Call number
FIC CON
Collection
Genres
Publication
Nan A. Talese (2009), 528 pages
Description
Leopold Bloom King, the narrator, is the son of an amiable, loving father who teaches science at the local high school. His mother, an ex-nun, is the high school principal and a well-known Joyce scholar. After Leo's older brother commits suicide at the age of thirteen, the family struggles with the shattering effects of his death. Eventually he becomes part of a tightly knit group of high school seniors that includes friends Sheba and Trevor Poe, glamorous twins with an alcoholic mother and a prison-escapee father; hardscrabble mountain runaways Niles and Starla Whitehead; socialite Molly Huger and her boyfriend, Chadworth Rutledge X; and an ever-widening circle whose liaisons will ripple across two decades-from 1960s counterculture through the dawn of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.… (more)
Media reviews
Conroy thanks his editor Nan A. Talese in his acknowledgments, but South of Broad merely adds urgency to the question of what it is this woman does, exactly, apart from pick up the tab.
Conroy remains a magician of the page. As a writer, he owns the South Carolina coast. But the descriptions of the tides and the palms, the confessions of love and loss, the memories “evergreen and verdant” set side by side with evocations of the “annoyed heart” have simply been done better
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— by the author himself. Show Less
Conroy is an entertaining storyteller -- he has a corker of a final twist here -- yet much of “South of Broad” shows a weakness for emotional fireworks, two-dimensional characters and rough or purplish prose.
Conroy reels his teenage characters through cliché showdowns of racial and class divisions, trying to make those broad social issues the backdrop to the personal stories in the narrative -- including the recurring presence of the shadowy and vicious Poe father. But Conroy doesn't have anything new
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or interesting to say about the racial and class divides. And too many of his characters are set up as types instead of fully fledged people, incapable, at times, of anything more than the most mundane of dialogues. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member tututhefirst
Meet Leo "Toad" Bloom, whose mother is his high school principal, and whose father is the high school's physics teacher. The trio is battling to hold on to a semblance of family following the suicide of Leo's older brother Steve, when Leo was 10 years old. The story begins in the summer of 1969, as
We meet the group of friends who will influence him well into adulthood: there is Ike Jefferson, son of the first black football coach at the school, his girlfriend Betty; Chad Rutledge and his sister Fraser, Molly Huger - all arch stereotypes of old Charleston society; Niles and his sister Starla, orphans whom Toad is ordered by his mother to befriend; and there are the twins--the beautiful Sheba, the future Hollywood starlet and Trevor her equally beautiful and homosexual brother whose mother is a raving alcoholic, and whose father is .....well......NO SPOILERS HERE. Conroy takes each of these and gives us a deeply developed character, relationships that are all too real, and heart-breaking scenes of friendship, denial, betrayal and loyalty.
Leo and the group must cope with mental illness, segregation, integration, AIDS, divorce, alcoholism, Hurricane Hugo, death, betrayal, and forgiveness as they live their lives through the tumultous decades of the 70's, 80's and into the 90's. Like his previous books, Conroy writes of relationships, of the influence of Roman catholicism during this period and on those relationships, and lets those relationships define the story. At several points, he could have written 'the end' (lesser writers certainly would have) but he is able to climb from one resolution up another peak and then slide down into a whirl of crisis bringing the reader along to a thoroughly unexpected (at least for me) finale.
Over, under and behind it all is the city of Charleston SC with its rivers, its sultry weather, its incredibly snooty old guard, and its antebellum mansions. Conroy's ability to evoke the essential beauty and ambience of this queen of southern cities is incredible. I've never lived there, but have visited several times. Each time I read one of Conroy's novels, it's like being on a trip to the low-country.
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Leo is entering his senior year of high school. We meet the group of friends who will influence him well into adulthood: there is Ike Jefferson, son of the first black football coach at the school, his girlfriend Betty; Chad Rutledge and his sister Fraser, Molly Huger - all arch stereotypes of old Charleston society; Niles and his sister Starla, orphans whom Toad is ordered by his mother to befriend; and there are the twins--the beautiful Sheba, the future Hollywood starlet and Trevor her equally beautiful and homosexual brother whose mother is a raving alcoholic, and whose father is .....well......NO SPOILERS HERE. Conroy takes each of these and gives us a deeply developed character, relationships that are all too real, and heart-breaking scenes of friendship, denial, betrayal and loyalty.
Leo and the group must cope with mental illness, segregation, integration, AIDS, divorce, alcoholism, Hurricane Hugo, death, betrayal, and forgiveness as they live their lives through the tumultous decades of the 70's, 80's and into the 90's. Like his previous books, Conroy writes of relationships, of the influence of Roman catholicism during this period and on those relationships, and lets those relationships define the story. At several points, he could have written 'the end' (lesser writers certainly would have) but he is able to climb from one resolution up another peak and then slide down into a whirl of crisis bringing the reader along to a thoroughly unexpected (at least for me) finale.
Over, under and behind it all is the city of Charleston SC with its rivers, its sultry weather, its incredibly snooty old guard, and its antebellum mansions. Conroy's ability to evoke the essential beauty and ambience of this queen of southern cities is incredible. I've never lived there, but have visited several times. Each time I read one of Conroy's novels, it's like being on a trip to the low-country.
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LibraryThing member allenkl
Where is Conroy's usual beautiful prose? I began putting Post It Notes on the pages that were so cliche ridden and predictable that I would have sent my Fourth Graders, had they written it, back to their desks to re-write. I ran out of Post It Notes! There is not one believable character in the
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entire book. Best friends 20 years after the horrendous actions of teenage classmates of deplorable character? Is the ending a twist? It is a ridiculous attempt to shoot this lame horse and get it over with. I'm certainly glad I didn't pay for this! Show Less
LibraryThing member sangreal
Pat Conroy’s South of Broad, a long awaited novel by his fans, is the story of teenager Leopold “Leo” Bloom King, a friendless boy with lots of things stacked against him. His perfect younger brother is dead, he has a history of mental problems, a mother who venerates James Joyce and is the
Making his first real friends and how these relationships become part of his future is set against the backdrop of Charleston, South Carolina in the sixties through the nineties.
While I had never read Pat Conroy before (amazingly), I read many reviews of his earlier works and understood that he had a love of Charleston and a real way with words. I found both these things present in South of Broad. The non-dialogue descriptive language, especially that which dealt with places, such as streets and rivers, and with the houses, was so lyrical that I probably would have been content to read a whole book just made up of that.
The novel in five parts moves back and forth between Leo’s past and his present. It begins with him meeting the persons who will become his circle of friends for life – twins Sheba and Trevor Poe, runaway brother and sister, Niles and Starla Whitehead, socialite couple Molly Huger and Chadworth Rutledge X and Ike Jefferson who is the son of the school’s newly hired black coach. The form that the novel took meant that it never got complacent, despite several other difficulties.
Unfortunately, I had many problems with this book. First of all I found the characters described above to be almost totally typecast, their words and actions stereotypical, from the moneyed socialites to the black cop to the small town girl turned Hollywood star. This included Leo who, while the kindest and most likable character, seemed too good to be true. He seemed to have emerged from the ordeal of his brother’s death, to be completely naïve and innocent, with the exception of a sometimes-sharp tongue. While he says his brother’s death drove him to a battle for his mental health, we don’t really see it.
I found the dialogue between the characters was quite stilted in most cases and often added to their stereotyping. It wasn’t always easy to believe that they really felt what they were saying. At times the dialogue became so jarring that it brought me out of the story with a feeling of edginess, as if something just wasn’t quite right.
I also had difficulties with elements of the plot, chiefly the contrived feeling that much of it had. For example, after a completely friendless adolescence, Leo meets the seven persons who will become his lifelong friends all in a single day (!) and magically his life begins to turn around. It didn’t really fit. Additionally, with the verbal sparring and general bitterness and bitchiness coming from the characters’ interactions with each other, I found it very hard to believe in the lasting nature of those friendships. The playing out of the racial conflicts also came across as stereotypical.
I read to the end of this book for two reasons – first that I had to review it and second that the descriptive parts truly were beautiful to read. I should also have wanted to read to the end to find out the answer to the book’s underlying mystery – why did Leo’s commit suicide at the age of ten. That however, was not a reason to read to the end, because it was obvious from quite early on. When I actually did get to the climax, I ended up very disappointed with how it was delivered.
While this review may seem to say “don’t waste your time or money on this one”, it did make me want to read Pat Conroy’s earlier works, since they have been generally felt to be truly great. If you can get past the jerkiness of the dialogue and suspend belief in some of the more difficult plot elements, there is something to be enjoyed in this book, though I suspect it was much better done in his earlier work.
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principal of his high school, and above all, no friends.Making his first real friends and how these relationships become part of his future is set against the backdrop of Charleston, South Carolina in the sixties through the nineties.
While I had never read Pat Conroy before (amazingly), I read many reviews of his earlier works and understood that he had a love of Charleston and a real way with words. I found both these things present in South of Broad. The non-dialogue descriptive language, especially that which dealt with places, such as streets and rivers, and with the houses, was so lyrical that I probably would have been content to read a whole book just made up of that.
The novel in five parts moves back and forth between Leo’s past and his present. It begins with him meeting the persons who will become his circle of friends for life – twins Sheba and Trevor Poe, runaway brother and sister, Niles and Starla Whitehead, socialite couple Molly Huger and Chadworth Rutledge X and Ike Jefferson who is the son of the school’s newly hired black coach. The form that the novel took meant that it never got complacent, despite several other difficulties.
Unfortunately, I had many problems with this book. First of all I found the characters described above to be almost totally typecast, their words and actions stereotypical, from the moneyed socialites to the black cop to the small town girl turned Hollywood star. This included Leo who, while the kindest and most likable character, seemed too good to be true. He seemed to have emerged from the ordeal of his brother’s death, to be completely naïve and innocent, with the exception of a sometimes-sharp tongue. While he says his brother’s death drove him to a battle for his mental health, we don’t really see it.
I found the dialogue between the characters was quite stilted in most cases and often added to their stereotyping. It wasn’t always easy to believe that they really felt what they were saying. At times the dialogue became so jarring that it brought me out of the story with a feeling of edginess, as if something just wasn’t quite right.
I also had difficulties with elements of the plot, chiefly the contrived feeling that much of it had. For example, after a completely friendless adolescence, Leo meets the seven persons who will become his lifelong friends all in a single day (!) and magically his life begins to turn around. It didn’t really fit. Additionally, with the verbal sparring and general bitterness and bitchiness coming from the characters’ interactions with each other, I found it very hard to believe in the lasting nature of those friendships. The playing out of the racial conflicts also came across as stereotypical.
I read to the end of this book for two reasons – first that I had to review it and second that the descriptive parts truly were beautiful to read. I should also have wanted to read to the end to find out the answer to the book’s underlying mystery – why did Leo’s commit suicide at the age of ten. That however, was not a reason to read to the end, because it was obvious from quite early on. When I actually did get to the climax, I ended up very disappointed with how it was delivered.
While this review may seem to say “don’t waste your time or money on this one”, it did make me want to read Pat Conroy’s earlier works, since they have been generally felt to be truly great. If you can get past the jerkiness of the dialogue and suspend belief in some of the more difficult plot elements, there is something to be enjoyed in this book, though I suspect it was much better done in his earlier work.
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LibraryThing member SqueakyChu
I thoroughly love reading books by Pat Conroy. I get carried away by the scope of his stories, the way he describes relationships between his characters, and the attention he gives to the environment in which those individuals live. South of Broad is a tale of one man's love of his hometown of
Be forewarned that this book is about 500 pages. Know that you’ll need to take a bit of time to get to know Leo King’s friends and learn how the decisions they make affect Leo's life. Not always comfortable reading due to its subject matter, Conroy's writing is nevertheless elegant and touching. I would give this book a hearty thumbs up for anyone who enjoys a novel with sparkling characters well defined by their setting.
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Charleston, South Carolina. Despite awkwardness as a child, Leo King, also known as Toad, gradually develops a close circle of friends who battle difficult issues. Intertwined with their personal stories are emerging social problems such as effects of differing class status, uneasy race relations, homosexuality and other even more difficult issues which I'd rather not reveal as they might be spoilers. The novel heats up as some of the more liberal characters go head to head against the more conservative ones. Be forewarned that this book is about 500 pages. Know that you’ll need to take a bit of time to get to know Leo King’s friends and learn how the decisions they make affect Leo's life. Not always comfortable reading due to its subject matter, Conroy's writing is nevertheless elegant and touching. I would give this book a hearty thumbs up for anyone who enjoys a novel with sparkling characters well defined by their setting.
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LibraryThing member EdGoldberg
South of Broad is my first Pat Conroy book and I'm ready for more. I like the way he writes; his descriptions are flowing, his characters and situations are real. His love of the city are evident.
South of Broad is about Leo King. It's 1969 and Leo is a high school senior. He has spent years in a
The book follows his life and that of his motley crew of friends: Sheba and Trevor Poe, across the street neighbors, she to be a great actress and he a skinny gay guy running away from an abusive father; Niles and Staarla Whitehead, "white nigger" orphans in the local orphanage, Chad and Fraser Rutledge, well heeled of the Charleston elite society, Coach and Ike Jefferson, first black coach of the high school football team and his son, and Molly Huger, Chad's girlfriend.
Apparently true to Conroy form, Leo's parents play a prominent role. His mother is cold. Leo adores his father.
The book oscillates between 1969 and 1989 as Leo pursues the future and recounts his past and the memorable people who have influenced his life.
You will not be able to put the book down and it will, no doubt, spark a desire to read more of Pat Conroy.
South of Broad is about Leo King. It's 1969 and Leo is a high school senior. He has spent years in a
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mental institution after his life derailed after finding his brother dead in the bath tub, his wrists slit.The book follows his life and that of his motley crew of friends: Sheba and Trevor Poe, across the street neighbors, she to be a great actress and he a skinny gay guy running away from an abusive father; Niles and Staarla Whitehead, "white nigger" orphans in the local orphanage, Chad and Fraser Rutledge, well heeled of the Charleston elite society, Coach and Ike Jefferson, first black coach of the high school football team and his son, and Molly Huger, Chad's girlfriend.
Apparently true to Conroy form, Leo's parents play a prominent role. His mother is cold. Leo adores his father.
The book oscillates between 1969 and 1989 as Leo pursues the future and recounts his past and the memorable people who have influenced his life.
You will not be able to put the book down and it will, no doubt, spark a desire to read more of Pat Conroy.
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LibraryThing member Nodressrehearsal
I've always been a fan. I loved The Water is Wide, and I loved the movie version, Conrack. Same with The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline, and even The Prince of Tides - loved the books and the movies. (well, except for the Barbra Streisand part) There were passages in every one of his
I wanted to love South of Broad. I expected to love it. I tried to love it, but I just couldn't. The only reason I stuck with it was because it was written by Pat Conroy.
There were bits and pieces of beauty in the writing, just enough to keep me hopeful when I was nearly overcome with hopelessness.
This time it seemed he wrote the book with the singular focus of who would be cast for the movie roles. There were way too many main characters who had way too many stereotypical characteristics. There were ridiculous twists thrown in for the sole purpose of shock, and they were completely unshocking. The red nail polish and that whole thread was just silly. And the big reveal at the end with the old movie? C'mon, Pat. I could see that coming from a mile up the Coast.
I love it when books hit me so hard I cry like a baby. This one? Maybe he thought if he made enough people break down and sob, weep, wail, and blubber, I'd shed a sympathy tear or two. Nada.
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stories that blew me away, scenes he painted so vividly and so well I can still recall them clearly to this day. I wanted to love South of Broad. I expected to love it. I tried to love it, but I just couldn't. The only reason I stuck with it was because it was written by Pat Conroy.
There were bits and pieces of beauty in the writing, just enough to keep me hopeful when I was nearly overcome with hopelessness.
This time it seemed he wrote the book with the singular focus of who would be cast for the movie roles. There were way too many main characters who had way too many stereotypical characteristics. There were ridiculous twists thrown in for the sole purpose of shock, and they were completely unshocking. The red nail polish and that whole thread was just silly. And the big reveal at the end with the old movie? C'mon, Pat. I could see that coming from a mile up the Coast.
I love it when books hit me so hard I cry like a baby. This one? Maybe he thought if he made enough people break down and sob, weep, wail, and blubber, I'd shed a sympathy tear or two. Nada.
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LibraryThing member theeccentriclady
Pat Conroy has a way of combining 5 books into 1. Charleston S.C. is one of my favorite cities anywhere and reading his descriptions made me feel I was walking the streets right as I sat there reading. I enjoyed this book as an audio book and the narrator's southern accent was pleasant to listen
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to. My only negative was I picked a bad time to take on this story. I have several other books to read and I borrowed this one from the library and became impatient to get it done. My advice is to be sure you have time to relax and ingest all that Mr Conroy has to share in this wonderful southern tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member cathyskye
First Line: It was my father who called the city the Mansion on the River.
It is said that Pat Conroy has a remarkable command of the language of the heart. For me over the years, this has been very true. Where some may see sentimentality, melodrama, and florid prose, I have always seen the mists of
When I learned that, at long last, a new Conroy novel was about to be published, I was happy. When I discovered that the title of the novel was South of Broad I think my smile stretched from ear to ear. To me, "south of Broad" can only mean Charleston, South Carolina, and it is in the beautiful city of Charleston that Conroy places his disparate band of friends.
In 1969, Leo "Toad" King was about to embark on his final year of high school. It's never been particularly easy for Toad. When he was a child, he found the body of his beloved older brother Steve in a blood-filled bathtub-- a suicide. No one knew what on earth could've made this golden teenager take his own life, and in his horror and denial Leo rapidly became a misfit. It is remarkable that, in this final year of high school, he is able to become a part of a very interesting mix of friends: Ike Jefferson, the son of the first black high school football coach in Charleston; two orphans Niles and Starla Whitehead; Molly, Chad and Fraser, members of Charleston aristocracy; and the twins Sheba and Trevor Poe who, along with their alcoholic mother, are on the run from their psychotic father.
The story alternates between these friends' senior year in 1969 and 1989 when Sheba-- now a Hollywood star-- comes back to Charleston to ask her friends to help her find her HIV-positive brother in AIDS ravaged San Francisco. Conroy touches upon some major themes in South of Broad: racism, homosexuality, classism, and religion. Most of all the book is a love letter to Charleston and to the power of friendship.
Leo usually speaks in rather awed tones of his friends. No matter how old he becomes, he will always be "Toad", always the misfit, always the one who doesn't quite measure up to the glamor, style and success of his friends, no matter how nice he genuinely is or how hard he tries. He speaks to all those who have ever felt themselves to be outsiders.
If there is any part of this novel that I had a problem with, it was the plot element concerning Sheba and Trevor's psychotic father. This character was a one-dimensional bogey man that I had a difficult time believing. For the most part, I was carried away on the tide of Leo's memories and of my own of a magical day I spent wandering the streets of Charleston four months before Hurricane Hugo hit. Conroy made me remember a very special city, and he made me remember and give thanks that there are people in the world who truly know how to be friends.
It is said that Pat Conroy has a remarkable command of the language of the heart. For me over the years, this has been very true. Where some may see sentimentality, melodrama, and florid prose, I have always seen the mists of
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memory and the abiding power of friendship to transform and to strengthen. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.When I learned that, at long last, a new Conroy novel was about to be published, I was happy. When I discovered that the title of the novel was South of Broad I think my smile stretched from ear to ear. To me, "south of Broad" can only mean Charleston, South Carolina, and it is in the beautiful city of Charleston that Conroy places his disparate band of friends.
In 1969, Leo "Toad" King was about to embark on his final year of high school. It's never been particularly easy for Toad. When he was a child, he found the body of his beloved older brother Steve in a blood-filled bathtub-- a suicide. No one knew what on earth could've made this golden teenager take his own life, and in his horror and denial Leo rapidly became a misfit. It is remarkable that, in this final year of high school, he is able to become a part of a very interesting mix of friends: Ike Jefferson, the son of the first black high school football coach in Charleston; two orphans Niles and Starla Whitehead; Molly, Chad and Fraser, members of Charleston aristocracy; and the twins Sheba and Trevor Poe who, along with their alcoholic mother, are on the run from their psychotic father.
The story alternates between these friends' senior year in 1969 and 1989 when Sheba-- now a Hollywood star-- comes back to Charleston to ask her friends to help her find her HIV-positive brother in AIDS ravaged San Francisco. Conroy touches upon some major themes in South of Broad: racism, homosexuality, classism, and religion. Most of all the book is a love letter to Charleston and to the power of friendship.
Leo usually speaks in rather awed tones of his friends. No matter how old he becomes, he will always be "Toad", always the misfit, always the one who doesn't quite measure up to the glamor, style and success of his friends, no matter how nice he genuinely is or how hard he tries. He speaks to all those who have ever felt themselves to be outsiders.
If there is any part of this novel that I had a problem with, it was the plot element concerning Sheba and Trevor's psychotic father. This character was a one-dimensional bogey man that I had a difficult time believing. For the most part, I was carried away on the tide of Leo's memories and of my own of a magical day I spent wandering the streets of Charleston four months before Hurricane Hugo hit. Conroy made me remember a very special city, and he made me remember and give thanks that there are people in the world who truly know how to be friends.
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LibraryThing member MyBookBarn
When I think of how to describe this book I am reminded of John Irving's writing. The reason for that is some of the characters & events that take place in the book I believe are comparable to the feel of an Irving book. Which is not meant as an insult as I am an Irving fan!
With that being said you
As for the book overall I found it to be very good. Entertaining, nice flow & easy to read. The story takes place starting in the 1960's up to the 1990's. The main character Leo King is a child when the story begins & goes throughout his life up to an adult. Both a coming of age story as well as a look into events that took place in the stories time periods. Such as racism & AIDS. Of course I have to mention Leo's group of unforgettable friends too! Friends from all walks of life & their adventures & life growing up together. Friends you won't soon forget! I was very pleased with this book.
It had the coming of age, history, love & adventure. A little something for everyone! I would recommend this book to any Irving fans as well as all Conroy fans. If you're looking for a book about life, growing up & the hardship of growing up in a certain time period this is a great one!
With that being said you
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also cannot mistake this book being written by Conroy. It has his vivid, beautiful descriptions of places & surroundings which he is known for. It's so easy to imagine the places he writes about even when you haven't been there.As for the book overall I found it to be very good. Entertaining, nice flow & easy to read. The story takes place starting in the 1960's up to the 1990's. The main character Leo King is a child when the story begins & goes throughout his life up to an adult. Both a coming of age story as well as a look into events that took place in the stories time periods. Such as racism & AIDS. Of course I have to mention Leo's group of unforgettable friends too! Friends from all walks of life & their adventures & life growing up together. Friends you won't soon forget! I was very pleased with this book.
It had the coming of age, history, love & adventure. A little something for everyone! I would recommend this book to any Irving fans as well as all Conroy fans. If you're looking for a book about life, growing up & the hardship of growing up in a certain time period this is a great one!
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LibraryThing member kren250
South of Broad centers around Leo King, otherwise known as "Toad' by his friends and enemies alike. Part of the book is set when "Toad" is in his late teens, and he's had a rough life. A family tragedy has caused a huge rift in his family, and caused him to have a mental breakdown. The summer
I was so excited to get my hands on an ARC of this book. I loved both The Prince of Tides and Beach Music; and was thrilled to see that Conroy had written another novel. Unfortunately, I found this book very disappointing. I'm not sure if it's just that my tastes have changed in the years since he's last published a novel, or if this book truly isn't that good. Don't get be wrong, I did love a few things about it. Some of the writing is beautiful, especially when he describes Charleston and South Carolina. Wonderful imagery of the ocean, tides, beaches. But the plot is so predictable and cliched. You can seen any "secrets" coming way before they are revealed, including the big secret at the end which was probably just about the biggest cliche in the whole book. Then there's the dialogue, which is melodramatic and "cutesy" to the point of being unbelievable (who talks that way in real life??). And the do-gooder main character, who is probably the most unrealistic teen age boy I've ever read about. Also, some of the characters are so stereotypical they are almost laughable: the flamboyant gay, the so-awful-and-insane-it's-cartoonish bad guy, and the token black couple with their "ghetto" speak. Plus, there were a few scenes that were so ridiculous they are laughable. For instance, a scene where adults in their 30s reinact a high school pep ralley, complete with cheers. Vomit inducing.
All in all, I'm glad I read the book since I'm sure many will love it and it will be greatly hyped. But, for those who fell in love with his earlier books, it may end being a disappointment like it was for me.
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before his senior year of high school he makes an eccentric group of friends, and these friends will be close to him into adult hood. These friends bring their own sets of troubles and problems.I was so excited to get my hands on an ARC of this book. I loved both The Prince of Tides and Beach Music; and was thrilled to see that Conroy had written another novel. Unfortunately, I found this book very disappointing. I'm not sure if it's just that my tastes have changed in the years since he's last published a novel, or if this book truly isn't that good. Don't get be wrong, I did love a few things about it. Some of the writing is beautiful, especially when he describes Charleston and South Carolina. Wonderful imagery of the ocean, tides, beaches. But the plot is so predictable and cliched. You can seen any "secrets" coming way before they are revealed, including the big secret at the end which was probably just about the biggest cliche in the whole book. Then there's the dialogue, which is melodramatic and "cutesy" to the point of being unbelievable (who talks that way in real life??). And the do-gooder main character, who is probably the most unrealistic teen age boy I've ever read about. Also, some of the characters are so stereotypical they are almost laughable: the flamboyant gay, the so-awful-and-insane-it's-cartoonish bad guy, and the token black couple with their "ghetto" speak. Plus, there were a few scenes that were so ridiculous they are laughable. For instance, a scene where adults in their 30s reinact a high school pep ralley, complete with cheers. Vomit inducing.
All in all, I'm glad I read the book since I'm sure many will love it and it will be greatly hyped. But, for those who fell in love with his earlier books, it may end being a disappointment like it was for me.
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LibraryThing member JGoto
South of Broad is divided into several parts. Part one drew me in. The cast of characters is presented and even though the narrator, Leo King, is unrealistically kind and good to everyone despite the fact that he has no friends, is ugly and has a mother who dislikes him, the assortment of people
Then comes part two. Twenty years later, almost every young person from the first book has married his or her high school sweetheart. It seems that not one new character has come to town in the intervening years. Leo still has the same group of people surrounding him, although now they are the best of friends. (Why, I’m not sure. Chad has remained obnoxious to everyone, with no redeeming qualities.) The friends are a racially mixed group, and the racial tensions from book one evolve into a constant patter of friendly racial jibes. (If race is still continually in their minds after 20 years of friendship, one has to wonder at the depth and content of those friendships.) In spite of its beginning, the novel is full of glib conversation and scenes that are sort of…well, trashy. The book soon becomes a chore to read and is not one I would recommend.
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Pat Conroy introduces in part one promise an interesting read.Then comes part two. Twenty years later, almost every young person from the first book has married his or her high school sweetheart. It seems that not one new character has come to town in the intervening years. Leo still has the same group of people surrounding him, although now they are the best of friends. (Why, I’m not sure. Chad has remained obnoxious to everyone, with no redeeming qualities.) The friends are a racially mixed group, and the racial tensions from book one evolve into a constant patter of friendly racial jibes. (If race is still continually in their minds after 20 years of friendship, one has to wonder at the depth and content of those friendships.) In spite of its beginning, the novel is full of glib conversation and scenes that are sort of…well, trashy. The book soon becomes a chore to read and is not one I would recommend.
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LibraryThing member LindyLit
Having visited Charleston for the first time last year, I especially enjoyed his descriptions of this picturesque city. This is the first Pat Conroy book that I have read, and I cannot wait to read the others. He is a master story teller. The ending blew me away!
LibraryThing member elsyd
Because Pat Conroy wrote this, of course I loved it! His descriptions and language are magnificent. I am begining to realize that he is not perfect. I find his plots and conversation
over the top, and to me somewhat unbelievable. This does not detract from my enjoyment of his books!
over the top, and to me somewhat unbelievable. This does not detract from my enjoyment of his books!
LibraryThing member WeeziesBooks
“South of Broad” was a selection for a book club that I attend and I had been wanting to read it for quite some time, but other books kept rising to the top of the piles. I am so glad it was selected because it was a wonderful book about the lives of many different families in Charleston. It
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was a good bookclub choice as well as a wonderful individual read. The characters were well developed from the lovely and tortured siblings Trevor and Sheba to Leo, his family and many friends such as Ike and Betty. As a lifelong newspaper man, literally a paperboy as a child, the story centered around Leo and the cast of eclectic cast of characters that become lifelong friends and support for one another through many difficult and uplifting times. The catholic upbringing, the plight of orphan children, the abuse and love that is in families were all addressed. The book also reminded me of Hugo, the devastating hurricane and it’s terrible impact upon a beautiful and grand old city and it’s inhabitants. The story of living with and breaking down the barriers of prejudice, hatred and snobbery are directly addresses in this great novel. This was a book that I will read again as it has many stories to tell and there are many lessons to learn. Prince of Tides and Beach Music were very good books but this is my favorite Pat Conroy book and I strongly recommend it. Show Less
LibraryThing member tanya2009
This is my first Conroy book and I loved it. It took me a while to learn all the characters but once I did the book was great. I have bought other Conroy books and have them in my tbr stack.
LibraryThing member riofriotex
Leopold "Leo" "Toad" Bloom King is the narrator of this story of high school friendship and adult problems. In the summer of 1969, just before his senior year of high school in Charleston, South Carolina, Leo is coming to the end of probation on a drug charge, after ten years of mental illness
Parts 2 and 3 are set in 1989, when Sheba - now a movie star - comes back to Charleston to enlist the help of her friends (who ended up marrying each other) in finding her gay brother Trevor in San Francisco. Part 4 goes back to 1969-70 and the group's senior year in high school, and part 5 returns to 1989-90.
I liked this book despite the stereotyped characters and the sometimes-too-witty repartee. Maybe because it reminded me a bit of my own high-school group, although we were nowhere near as close 20+ years post-graduation. Even better though were the lyrical descriptions of Charleston, so much so that now I'd really like to visit it. I found the plot to be interesting and I did not see the revelation at the end coming - although I should have.
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sparked by his older brother's suicide at age 10. His former-nun mother (now high school principal) orders him to make contact with nine incoming seniors: Ike, the son of the new - and black - football coach; Sheba and Trevor, twins moving in across the street; rich kids Chad, his sister Fraser and girlfriend Molly, kicked out of their prep school for drug possession; and orphans Niles and Starla (who are siblings) and Betty (who is black). Not surprisingly, by the end of part 1, this group of misfits are all friends.Parts 2 and 3 are set in 1989, when Sheba - now a movie star - comes back to Charleston to enlist the help of her friends (who ended up marrying each other) in finding her gay brother Trevor in San Francisco. Part 4 goes back to 1969-70 and the group's senior year in high school, and part 5 returns to 1989-90.
I liked this book despite the stereotyped characters and the sometimes-too-witty repartee. Maybe because it reminded me a bit of my own high-school group, although we were nowhere near as close 20+ years post-graduation. Even better though were the lyrical descriptions of Charleston, so much so that now I'd really like to visit it. I found the plot to be interesting and I did not see the revelation at the end coming - although I should have.
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LibraryThing member chainreader
No matter what I say, no matter what words I use I will not do justice to this book. This book for me will rank up with the best books I have ever read. My favorite Pat Conroy book will always be The Great Santini, which has little bits of my life scattered throughout it. Prior to this I had taken
On June 16, 1969 Leo Kings’ world begins to change and will never be the same again. Blessed with a father who loves him, a mother who barely tolerates him and a brother who has abandoned him and taken a secret with him, he is introduced to several others of his same age who come from a diverse set of circumstances and intertwine the currents of their lives with his. This river of life moves swiftly at times, eddys occasionally and sometimes takes the path of least resistance to move downriver. Leo is the glue that holds the group of friends together, even as he downplays his contribution. He is the keeper of secrets and the ear that all can whisper in, he is the long suffering son, and the teller of stories. Read this and you may not want to put it down. Pat, this was worth the wait, thank you for this awesomeness.
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time to write Mr. Conroy and tell that I thought Beach Music was his best work, I will be writing him again to tell him that I have changed my mind. He has written another book that I can greatly relate and he has done so with the defest of pens. He has created characters that are flawed and beautiful, he has created characters that are all the most three dimensional characters I have experienced in a book. His mastery of description of Chareleston, South Carolina is matched only by Zane Greys’ opening chapter in Rogue River Feud. His characters are all people that I would bet we all have known at one time or another.On June 16, 1969 Leo Kings’ world begins to change and will never be the same again. Blessed with a father who loves him, a mother who barely tolerates him and a brother who has abandoned him and taken a secret with him, he is introduced to several others of his same age who come from a diverse set of circumstances and intertwine the currents of their lives with his. This river of life moves swiftly at times, eddys occasionally and sometimes takes the path of least resistance to move downriver. Leo is the glue that holds the group of friends together, even as he downplays his contribution. He is the keeper of secrets and the ear that all can whisper in, he is the long suffering son, and the teller of stories. Read this and you may not want to put it down. Pat, this was worth the wait, thank you for this awesomeness.
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LibraryThing member nyiper
What a looooooooonnnnnnnng book! I usually like long books and I was so interested in the beginning of this one because the writing was so beautiful especially when I had heard Conroy interviewed and he described writing in long hand and I could just picture him as he worked to get the right
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wording with a pad of paper and a pen. But then we get into the story and although I "liked" the evolution of the main character I did not care for his collection of friends and their lives and I just got very tired of all of their problems. I really wanted to find out about his brother and it took the entire book to GET to that---the sort of crux of the book! Exhausting reading....... Show Less
LibraryThing member SamSattler
The mythical world of Charleston, South Carolina, is alive, if not so well, in Pat Conroy's "South of Broad." Pat Conroy is a Southern writer, a man who understands his people and the tragedies, both large and small, that mark so many of their lives from generation to generation. His flowery style
What happens on June 16, 1969, will change Leo King's life forever. Leo is soon to begin his senior year of high school and his mother, the school's principal, asks him to offer his help to several new seniors transferring to the school. Over the course of one long day, Leo will meet those to whom he will remain closest for the rest of his life: beautiful Sheba Poe and her equally beautiful twin brother, Trevor; Ike Jefferson, one of the school's first black students who is transferring to the school because his father has just been named head football coach there; brother and sister Chad and Fraser Rutledge, from one of Charleston's wealthiest and most prestigious families; Chad's girlfriend Molly Huger; and Niles and Starla Whitehead, rebellious sibling orphans.
None of the new students are particularly happy to be starting their last year of high school in a school filled with strangers. Chad and Molly are there because their private school expelled them after they were caught in possession of drugs, Niles and Starla because their history of running away from orphanages has now seen them transferred to a new one near the school, and Trevor and Sheba because their mother is trying to hide the family from their psychopathic father. Even Ike, despite the fact that his father has broken new ground by becoming the school's first black head coach, would prefer remaining in his old school over helping to integrate his new one.
Leo King is not without problems of his own. Only eight-years-old when he discovered his ten-year-old brother's blood-soaked body in the bathtub the boys shared, Leo has spent a considerable amount of time in mental institutions. And entering his senior year, he is still on probation and performing community service hours for a drug offense in which he was involved.
Conroy, ever the master storyteller, flashes forward to 1989, a twenty-year leap that finds the friends coming together to save one of their own from a lonely death. Although the group is now bound together forever by marriage and strong friendship, demons remain to be fought. Class, racial, and sexual boundaries have been, at times, only painfully crossed and childhood demons, real and imagined, have followed the friends into adulthood.
Pat Conroy's Charleston is bigger than life and it is inhabited by people whose personal stories fit Conroy's vision of his beloved city. Charleston is one of those almost mythical cities to which Southerners are drawn because of its history and beauty, and reading a Pat Conroy novel is the next best thing to being there. I enjoyed losing myself in Pat Conroy's world again for a few days - it's been way too long since I've last been able to do that.
Rated at: 4.0
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is as Southern as the people and places he writes about, and Conroy's fans love him as much for that style as for the stories he tells them. "South of Broad" may be a bit melodramatic, it may have a stereotypical character or two, and its main character may even be a little too saintly to be true - but nobody tells this kind of story better than Pat Conroy, and he has done it again.What happens on June 16, 1969, will change Leo King's life forever. Leo is soon to begin his senior year of high school and his mother, the school's principal, asks him to offer his help to several new seniors transferring to the school. Over the course of one long day, Leo will meet those to whom he will remain closest for the rest of his life: beautiful Sheba Poe and her equally beautiful twin brother, Trevor; Ike Jefferson, one of the school's first black students who is transferring to the school because his father has just been named head football coach there; brother and sister Chad and Fraser Rutledge, from one of Charleston's wealthiest and most prestigious families; Chad's girlfriend Molly Huger; and Niles and Starla Whitehead, rebellious sibling orphans.
None of the new students are particularly happy to be starting their last year of high school in a school filled with strangers. Chad and Molly are there because their private school expelled them after they were caught in possession of drugs, Niles and Starla because their history of running away from orphanages has now seen them transferred to a new one near the school, and Trevor and Sheba because their mother is trying to hide the family from their psychopathic father. Even Ike, despite the fact that his father has broken new ground by becoming the school's first black head coach, would prefer remaining in his old school over helping to integrate his new one.
Leo King is not without problems of his own. Only eight-years-old when he discovered his ten-year-old brother's blood-soaked body in the bathtub the boys shared, Leo has spent a considerable amount of time in mental institutions. And entering his senior year, he is still on probation and performing community service hours for a drug offense in which he was involved.
Conroy, ever the master storyteller, flashes forward to 1989, a twenty-year leap that finds the friends coming together to save one of their own from a lonely death. Although the group is now bound together forever by marriage and strong friendship, demons remain to be fought. Class, racial, and sexual boundaries have been, at times, only painfully crossed and childhood demons, real and imagined, have followed the friends into adulthood.
Pat Conroy's Charleston is bigger than life and it is inhabited by people whose personal stories fit Conroy's vision of his beloved city. Charleston is one of those almost mythical cities to which Southerners are drawn because of its history and beauty, and reading a Pat Conroy novel is the next best thing to being there. I enjoyed losing myself in Pat Conroy's world again for a few days - it's been way too long since I've last been able to do that.
Rated at: 4.0
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LibraryThing member KC9333
This novel is everything you expect and love in Conroy - the writing is wonderful and the flawed characters are unforgettable. The descriptions of Charleston are worth the price of the book alone. He shares both the beauty of the low country and the very ugly racial tensions found there. Through it
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all, friendship and family are tested in ways never expected. AND Conroy's love of the south comes through every word. There are perhaps a few too many tradegies to be believable but this is still a do not miss. Show Less
LibraryThing member novelcommentary
I always think of Pat Conroy as one of my favorite authors,probably because Prince of Tides is one of my favorite books. I have read three others before anxiously beginning this new tribute to South Carolina. I think that is what I like best about this book - his tribute to the area. He writes
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about that with great detail and true emotion. I loved the description of the paper route that was used to give the details about this area and provide some background into Leo's life. I was immediately interested in reading about Joyce's novel Ulysses so that I can look for similarities. If was evident that this tale would be about some classic Conroy themes: Southern lifestyle, mental illness, suicide, abusive parents, and contemplating one's past events. Some new issues were detailed as well: AIDS, Orphans, and Hurricanes. I think with this Conroy novel it becomes the language that is the reward. The plot lines of this story have been explored before, and possibly there is actually too much plot here, but the writing makes it worthwhile. Show Less
LibraryThing member gkiggins
Too, too, too everything. Pat Conroy has skill or maybe when I read Prince of Tides I was too young to notice a lack. Regardless, this book doesn't work for me. It felt as if he could only write in the extreme and none of the story was real. Yuck.
LibraryThing member cettaknits
It is with great sadness that I finished this book tonight. My simple words cannot describe the beauty, joy, sadness, laughter contained in these pages.
There are only 3 books I've ever reread, and 1 of them is Conroy's The Prince of Tides (and if your only frame of reference is that awful movie
It didn't hurt that this book is set in my favorite of all the places I've been: Charleston, South Carolina. Conroy's deep love of the city is apparent in every word. He captures the city perfectly. If you haven't been, you'll want to after reading this.
So what is it about? It's about SO MANY things! At its core are 6 friends and we follow them from high school well into adulthood. They deal with racism, one travels to San Francisco and then they all end up dealing with the AIDS crisis of the early 80s, they deal with Hurricane Hugo, and with so many other awful issues that so many of us have had to face. It's so encompassing. I still can't figure out how he jammed so much into this story, and did it so well!
Anyway, read the book!
There are only 3 books I've ever reread, and 1 of them is Conroy's The Prince of Tides (and if your only frame of reference is that awful movie
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then I can't be your friend anymore). This book, South of Broad? Blew that one away. I found myself slowing down my reading, trying to savor the craftmanship of the sentences. How does he do it? I have no idea, but it's just a wonder to behold.It didn't hurt that this book is set in my favorite of all the places I've been: Charleston, South Carolina. Conroy's deep love of the city is apparent in every word. He captures the city perfectly. If you haven't been, you'll want to after reading this.
So what is it about? It's about SO MANY things! At its core are 6 friends and we follow them from high school well into adulthood. They deal with racism, one travels to San Francisco and then they all end up dealing with the AIDS crisis of the early 80s, they deal with Hurricane Hugo, and with so many other awful issues that so many of us have had to face. It's so encompassing. I still can't figure out how he jammed so much into this story, and did it so well!
Anyway, read the book!
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LibraryThing member hemlokgang
Pat Conroy makes English sound so lyrical. Maybe it was the fabulous narrator of this audiobook. What a voice! Conroy tackled an awful lot in this novel, namely, friendship, family, love, loyalty, tradition, abuse, prejudice, mental illness, human frailty, just to name a few of the issues. I was
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definitely engaged by the characters, which is critical to how I feel about a book. Geez, I wish I could use words as well as Conroy does. Show Less
LibraryThing member PeterBarry
I have always enjoyed reading Pat Conroy's books. This one was in the end was a disappointment. It could, in my view, have been a hundred pages shorter.Its plot stretched the boundaries of credibility to the limit. Its saving grace was the wonderful atmospheric writing when the characters in the
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book were out and about in wonderful Charleston. SC. Show Less
Awards
ALA Over the Rainbow Book List (Selection — Fiction — 2011)
Pages
528
ISBN
038541305X / 9780385413053