Devil in the White City
This is also by Erik Larson, Jerry. Our local book club has chosen it for next month’s selection. Everyone sounded enthusiastic about it and I picked it up on the way home from book club that day, before I stopped at the doctor’s office. Dr . diagnosed me with strep throat and gave me nine days worth of a strong antibiotic, so I haven’t had my head out of the house for seven days. Finally better today, so I went to the store and bought a few groceries.
Well, talk about rambling! My whole point is that I have read half of this book and am about to give up on it. It is an interesting theme about Chicago and the huge Worlds Fair complex that was being built in the early 1890′s. It describes all of the problems that seem unsurmountable as it takes far more time and money than originally planned. A bit too much detail of meetings and disputes among the brilliant architects and designers, but I made it through a lot of this.
What really bothered me was the “devil” who wasn’t involved in the building of the complex, but lived and worked in the general vicinity. He was a medical doctor by the name of H. H. Holmes, a charming psychopath who was one of the most devious serial killers this country has ever seen. This is a true story – I even googled the name and it seems to be very factual. It is probably the most disturbing book I have ever read. Maybe the fact that I was ill and rather depressed effected my opinion. I should have had light little romance or at least something uplifting on hand. I haven’t finished it but I think a happy ending to this one is a little too far fetched!