Nonfiction Navigators discussion

Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City is the tale of two blue-eyed men, Daniel H. Burnham and H. H. Holmes. One would become the person who created the infamous Chicago World’s Fair, and the other would become America’s first serial killer who researchers think killed over 200 people. Their story is noticeably intertwined, and you learn about how the seemingly innocent actions Burnham took while creating the World’s Fair hosted the terrible actions and murders Holmes committed while pretending to be the owner of a hotel. We learn about how these men view themselves, especially when Homes describes himself as “being born with the devil in me.” (Prologue)
Overall, I enjoyed The Devil in the White City, but it definitely has its flaws. Most people read to learn about H. H. Holmes and the murders he committed, not how Burnham made the Chicago World’s Fair. The author often goes into detail about Burnham and how the fair was formed too often, which leads you to get bored while reading. Many details are mentioned with seemingly no influence on the plot, such as random affairs of the names of people you will forget as soon as you finish reading the sentence. There are too many unnecessary people in the book, which leads to the reader often getting confused and finding themselves rereading pages just to try and comprehend the story Larson tries to tell.
Though The Devil in the White City takes a while to focus solely on H. H. Holmes, once it does, the book becomes incredibly engaging. You get hooked into the dramas and marriages in Holmes’ personal life and how it played a part in him murdering so many people, especially young women. If you can get through the first hundred pages, you will be pleasantly surprised at the wonders the rest of the book has to offer. I would highly recommend this book if you are very detail oriented and regularly listen to true crime podcasts. If you are easily distracted, though, The Devil in the White City might not be for you.