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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Pat Conroy does it again
This was such a wonderful book. Full marks. Conroy had a gift for dialogue and created a beautiful story here.
This was such a wonderful book. Full marks. Conroy had a gift for dialogue and created a beautiful story here.
A book picked out for my book club - I would have never placed this one on my read list. And even after a rousing discussion with the ladies, I am still not sure how I exactly stand with this one.
Upon beginning the book, I completely despised Bull Meecham - his presence, his attitude and basically just him. I kept telling the boy that I would NEVER live with this man, let alone have four children with him. As the book went on, my feelings for him kept moving to the dark side along with the book. Somewhere just before the end, I decided that I didn't hate the book due to the plot being acceptable - BUT I still hated him.
Then came book club. One of the ladies stands by Pat Conroy and loves everyone of his books. Intrigued, she advised us that this book was autobiographical and the overbearing father that made my feelings boil was in fact based on his own father. Crazy. It is said that because of this book, his family has disbanded and a lot of controversary was made of it.
A book that I would put into the male audience's hands much quicker than the females. A story with a family at the center, women would be intrigued, but beware the man at the center of this family is not one you will fall in love with.
Upon beginning the book, I completely despised Bull Meecham - his presence, his attitude and basically just him. I kept telling the boy that I would NEVER live with this man, let alone have four children with him. As the book went on, my feelings for him kept moving to the dark side along with the book. Somewhere just before the end, I decided that I didn't hate the book due to the plot being acceptable - BUT I still hated him.
Then came book club. One of the ladies stands by Pat Conroy and loves everyone of his books. Intrigued, she advised us that this book was autobiographical and the overbearing father that made my feelings boil was in fact based on his own father. Crazy. It is said that because of this book, his family has disbanded and a lot of controversary was made of it.
A book that I would put into the male audience's hands much quicker than the females. A story with a family at the center, women would be intrigued, but beware the man at the center of this family is not one you will fall in love with.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars! Alright sportsfans, quit your yapping and listen up! This one is well written, if a bit meandering and lacking in overarching plot. The character development was what kept me reading (as well as the fact that I’m a diligent book club member). I’m glad that I read this for book club so that I got to hear from people who actually have had similar experiences to the characters in this story. That definitely increased the enjoyment for me. My biggest complaints were that it was a little meandering in parts, huge plot points were never mentioned again or just in passing (rape of Sammy’s girlfriend, death of Toomer and Red, etc), and the overall racism. I get that it was different time where racism was often the norm, and people spoke differently in the 60s. Still made me wildly uncomfortable. Overall, though, I think this book brought me some great food for thought, and Bull will be a character I won’t soon forget.
This is a thinly disguised story of the author growing up with a military father who was verbally, physically and emotionally abusive to his family. The central character is Ben Meechum, son to "Bull" Meechum, a borderline alcoholic and Marine pilot.
I was lucky enough to get a signed copy of this and "The Water is Wide" a few years before he passed away. He was a great man and happy to have shared the same state with him.
Pat Conroy nailed on that head what a military family's life is like. If I had no familiarity with that, I would have probably gone 2-3 stars since there isn't really a set plot, but the fact it was SO applicable to my and my husband's life (who finished it in 2 days and said, "This book is basically my life,") made me understand the almost oxymoronic subplots and the pain in the parent-child dialogue.
It's not a light and airy read; it's a pretty darn good reflection of conflict between father and son, military and family.
It's not a light and airy read; it's a pretty darn good reflection of conflict between father and son, military and family.
I did not enjoy this book. The story got really old, and I couldn’t wait to finish it. I seriously thought about quitting in the middle, but I toughed it out. Bottom line, I just don’t enjoy Conroy’s writing. I will leave it at that so as not to ruffle the Conroy fans’ feathers.