Book #14: Thunderstruck

Title: Thunderstruck


Author: Erik Larson


When I read Erik Larson's Devil in the White City a few years ago, I felt like I had stumbled on an entirely new literary genre. Prior to that time, I was wary of nonfiction. I mean, I read biographies, and the occasional book my mother-in-law suggested as being very important, but I wasn't too jazzed by the genre. But Devil in the White City was unlike anything I had ever read before; it was a true story, but it read like a novel. I found myself staying up late at night to read the parallel stories of Daniel Burnham, the architect of the Chicago World's fair and Dr. H. H. Holmes, who found the fair to be the perfect backdrop for mass murder.


After reading Devil in the White City, I moved on and read Isaac's Storm, which struck a personal chord since the story took place in Galveston, TX, which is less than an hour from where I live. I read it during hurricane season, shortly after we evacuated for Hurricane Rita.


So when I saw that Thunderstruck had been released, I was excited. I immediately bought it for Eddie for his birthday (just shows what kind of a selfish gift-giver I am) and read it while he was busy reading The Botany of Desire. And I have to say that I liked the book. I really liked it. But I wasn't burning the midnight oil reading it like I had with Larson's other books. Maybe it was because the format so closely followed Devil in the White City (in both books chapters alternate between the story of a famous historical character and a not-so-famous murderous physician). Maybe it was because I found Guglielmo Marconi to be such a frustrating jerk, devoid of human emotion in comparison with Daniel Burnham. Maybe it was because H. H. Holmes was a scary freak on par with Hannibal Lechter, whereas H. H. Crippen (note to self-- never use the initials H. H. for a child unless I want him to be come a murderer), seemed more like a spineless soul who finally snapped. Regardless, I still liked the book-- it's still worth the read, but if you're familliar with Larson's other works, be prepared for a little bit less sizzle.


--originally published 5/7/07