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Fiction.
Literature.
HTML:An American expatriate in Rome unearths his family legacy in this sweeping novel by the acclaimed author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini
A Southerner living abroad, Jack McCall is scarred by tragedy and betrayal. His desperate desire to find peace after his wife’s suicide draws him into a painful, intimate search for the one haunting secret in his family’s past that can heal his anguished heart. Spanning three generations and two continents, from the contemporary ruins of the American South to the ancient ruins of Rome, from the unutterable horrors of the Holocaust to the lingering trauma of Vietnam, Beach Music sings with life’s pain and glory. It is a novel of lyric intensity and searing truth, another masterpiece among Pat Conroy’s legendary and beloved novels.
Praise for Beach Music
“Astonishing . . . stunning . . . The range of passions and subjects that bring life to every page is almost endless.”—The Washington Post Book World
“Magnificent . . . clearly Conroy’s best.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Blockbuster writing at its best.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Pat Conroy’s writing contains a virtue now rare in most contemporary fiction: passion.”—The Denver Post
Here's what I wrote in 2008 about this read: "Simple and easy reading. Story OK, provides insight in the culture of the South Carolina low country (what is it with southern families anyway?)". ( )
They tell beginning authors to write what you know. Well Pat Conroy has done it again with Beach Music. South Carolina and Rome, Italy are the setting of this book and you feel as if you are there taking in the sights and sounds.Jack McCall and his family and friends are who this story is about. The struggles of family are the core of this story. Great story, a little long, still great. ( )
I first read this thirty or more years ago and thought it was wonderful then. This time I read it as an audiobook. The richness of the language is delightful and the story is filled with wonderful and I moving characters. I was deeply moved by the ending. I hadn’t been to Italy when I first read the book. I’ve had the good fortune to visit several times now and will be returning with a granddaughter in July. There is a lot of pathos and a lot of passion described in the story. The beach Music is in part the sound of surf that the baby loggerhead turtles transition to begin there life at sea. ( )
This book is dedicated to my three brothers: Michael Joseph, James Patrick, And Timothy John - loyalists and life-sharers. And to Thomas Patrick; our hurt brother and lost boy, who took his own life on August 31, 1994.
First words
In 1980, a year after my wife leapt to her death from the Silas Pearlman Bridge in Charleston, South Carolina, I moved to Italy to begin life anew, taking our small daughter with me.
Quotations
Last words
Because she had promised it and because she had taught me to honor the eminence of magic in our frail human drama, I knew that Shyla was waiting for me, biding her time, looking forward to the dance on the beach that would last forever, in a house somewhere beneath the great bright sea.
Fiction.
Literature.
HTML:An American expatriate in Rome unearths his family legacy in this sweeping novel by the acclaimed author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini
A Southerner living abroad, Jack McCall is scarred by tragedy and betrayal. His desperate desire to find peace after his wife’s suicide draws him into a painful, intimate search for the one haunting secret in his family’s past that can heal his anguished heart. Spanning three generations and two continents, from the contemporary ruins of the American South to the ancient ruins of Rome, from the unutterable horrors of the Holocaust to the lingering trauma of Vietnam, Beach Music sings with life’s pain and glory. It is a novel of lyric intensity and searing truth, another masterpiece among Pat Conroy’s legendary and beloved novels.
Praise for Beach Music
“Astonishing . . . stunning . . . The range of passions and subjects that bring life to every page is almost endless.”—The Washington Post Book World
“Magnificent . . . clearly Conroy’s best.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Blockbuster writing at its best.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Pat Conroy’s writing contains a virtue now rare in most contemporary fiction: passion.”—The Denver Post
“A powerful, heartfelt tale.”—Houston Chronicle.
▾Library descriptions
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▾LibraryThing members' description
Book description
Son returns 'home' to the South from Italy. His mother is dying of leukemia, his dad's a drunk and his in-laws have tried to wrest custody of his child when his wife committed suicide years before. An amazing tale of the ability of the human heart to find forgiveness against all odds. Loved all the plots, the reunions, the HUMOR. Conroy's so funny in a wry and lawyerlike little way!!!!! Loved this. One of my top books, one of the most gifted writers of my generation.
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