for books that pique my curiosity (that’s why I’m not a Da Vinci Code nay-sayer) and this was a perfect example.
23 comments
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February 8, 2012 at 12:55 am
Teresa
I liked this a lot too, but you’re absolutely right about the topics seeming too disconnected. I kept waiting for the fair to enter into the serial killer story, but…
February 9, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Alex
It seems a general “complaint”. Still, he pulled it of!
February 8, 2012 at 5:08 am
The Literary Stew
I couldn’t finish this one because I found it so creepy. Fascinating though and so well-written. I’d like to tackle it again before the film comes out.
February 9, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Alex
I don’t know if you reached that part where Holmes’ father-in-law sees the door-nob turn in the middle of the night. That was the creepiest moment of my audiobook.
February 8, 2012 at 6:38 am
Patty
I fully agree on the author’s writing style – having read in the Garden of Beasts, Here the subject is early WWII, not a topic I actually like, but his way of presenting the facts really helped in finishing the book (which btw provided excellent information as well!)
February 9, 2012 at 3:52 pm
Alex
That one is already on my wish-list!
February 8, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Sandy
This book would probably fall in my top ten ever, not just because it is a well-researched and amazing story (stories) but probably because Chicago is one of my favorite cities in the world. I have done countless architecture tours up there so I already knew about Burnham, the fair (where Tiffany had a huge exhibition) and the wheel. And this book just fueled the fire. Because of my love for this book, I was all over In the Garden of Beasts, which was a huge disappointment for me. It just didn’t even come close. Totally agree with you that books like this fire up the desire to know more!
February 9, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Alex
I’ve heard very different opinions of ItGoB that it make me curious. I’ve never visited Chicago 😦
February 8, 2012 at 1:27 pm
farmlanebooks
The audio gave you goosebumps? Wow! I think I’ll get this one on audio and then add my review to the piles of others out there 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it so much. Coincidently I just included it in a list of the best narrative nonfiction books out there.
February 9, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Alex
It’s worth it!
Saw you post and recommended a few additions in my comments. That The Devil was included was expected!
August 7, 2012 at 6:51 pm
Renee Gimelli
I would add to that list “The Emperor of All Maladies”. I listened to “Devil” on audio and it was riveting. I read “The Emperor” in print and couldn’t stop reading.
February 8, 2012 at 1:45 pm
Jay
Hi Alex,
My book club read this one several years ago. I liked both “plot” lines, but found the serial killer sections more gripping. I don’t remember if it was you I told earlier or not, but when Holmes was “on the run” and stopped in. Irvington (east Indianapolis) he rented a cottage (where he killed the little boy) which was only a couple blocks from an apartment where I lived in the early ’90s. Now THAT was quite a surprise when I was reading it! That cottage no longer exists, but I’ve driven by the location a couple times since to see exactly where it happened. Rarely does a book intrude upon my “personal space” like that. 🙂
-Jay
February 9, 2012 at 4:04 pm
Alex
Oh that moment when books and your real-life clash!
February 8, 2012 at 5:46 pm
Ti
I loved this book. I picked it up for the serial killer but ended up loving the fair stuff too. I also saw the documentary on the serial killer (the real one) and it’s such a fascinating story.
February 9, 2012 at 4:08 pm
Alex
Through these comments I see that some people picked it up (mainly?) because of the serial-killer part. That is very interesting!
February 8, 2012 at 9:19 pm
Melissa
I had the exact same reaction to this one. It was so interesting, but I just wanted to go back to Holmes’ story. It was so much more addictive than the fair. I will say that Larson’s book Isaac’s Storm is actually my favorite of his. It’s all about the hurricane that destroyed Galveston at the turn of the century. It was fascinating, esp after Hurricane Katrina.
February 9, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Alex
I’ll take a look at that one as well – sounds good!
February 8, 2012 at 9:32 pm
Sam (Tiny Library)
Even though the topic didn’t appeal to me straight away, every single review I’ve seen of this book has mentioned how well written and enjoyable it is. I think I’ll have to give it a go 🙂
February 9, 2012 at 4:11 pm
Alex
I always thought that saying “it doesn’t read like non-fiction” was unfair to non-fiction, but I it’s the best way to describe this one 😛
February 8, 2012 at 10:34 pm
Audra (Unabridged Chick)
My wife is reading this now and enjoying it, despite not loving non-fic. She, too, is a bit betrayed by the subtitle as she thought the murder met people via the fair. Still, she says it’s pretty fascinating stuff.
February 9, 2012 at 4:18 pm
Alex
I guess the marketing department shouted the loudest…
February 17, 2012 at 9:50 am
Joanna
I’ve been wanting to read this for ages. Sounds like it would make a great movie too!
April 17, 2012 at 2:11 am
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