A review by maric83ava
The Great Santini by Pat Conroy

3.0

I'm sure this book deserves a higher rating (quality of writing, extraordinary pathos . . .) but I am so glad to be done. I kind of wish I hadn't read it, but I'm a compulsive book finisher. I'm not a fan of watching bullies triumph over their victims who justify the abuse AND exalt the abuser. I was surprised to find out, reading an excerpt of Conroy's memoir, that he lived in Alexandria and attended Blessed Sacrament parish and school in the mid-50s. He certainly has my sympathy and respect for surviving the brutal childhood that he recounts in this marginally fictional autobiography.