Details
Synopsis
Pat Conroy's first novel in almost 15 years simultaneously acts as a portrait of a single man, a family, and a city. The man is Leopold Bloom King and the city is Charleston, South Carolina, Conroy's own home town. Leo's father is a high school science teacher, and his mother is that school's principal and a renowned scholar of James Joyce. The defining moment in the lives of these three is the teenage suicide of Leo's older brother, an event which continues to resonate through the relationships of the Kings forever after. Leo eventually finds solace with an eclectic mix of high school friends who challenge the racist traditions of Charleston during the tumultuous 1960s. Two decades later, the same stubborn spirit and determined individuality which allowed the friends to break down the oppressive barriers of Charleston has propelled them in very different directions, and they must reunite to try to rescue one of their number from the AIDS epidemic which ravaged San Francisco in the 1980s. Conroy's extravagant language is in full effect, as he brilliantly evokes Leo's participation in history, as seen through the filter of memory.
| Size | | Height: | 5.8 in | | Width: | 5.0 in | | Thickness: | 1.8 in | | Weight: | 14.4 oz |
Industry Reviews
"[B]eautifully written throughout....Conroy is a natural at weaving great skeins of narrative, and this one will prove a great pleasure to his many fans." (starred review)
(07/01/2009)
"SOUTH OF BROAD, for all the sad characters, is a funny book. Conroy's characters fairly burst with repartee. In another life, he could have written dialogue for Hepburn and Tracy..."
(08/09/2009)
"There are gorgeous and heartbreaking scenes in SOUTH OF BROAD....Conroy remains a magician of the page."
(08/23/2009)
"At his best...Conroy sweeps you up in a whirlwind of language and propels you through time and place so persuasively that you take in stride highly improbable plot twists....Some of the old Conroy magic wells up in his description of the hurricane's arrival, capturing both the hubris of those who stay and the paralyzing terror unleashed by the power of sea and storm. But it's also telling that in a novel built around characters and friendships, the most engaged writing is about nature."
(08/11/2009)
"Pat Conroy loves language, as has been abundantly evident throughout his career. Alas, with SOUTH OF BROAD...the author too often lets his infatuation with words devolve into a sort of gushy mess that threatens to derail the novel's power.... [But g]et past Conroy's literary overindulgences...and you'll find a lovely, often thrilling story."
(08/22/2009)
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