Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Devil in the White City

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

47 reviews

nick_00's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative medium-paced

4.5

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robinwritesallthethings's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

5.0

What It’s About: This is a dual narrative detailing the execution of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and the dealings of famous serial killer H. H. Holmes during the same time period. At first blush, the two topics don’t seem to go together, but it becomes clear throughout the story that Holmes likely wouldn’t have been able to accomplish everything he did in the city without the excitement and opportunities provided by the grand event.

Plot: Holmes is quite a well-known figure, but there is a lot of misinformation floating around about his exploits. This book is a very realistic accounting of his activities, leaving room for doubt where it’s necessary, but also speculating about moments no one possibly could have witnessed. While I thought I wouldn’t be as interested in the part about building the fair, I actually found it very compelling. Knowing all the facts, it’s shocking that there was ever a fair at all. It’s also apparent that Holmes’ portion by itself doesn’t actually take up much space. He was a consummate liar, so not a lot can be said about him that is verifiable. Adding the fair gives the history more weight and heft, and at the same time provides a necessary context for how Holmes escaped detection for so long. The advantage of combining both is also that they are complete, so there is resolution at the end of everything on all sides.

Research and Organization: The organization here is essentially chronological, and flips back and forth between the fair and Holmes when necessary to frame what he was doing while Chicago was focused elsewhere. Many primary sources are used and quoted, and when they are not available, copious research was used to recreate circumstances that were not observed.

Trigger Warnings: Because of the time that the book covers, you’ll encounter period-typical racism and sexism. There is a lot of poverty and general death, as well as the obvious murder because of one of the book’s subjects.

Final Thoughts: This was a more somber and less sensational true crime novel than others I’ve read, but ultimately, I feel like it worked. It was very informative, and sheds light on a crime spree that it’s likely just wouldn’t be possible today because of the way everything is connected.

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emercedesrich's review

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dark informative medium-paced

3.0

There is a wealth of Chicago history here that's very compelling. However, I am not entirely sure why so much of the book is dedicated to HH Holmes. In his afterword, Larson explains that he believes putting this great evil next to great innovation reveals something about men's ambition, but I never found that connection organic or compelling here. The result is a book that feels out-of-date in its approach to the topic. I also think it's fair to say that men should probably not guess at women's final thoughts about the men who kill them, regardless of how much information and primary sources you have leading up to that final event.

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soythesauce's review against another edition

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dark informative sad tense slow-paced

4.75

After an extremely slow start the story picks up quickly and takes you through a rollercoaster of emotions.

A must read for anyone that loves Modern day Chicago, Chicago history and/or serial killers.

Burnham is a genius and Chicago would not be the gorgeous city that it is today if it wasn’t for him and architects that were inspired by him.

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ottolee's review

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dark informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

4.75

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ame_why's review

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informative slow-paced

3.0

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mariakureads's review against another edition

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dark informative sad slow-paced

3.5

I am so happy to say I finally finished this one!
It's been on my TBR since who knows when and after a few starts and stops, I'm done.

Larson wrote a very detailed, and I do mean very, account of the Chicago's World Fair, the atmosphere and history of the time, as well as the serial killer hiding amongst, the glitz, dirt, toils, glamour that the Fair brought to the city at the time.

The book involves a large set of people, all oddly enough interlocked in different ways and avenues and Larson explored and provided so many facts through his meticulous research that at different points were not only quotes provided, but newspaper clippings, menus, images, and witness accounts which some were interesting and others felt staid and dry and I lost interest at different parts of the book.

At times so factual that when the alternative chapters of the serial killer, H.H. Holmes, were introduced, it would sometimes grab my attention for a few pages but it felt odd as I was thrown off a few times by the pacing especially the further I read on to find that while the World's Fair and Holmes were in the same city, there was nothing concrete to tie them together since Holmes was adamant that he didn't do anything or was guilty of such killings—that the disappearances were a happenstance, surely, by his account.

Larson is a great researcher, this I'm sure of, and gave me so much new information specific to the fair and all the people, some later becoming famous in their own right, that all in all, while I had a few disconnects, the book is a solid read.

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