Devil in the White City by Eric Larson (narrated by Scott Brick)
I love reading, but sometimes it's just such a hard slog. This was one of those. It shouldn't have been.
It's essentially the story of Chicago at the time of the World's Fair (or the World's Columbian exposition). If you've ever read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, you have an idea of the reeking atmosphere of Chicago at the time. It seems incredulous that people would consider building a world's fair in such a place. But Chicagoans are apparently a stubborn, head-strong lot, and were intent on showing the world what they could do. And, oh my, did they ever show the world. So many things found their origin at or in relation to the World's Fair - the first Ferris wheel, Juicy Fruit gum, Shredded Wheat, Cracker Jack, Aunt Jemima, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, the first time the pledge of allegiance was said, the beginnings of the minimum wage, time and a half for holidays, the five day work week, and of course the first time Columbus Day was celebrated. They topped the World's Fair in Paris just a few years before with their Ferris wheel and with over 700,000 attendees on one single day. It is truly an amazing story.
On the other hand, it's also the story of an incredibly prolific serial killer and con man. H.H. Holmes, born Herman Webster Mudgett, could charm anyone it seems. Maybe it was just a more naive world; today we are much more suspicious of people and Lord knows a sympathetic debt collector is certainly a thing of the past. But this guy amazingly managed for years to get away with paying for hardly anything in relation to his businesses, whether upfront or more nefarious. He constructed his own little death house, leaving the first floor for a row of shops and a restaurant. Women went missing around him like crazy, but despite being questioned by lawyers, private detectives, and relations, no one ever suspected him of murdering them. No one really knows how many people he murdered; although he admitted to murdering 27 people, Larson points out that some of these people were found to be living later.
But there's a third hand. This is also a story (although a much smaller part) of Patrick Prendergast. This guy was delusional, imagining that the mayor of Chicago would appoint him to a position in his counsel because he supported him. He wrote crazy, rambling postcards to several dignitaries and notables in Chicago society. He ends up assassinating the mayor when the appointment doesn't come through.
Perhaps you see the problem. Three storylines in one book? One reviewer I read on Goodreads said it was two books for the price of one. The intro blurb tells you it works. To me, it does not. These three threads are barely related - Holmes took his wife and her sister to the fair and turned his building into a hotel to house (only women) visitors to the fair. The mayor had spoken at the fair before Prendergast shot him. That's it. True, these are fairly monumental occurrences, but I would imagine you could take three monumental occurrences in any major city and find some slight connection between them. But should they be lumped together in one book? I would have to say no. I found each storyline interesting in its own right, but the jumping back and forth distracted me. I would forget the characters from one thread while listening to another thread. I have read other books by Larson and enjoyed them quite a bit, so I have to figure this is just a quirk of this particular one.
Honestly, though, if I were to recommend this book to someone, I would definitely steer them clear of the audiobook. Scott Brick's voice has the peculiar tendency to make everything seem momentous, whether it is something in the story or the notes at the end. I think perhaps that maybe the interweaving of the storylines might be more effective in the book form. Mostly though, one thing that I sorely missed is photos. I would have loved to see what Larson was telling me about, but these audiobooks are something to kill the silence while I'm working.
But, ending on a positive note, Larson is a master at turning a phrase. That alone is enough to lead me to read more of his work.
It's essentially the story of Chicago at the time of the World's Fair (or the World's Columbian exposition). If you've ever read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, you have an idea of the reeking atmosphere of Chicago at the time. It seems incredulous that people would consider building a world's fair in such a place. But Chicagoans are apparently a stubborn, head-strong lot, and were intent on showing the world what they could do. And, oh my, did they ever show the world. So many things found their origin at or in relation to the World's Fair - the first Ferris wheel, Juicy Fruit gum, Shredded Wheat, Cracker Jack, Aunt Jemima, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, the first time the pledge of allegiance was said, the beginnings of the minimum wage, time and a half for holidays, the five day work week, and of course the first time Columbus Day was celebrated. They topped the World's Fair in Paris just a few years before with their Ferris wheel and with over 700,000 attendees on one single day. It is truly an amazing story.
On the other hand, it's also the story of an incredibly prolific serial killer and con man. H.H. Holmes, born Herman Webster Mudgett, could charm anyone it seems. Maybe it was just a more naive world; today we are much more suspicious of people and Lord knows a sympathetic debt collector is certainly a thing of the past. But this guy amazingly managed for years to get away with paying for hardly anything in relation to his businesses, whether upfront or more nefarious. He constructed his own little death house, leaving the first floor for a row of shops and a restaurant. Women went missing around him like crazy, but despite being questioned by lawyers, private detectives, and relations, no one ever suspected him of murdering them. No one really knows how many people he murdered; although he admitted to murdering 27 people, Larson points out that some of these people were found to be living later.
But there's a third hand. This is also a story (although a much smaller part) of Patrick Prendergast. This guy was delusional, imagining that the mayor of Chicago would appoint him to a position in his counsel because he supported him. He wrote crazy, rambling postcards to several dignitaries and notables in Chicago society. He ends up assassinating the mayor when the appointment doesn't come through.
Perhaps you see the problem. Three storylines in one book? One reviewer I read on Goodreads said it was two books for the price of one. The intro blurb tells you it works. To me, it does not. These three threads are barely related - Holmes took his wife and her sister to the fair and turned his building into a hotel to house (only women) visitors to the fair. The mayor had spoken at the fair before Prendergast shot him. That's it. True, these are fairly monumental occurrences, but I would imagine you could take three monumental occurrences in any major city and find some slight connection between them. But should they be lumped together in one book? I would have to say no. I found each storyline interesting in its own right, but the jumping back and forth distracted me. I would forget the characters from one thread while listening to another thread. I have read other books by Larson and enjoyed them quite a bit, so I have to figure this is just a quirk of this particular one.
Honestly, though, if I were to recommend this book to someone, I would definitely steer them clear of the audiobook. Scott Brick's voice has the peculiar tendency to make everything seem momentous, whether it is something in the story or the notes at the end. I think perhaps that maybe the interweaving of the storylines might be more effective in the book form. Mostly though, one thing that I sorely missed is photos. I would have loved to see what Larson was telling me about, but these audiobooks are something to kill the silence while I'm working.
But, ending on a positive note, Larson is a master at turning a phrase. That alone is enough to lead me to read more of his work.
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