South of Broad by Pat Conroy, a book review
"South of Broad" by Pat Conroy is a beautiful, haunting tale of friendship, love and disappointment.
Pros:
Much like Pat Conroy's earlier novel, "The Prince of Tides," the characters in, "South of Broad" are fully developed, fascinating, yet somewhat tragic people. Each of them carries into adulthood the scars of their painful, sometimes frightening, childhoods. As they struggle to achieve success and happiness, they also must deal with their own demons. As hard as Leo, the narrator, and his friends Sheba, Trevor, Niles, Starla, Molly and Chadworth will try to escape their troubled childhoods, and their painful relationships with their parents and each other, they ultimately find themselves weighed down by the past in ways that threaten to destroy them. This is a beautifully written novel full of complicated people.
Cons:
As much as I loved this novel, it seemed at times a little too contrived that nearly all their relationships continued to be within their own tight knit circle of friends. In real life, we often are able to set ourselves free from our childhoods simply because we are able to meet new people, develop new connections and separate ourselves from the toxic relationships that threatened us in the past. However, the group of friends in "South of Broad" seems at times to be so unnaturally close that none of them are able to survive outside of their intimate circle.
Full Review:
Breathtakingly set in Charleston, South Carolina, the novel "South of Broad" by Pat Conroy tells the story of an unlikely group of friends from high school through adulthood during the decades of the 1960's, 70's and 80's. This intricate story of love, jealousy, guilt, loneliness, and shameful secrets weaves its way through the dramatic changes that take place in America during the later part of the 20th century. It does not flinch in the face of realities such as racism, abuse, cruelty, AIDS and class consciousness. In places, this novel seems almost poetic in its descriptions of Charleston and, later, San Francisco. From his stunning images of Charleston, it is clear that the author loves the old mansions and sea breezes of this charming, historic city. Bottom Line: My Southern California book club loved reading this novel. The rich descriptions of Charleston and San Francisco, the fully developed, though somewhat tragic characters, all set against the backdrops of the vastly different decades of the 1960's and the 1980's, made for compelling reading. Although we found ourselves hoping that all these damaged, yet very human individuals would ultimately be able to find complete joy and happiness in their lives, the realism of the story made us realize that a sense of peace and contentment was the best we could ultimately wish for these characters.
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Comments
will pick up South of Broad at the library. Always like Pat Conroy, thank you
Good summary. thank you for taking the time to publish this for me.
This book sounds like one I'll pick up to read. It's been years since I read Prince of Tides but it was thoroughly enjoyable. Though your review points out the unrealistic nature of the relationships in the novel, it does so in such as way as not to discourage the avid Conroy reader. Thanks for a succinct and descriptive review.
I loved both "Prince of Tides" and "South of Broad." Pat Conroy is an interesting, talented writer.
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