Devil in the White City

Yes. Yet another book I’m reading. I do that a lot, where I start reading a book and don’t exactly finish it quickly. However, this one is required for AP Language and Composition so I have to read it. But it’s good. I mean, you can’t really tell that it’s nonfiction. Well you kind of can but it’s a wonderfully made book.

Basically, the book is a parallel story set in 1892-3 Chicago, one of the head architect of the Chicago Columbian Exposition, the other of a psychopathic murderer who is obsessed with women and killing them. He also lives in Chicago at the same time. So the story can get really creepy and disturbing at times, but the author’s diction is masterfully woven, just drawing you in. And this occurs more with the murderer’s side of the story. Eerily/funny, the murder has blue eyes, like me; has dark hair, like me; weighs 155 pounds, like me…but is only 5’ 8”. Phew. That was getting scary.

Anyway, I’m in the early hundreds of the book and there’s like 370-400 pages, but it’s a quick read. I’m also annotating it, something I don’t like doing but am realizing that it helps, and SO MUCH with novels where you can write down things you notice like literary elements.

I can also definitely say that I have gained a new appreciation (and disgust) with Chicago. The first skyscraper was there, the massive hog butchering industry was there, but it was also a city of horrible vice, I guess even worse than most other big cities.

 

Completely random thought: Wouldn’t it be funny to wear a shirt that said “I [heart] muscle spasms” and then just to go around walking twitching madly the whole day? It’d be hilarious! It’d also creep out a whole bunch of people.