‘The Devil In The White City’ combines classic horror with a historical twist
By Deanna Smith, Staff Writer //
I have never really been much for reading stories that have anything to do with murder, but the second I picked up “A Devil In The White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America,” I was soon convinced that it could be the best book I have ever read. The plot is simple, but complex all the same. It constantly switches between the perspectives of several characters that all play a key role in the creation of the fair in Chicago in the 1800s. While the fair is being built to surpass France’s fair and their Eiffel Tower, a man by the name of H. H. Holmes was living out an existence of what could be called pure evil. The story is really about this man, a man that is nowadays labeled as America’s first serial killer. Author Erik Larson does an excellent job of taking what is known about Holmes and carefully intertwining it into the workings of the fair and history itself.
Larson writes about actual historic events, but he does so in the style of a novel. He is famous for writing stories that thrill his readers and, through his years of writing, he has won several “Times” bestseller awards that laud him for his fantastic work. Since his first novel “Isaac’s Storm” in 1999, Larson has undoubtedly stamped his name among many great authors of this century.
Since Larson adds so much detail and information to each sentence, it makes it a rather difficult story to keep up with, especially if you dread long books. If you can work your way up into understanding his specific writing style, the read becomes very easy.
Not many people enjoy reading books that heavily include history (and I am one of those people), but this specific story brings a much more readable, enjoyable aspect to the subject.
The most intriguing part of the entire story is the irony that is so well planted into each paragraph and that moment you realize how quickly you became so interested in the characters. A connection between you and each of the characters, regardless of your standpoint on them, becomes extremely attached without you realizing it. I could not put this book down even though I have read it over twenty times because it is that good. At first, it is a little confusing, especially if you are just skimming the pages for it to get to the more interesting parts, but each word builds up to a climax that only increases as time goes on.