The best non-fiction novel since "In Cold Blood" is a true story of intrigue, murder, forgery and eccentricity set in the steamy, surreal atmosphere of Savannah, Georgia. The unpredictable twists and turns of a murder case are skilfully interwoven with a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Biographies & Memoirs

BERENDT, John

True Crime

Vintage Books

The #1 New York Times bestseller! Twelve years ago, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil exploded into a monumental success, residing a record-breaking four years on the New York Times bestseller list (longer than any work of fiction or nonfiction had before) and turning John Berendt into a household name. The City of Falling Angels is Berendt's first book since Midnight, and it immediately reminds one what all the fuss was about. Turning to the magic, mystery, and decadence of Venice, Berendt gradually reveals the truth behind a sensational fire that in 1996 destroyed the historic Fenice opera house. Encountering a rich cast of characters, Berendt tells a tale full of atmosphere and surprise as the stories build, one after the other, ultimately coming together to portray a world as finely drawn as a still-life painting.

The City of Falling Angels

Historical

Penguin??Books

Se cumplen ahora diez años desde que John Berendt publicara su primer libro, Medianoche en el jardín del bien y del mal, título que batió record al permanecer cuatro años en la lista de libros más vendidos del New York Times. La inimitable capacidad de Berendt para recrear lugares, convirtió Savannah, la ciudad retratada, en un lugar exótico que incluso vio cómo el turismo incrementaba en un 46% a raíz de la publicación del libro.Sólo Berendt es capaz de producir un fenómeno de estas características, y por eso él es el escrito indicado para capturar la esencia de Venecia: ciudad de máscaras, de puentes estrechos y callejones oscuros, de belleza descomunal. Venecia una ciudad que se mueve entre los miles de años de historia y sus obras de arte y la decadencia.La ciudad donde los ángeles caen da comienzo con los acontecimientos que se produjeron el 29 de enero de 1996, cuando un terrible incendio destruyó la ópera Fenice. La pérdida del Fenice, donde se estrenaron cinco importantes obras de Vivaldi, es una catástrofe para los venecianos.Tres días más tarde John Berendt llega a la ciudad y sin apenas darse cuenta se convierte en una especie de detective que gradualmente revelará la verdad que se esconde tras semejante desastre.En el curso de la investigación, Berendt nos presenta a personajes pintorescos: un poeta veneciano que se suicida, dejando tras de sí una mancha de crimen y misterio, la primera familia de expatriados americanos que pierden posesión de un bello palacio veneciano, varios miembros de una organización americana elitista que ayuda a la conservación de la ciudad de Venecia, un pintor veneciano provocador y extravagante, y muchos otros...Berendt construye una historia de atmósfera envolvente que nos revela varios misterios de la ciudad más romántica de nuestra civilización.

La ciudad de los ángeles caídos (Spanish Edition)

Literature & Fiction

Random House Mondadori

Venice-a city of masks and riddles, where narrow streets and passageways form a giant maze that confounds the uninitiated and deepens the sense of mystery. As captivating as it is elusive, the city teeters in precarious balance between endurance and decay. Architectural treasures crumble-foundations shift, ornamentals fall-even as efforts to preserve them are under way. In The City of Falling Angels, John Berendt, author of the record-breaking bestseller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, unveils the enigmatic Venice as only he can.

History

Europe

Penguin

The City of Falling Angels [Paperback] [Jan 01, 2006] John Berendt

Sceptre

Travel

Penguin Group

2 CDs / 3 hours Abridged * Also available abridged and unabridged on cassette Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty,early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case. It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman's Card Club; the turbulent young redneck gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the "soul of pampered self-absorption"; the uproariously funny black drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young blacks dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story is a sublime and seductive reading experience. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, this enormously engaging portrait of a most beguiling Southern city is certain to become a modern classic.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (AUDIO CD)

Americas

Random House Audio |

It was seven years ago that Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil achieved a record-breaking four-year run on the New York Times bestseller list. John Berendt's inimitable brand of nonfiction brought the dark mystique of Savannah so startlingly to life for millions of people that tourism to Savannah increased by 46%. It is Berendt and only Berendt who can capture Venice--a city of masks, a city of riddles, where the narrow, meandering passageways form a giant maze, confounding all who have not grown up wandering into its depths. Venice, a city steeped in a thousand years of history, art and architecture, teeters in precarious balance between endurance and decay. Its architectural treasures crumble--foundations shift, marble ornaments fall--even as efforts to preserve them are underway. THE CITY OF FALLING ANGELS opens on the evening of January 29, 1996, when a dramatic fire destroys the historic Fenice opera house. The loss of the Fenice, where five of Verdi's operas premiered, is a catastrophe for Venetians. Arriving in Venice three days after the fire, Berendt becomes a kind of detective--inquiring into the nature of life in this remarkable museum-city-- while gradually revealing the truth about the fire. In the course of his investigations, Berendt introduces us to a rich cast of characters: a prominent Venetian poet whose shocking 'suicide' prompts his skeptical friends to pursue a murder suspect on their own; the First Family of American expatriates who lose possession of the family palace after four generations of ownership; an organization of high-society, party-going Americans who raise money to preserve the art and architecture of Venice, while quarreling in public among themselves, questioning each other's motives and drawing startled Venetians into the fray; a contemporary Venetian surrealist painter and outrageous provocateur; the master glassblower of Venice; and numerous others--stool-pigeons, scapegoats, hustlers, sleepwalkers, believers in Martians, the Plant Man, the Rat Man, and Henry James. Berendt tells a tale full of atmosphere and surprise as the stories build, one after the other, ultimately coming together to reveal a world as finely drawn as a still-life painting. The fire and its aftermath serve as a leitmotif that runs throughout, adding to the elements of chaos, corruption and crime, and contributing to the ever-mounting suspense of this brilliant audiobook. Bonus feature includes an exclusive interview with the author! From the Compact Disc edition.

The City of Falling Angels (Random House Large Print)

Travel Writing

Random House, Large Print

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

Turtleback Books

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