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I just finished South of Broad, and I do admit that it was my first Pat Conroy novel, although I don't understand what all of the hype was about. I picked up the book and started it about three different times before I could get into it. Some of the sentences were so descriptive that I found myself getting lost in the commas.
The story itself was great, and I do love that it took place in Charleston. The book just seemed to drag on, then it got really good, and then there was only twenty pages left. All of the sudden the story was over, and as the reader I was mad at the ending.
I don't know how many stars I give this book, but I think it was about 100 pages too long.
I started "South of Broad" yesterday and I cannot put it down. I've been reading it all day today.
Pat Conroy has a very distinctive style of writing and usually people either love or hate his books. I've always been a fan of his work with the exception of "Conrack."
Having said that I will also say that The Prince of Tides is one of the most beatifully written books I have ever read, and I've read a lot of books averaging about 3 a week.
South of Broad reminds me of Prince of Tides in that it is lyrical, poetic and deeply moving. I always know his characters inside and out. That is what I like about him the most. He defines his characters as well as describing them. We know those people. I knew the characters in "The Great Santini." In his books we smell the flowers, we hear the river and taste the oceans. I love this book. I'm been waiting for another beaut from Conroy and "South of Broad" is it.
There are some things in this world that are just too beautiful for their own good. Many of them touch me deeply. Samuel Barber's music piece "Adagio for Strings" the Smokey Mountains, the Cathedral of Guadalupe in Mexico City and Conroy's "South of Broad" are a few of those things.
Having said that I will also say that The Prince of Tides is one of the most beatifully written books I have ever read, and I've read a lot of books averaging about 3 a week.
I agree. The Prince of Tides is one of my favorite books.
I just read South of Broad, and don't know how many stars I would give it either, but I did enjoy it.
I was enjoying this book until I got to Chapter 5, Raised by a Nun. Leo and his father Jasper are out on the river fishing and Jasper tells Leo the story of meeting Lindsay, her entering the convent etc. The story says that after the war Jasper returns to Charleston and becomes a teacher. "In the summer of 1949, he bought a two-acre lot on the saltwater lake along the Ashley River....With the help of friends he built a two story brick home." It then goes on to describe life in that house, renting rooms to other bachelors...remembered as a happy time because thee was a house party amlost every weekend."
I got the impression that that Jasper lived there for several years but Lindsay leaves the convent in the fall of 1949, they marry and Leo's older brother is born in 1950. Clearly the author has not kept track of his dates even though all of this information is given in just 4 pages. Then we return to June 1948 when he has lunch with St. Michele. Shortly thereafter he moves back home to his parents place to care for them. How can move back home from a place that hasn't even been built yet?
Whenever I encounter stuff like this it drives me crazy and says that the author is sloppy and lazy and I just can't continue reading the story.
I started "South of Broad" yesterday and I cannot put it down. I've been reading it all day today.
Pat Conroy has a very distinctive style of writing and usually people either love or hate his books. I've always been a fan of his work with the exception of "Conrack."
Having said that I will also say that The Prince of Tides is one of the most beatifully written books I have ever read, and I've read a lot of books averaging about 3 a week.
South of Broad reminds me of Prince of Tides in that it is lyrical, poetic and deeply moving. I always know his characters inside and out. That is what I like about him the most. He defines his characters as well as describing them. We know those people. I knew the characters in "The Great Santini." In his books we smell the flowers, we hear the river and taste the oceans. I love this book. I'm been waiting for another beaut from Conroy and "South of Broad" is it.
There are some things in this world that are just too beautiful for their own good. Many of them touch me deeply. Samuel Barber's music piece "Adagio for Strings" the Smokey Mountains, the Cathedral of Guadalupe in Mexico City and Conroy's "South of Broad" are a few of those things.
I haven't read much of his work, but I have to agree with you about The Prince of Tides. I read it in the summer of 1997 and it totally changed my life. (I have the movie, but it's nowhere near as good as the book!)
Reading this novel sparked a writing frenzy like I'd never known. It left me longing for the ocean, looking to the ocean, and writing about life on and in the ocean.
Even today I still hear the seagulls and smell the ocean whenever I think about this book. I think I've read it at least 6 times in the last 13 years and will read it a few more times before I leave this earth.
You're all making me think I should give Conroy a shot! My parents live on the Broad River, & I lived there for 2 years as well. Did not have a good experience there, culture-wise. I lived there at the time they were filming PoT & everyone was nuts for it....so I pretty much swore it off!
I haven't read much of his work, but I have to agree with you about The Prince of Tides. I read it in the summer of 1997 and it totally changed my life. (I have the movie, but it's nowhere near as good as the book!)
Reading this novel sparked a writing frenzy like I'd never known. It left me longing for the ocean, looking to the ocean, and writing about life on and in the ocean.
Even today I still hear the seagulls and smell the ocean whenever I think about this book. I think I've read it at least 6 times in the last 13 years and will read it a few more times before I leave this earth.
I'll give a vote for The Prince of Tides, too. One of the best books I ever read.
I saw the movie first and mentioned it to a friend, who sniffed and said, "read the book". The book was ten times the movie.
What I think of is when Tom is in Manhattan and thinking that he knows that beneath the city lies the original marshland that it once was. I work in Manhattan and have read a great deal on what it was like when the Dutch first arrived, and I think of that, too.
I just read South of Broad - or at least I read the first seven chapters before I gave up. I loved Prince of Tides and enjoyed Beach Music, but this Pat Conroy book was just too over the top for me. Leo was completely unbelievable and the various other young people were too characterized to be tolerable. Every chapter seemed to hold a fantabulous, critical scene. It started to remind me of a soap opera.
I really admire Pat Conroy's lyrical style of writing and I am still a fan, but South of Broad was not my cup of tea. Perhaps it was that so many of the characters were adolescents for most of the book and Conroy's voice just doesn't translate as well to a teenager.
I just read South of Broad - or at least I read the first seven chapters before I gave up. I loved Prince of Tides and enjoyed Beach Music, but this Pat Conroy book was just too over the top for me. Leo was completely unbelievable and the various other young people were too characterized to be tolerable. Every chapter seemed to hold a fantabulous, critical scene. It started to remind me of a soap opera.
I really admire Pat Conroy's lyrical style of writing and I am still a fan, but South of Broad was not my cup of tea. Perhaps it was that so many of the characters were adolescents for most of the book and Conroy's voice just doesn't translate as well to a teenager.
I was disappointed...
I enjoyed Prince of Tides as well as many other Southern authors.
It seems stories of the South have been told. I would prefer to be at the beach --not thinking about much of anything.
Bill Bryson, from the midwest/expat, is good--lol at some of his stories.
I usually love Pat Conroy, but South of Broad was my least favorite of his works so far. It went from fun, moving, descriptive, and poignant to completely implausible. He lost me. I couldn't put Beach Music and The Prince of Tides down, but I had to force myself to finish South of Broad. I was very disappointed.
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