New Pat Conroy book
For those who love the writing and books of Pat Conroy (Prince of Tides, Beach Music, The Great Santini, Lords of Discipline etc) rejoice! On August 11th, his greatly awaited book titled ”South of Broad” will hit the bookshelves.
For those who love character development and believable characters drawn from life (author’s own dysfunctional family) with whom one can relate, Conroy’s the master. Such characters are believable because we not only know them in our own lives but disdain or walk away from them. Not Conroy. For him they are grist for his fabulous literary mill as he celebrates their dysfunction in broad, dramatic, juicy strokes.
The language and metaphors used take one’s breath away; Conroy’s a master of stating undeniable psychological truths and presenting characters that demonstrate that particular dysfunction. Likewise he’s not afraid to reveal through them the melancholia of his own psyche - nor ashamed of crying, bleeding or whining for all the world to witness, thus affording the rest of us the opportunity of arrogance to deem our psychological health much more superior.
A few examples of Pat Conroy’s language and metaphors:
“I could bear the memory but could not bear the music that made the memory such a killing thing.” Beach Music
“She was one of those Southerners who knew from an early age that the South could never be more for them than a fragrant prison, administered by a collective of loving but treacherous relatives.” Prince of Tides
“She understood the nature of sin and knew that its’ most volatile form was the kind that did not recognize itself.” (said of Tolitha, the grandmother in Prince of Tides)