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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Although I saw the movie many years ago, and have loved much of Conroy's writing, somehow I never got around to The Great Santini until now. While I felt that some of the events in the later parts of the book were not sufficiently developed, overall I loved the story and the writing. Santini himself is recognizable to me as a more extreme version of my own father from those same years - although not a Marine, nonetheless always described briefly in books as "a tough covert operator." Dad was, of course, far less physical with his children (and never with mom), but he surely ran the house in a strict manner not terribly different from Santini, and you knew better than to argue with, or challenge, him. Some of the book had me laughing out loud, or reflecting on the impacts (positive and negative) of moving every few years to a new school (including for my senior year of high school), new friends (some now life-long), new life; some had me cringing with Ben and Mary Anne. Certainly an excellent read for those of us who grew up in that time, or in that kind of transient life, or with some family similarities!
I read this because a colleague gave it to me.
This book is a little dated now and I thought it went on a bit too long. But the vocabulary is amazing. And luscious (if that can be possible!). The parents are horrible, I couldn't find anything likable about them at all. However, the main characters are the two siblings who gave me hope for the family. I especially loved the character of Mary Anne - I would have been her friend!
This book is a little dated now and I thought it went on a bit too long. But the vocabulary is amazing. And luscious (if that can be possible!). The parents are horrible, I couldn't find anything likable about them at all. However, the main characters are the two siblings who gave me hope for the family. I especially loved the character of Mary Anne - I would have been her friend!
This book is too true-to-life to be enjoyed, but great writing!
The last third was the most compelling, though the character of Santini cast a dark cloud over the entire reading. A good read for a coming of age book about a boy with an abusive father. But there wasn't as much depth to the characters as there could have been.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pat Conroy never disappoints. This book displays toxic masculinity before it was named. The impact of one man that is mostly abusive but also loving is on display. Amazing story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol
Casey's Challenge 2017 - #17 Became a movie the year I was born
Another excellent tale by Pat Conroy. The writing is top-notch. Almost as good as Prince of Tides.
dark
funny
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism
Moderate: Child abuse
"They love their families with their hearts and souls and they wage war against them to prove it."
Marines - and specifically Bull Meechum, "... the greatest marine fighter pilot to ever crap between two shoes!" - are fierce and loyal, difficult and unpredictable; they rule by fear, demand respect, and inspire admiration. It's not easy to be a marine family, but it is especially difficult to be the family of Bull Meechum, the self-proclaimed Great Santini.
This is really the coming-of-age story of Ben Meechum, eldest son (or should I just call him 'dependent') to Bull, but with the indelible Lt. Col. for a father, it has the feel of being Bull's story. How could it not? The entire family lives in fear of the ferocity of their patriarch - he casts an ominously large shadow, but he is also incredibly complex. His love is just as ferocious as his anger, however.
To understand who Ben is becoming we have to attempt to understand the father that rules over him.
Bull wanted to pass on the gift of fury to his oldest son, a passion to inflict defeat on others, even humiliation.
"In war, there ain't no morals. There are just winners, losers, and those that got their asses fried sunny side up."
This is a book filled with violent emotion and actions, it is a roller coaster ride that is both exhausting and exhilarating in it's own way. The plot seems to hop and skip in concentric circles toward the explosive events that shape lives. This is a frustratingly human story filled with the ugly, the beautiful, and the just plain stupid, but always keeping a certain sense of humor and hope about it.
"If you ever meet a man as truthful as a windsock, you have just met a hell of a man. You've also met a real dumb ass."
There is non-stop sarcasm and banter that the family engages in, sometimes as a form of verbal defense and sometimes just for amusement. This is also something that unites the family, the cutting, disparaging and even threatening repartee. It is entertaining, but at times also annoying and hurtful (oh family).
Things can seem bad under their roof, they can seem out right desperate, they could always be worse and they can also take sudden leaps to heights of gentle loveliness - they will always be Meechums. This is the story of a complicated father-son relationship and also about the type of person you wish to be. By the end of this book I was a little tired of the ride though, if only I had consumed this story a little faster, then perhaps the luster would not have worn off of this particular brass-balled Bull.
Marines - and specifically Bull Meechum, "... the greatest marine fighter pilot to ever crap between two shoes!" - are fierce and loyal, difficult and unpredictable; they rule by fear, demand respect, and inspire admiration. It's not easy to be a marine family, but it is especially difficult to be the family of Bull Meechum, the self-proclaimed Great Santini.
This is really the coming-of-age story of Ben Meechum, eldest son (or should I just call him 'dependent') to Bull, but with the indelible Lt. Col. for a father, it has the feel of being Bull's story. How could it not? The entire family lives in fear of the ferocity of their patriarch - he casts an ominously large shadow, but he is also incredibly complex. His love is just as ferocious as his anger, however.
"I'd like to propose a toast, to my son. He is eighteen today. He has just ordered his first drink. Before he drinks it, I'd like to wish him a long life, a wife as fine as his mother, and a son as fine as he's been. To my son!"
To understand who Ben is becoming we have to attempt to understand the father that rules over him.
Bull wanted to pass on the gift of fury to his oldest son, a passion to inflict defeat on others, even humiliation.
"In war, there ain't no morals. There are just winners, losers, and those that got their asses fried sunny side up."
This is a book filled with violent emotion and actions, it is a roller coaster ride that is both exhausting and exhilarating in it's own way. The plot seems to hop and skip in concentric circles toward the explosive events that shape lives. This is a frustratingly human story filled with the ugly, the beautiful, and the just plain stupid, but always keeping a certain sense of humor and hope about it.
"If you ever meet a man as truthful as a windsock, you have just met a hell of a man. You've also met a real dumb ass."
There is non-stop sarcasm and banter that the family engages in, sometimes as a form of verbal defense and sometimes just for amusement. This is also something that unites the family, the cutting, disparaging and even threatening repartee. It is entertaining, but at times also annoying and hurtful (oh family).
Things can seem bad under their roof, they can seem out right desperate, they could always be worse and they can also take sudden leaps to heights of gentle loveliness - they will always be Meechums. This is the story of a complicated father-son relationship and also about the type of person you wish to be. By the end of this book I was a little tired of the ride though, if only I had consumed this story a little faster, then perhaps the luster would not have worn off of this particular brass-balled Bull.