South of Broad: A Novel

South of Broad has probably been the most highly anticipated novel in the last decade. Have we been waiting that long? I received and began the book with great trepidation. How could Pat Conroy do a story any better than The Lords of Discipline, The Great Santini, The Water is Wide, Prince of Tides, or Beach Music. As the self proclaimed #1 fan of Pat Conroy's works, (he is my favorite contemporary writer in the whole wide world), I was worried. What if the book did not meet his previous standard? Would I be disappointed? Now I read voraciously but I took three weeks to read South of Broad. Why? It was just that good. Each word was savored and he had me hook, line, and sinker when the boy character, Leo, was giving this old codger a pedicure as part of his community service. As the boy and old man bantered he told the southern gentleman something like, "shall I dry your feet with my hair, kind of a Mary Magadalene moment". The humor of Pat Conroy strikes such a chord with me, actually his book was a symphony of words. I know a lot of people don't understand how he can have so many emotions tied into a book but coming from a family that was more than a bit dysfunctional, his book reads to me as a promise that there is hope and salvation out there for those of us who had difficult childhoods. I happen to believe those attributes come from the reading of great books. When I became sold it was the best book I had ever read was towards the end when he tells the children and the adults a story. Pat Conroy is a storyteller of the finest caliber. Now months and months ago I made this book an official Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guy Book Club selection. You see I run the largest "meeting and discussing" book club in the world. I made it a book club selection without reading the book. I never do that. I always read the book first, but I could not get my hands on a copy. Then the critics started coming in with reviews and as I read them, I remembered the reviews from Beach Music and smiled. I smiled because I knew this was going to be one of the biggest books of my life. So when South of Broad made #1 on the New York Times bestseller's list, Publisher's Weekly bestseller's list, and the Southern Independent Bestsellers bestseller list, I knew I was in for one heck of read. You all, I too give this book FIVE Diamonds in my Pulpwood Queen TIARA, the highest honor for a Pulpwood Queen Book Club Selection. Pat just went up a few more steps on the pedestal where I place him. And it's just like my book club that really chooses books more for being great reads, great stories to read and share more than anything, the readers are the true judge of a book's worth! Read South of Broad and do as I did, take your time. Then read ALL of Pat's books and watch a writer as he grew and perfected his craft. Then you will know why on numerous occastions I have stood in line for hours just to get a copy of his latest signed book. And the best part, the author is one of the nicest, kindest, loving men I have ever met in my life. Authors could take lessons from Pat Conroy on how to be a true literary leader. I bow to the feet of Pat Conroy. Shoot, I would dry his feet too with my hair, kind of a Mary Magdalene moment! Tiara wearing and Book sharing, Kathy L. Patrick Founder of the Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Clubs

It has been about 15 years since Pat Conroy's last novel. I was delighted to see that "South of Broad" was to be released this summer and pre-ordered it through Amazon. When it arrived it made my day brighter. I carefully planned my week's free time to submerge myself into this book. It was not disappointing at all. The main character, Leo King, starts the book in high school in Charleston, South Carolina in the wake of emotional teenage turmoil...some of it unbelievable. This is a crucial time in Leo's life and it is also immediately before he meets and befriends the remainder of his life long friends and main characters of this book. Mr. Conroy spends the first part of the book introducing us to and developing the characters splendidly. All of the characters are rich and complicated and I immediately liked some and could do without others. Then the story jumps to another decade and tells a main part of the story. He takes us to the beautiful city of San Francisco to learn more than we want to know about an ugly disease. Then back again to Charleston now a familiar and deliciously described home. Leo and the other characters tell us a story of life long friendships how unlikely they are to form, how meaningful they are to our lives and how enduring they can be if respected and nurtured. If you haven't read a book by this author I would suggest you also get another book to read in companionship: a dictionary! Not only will Pat Conroy's books entertain you they will also enrich your vocabulary more than any of your English teachers were able to. And you will love it! I am enriched by Pat's books and they leave a lasting impression on me. Each day I spend time on my front porch in my rocking chair that I bought after reading "Prince of Tides". The character "Dr. Lowenstein" climbs up onto the lap of her psychiatric patient "Tom Wingo" and allows herself to be rocked into comfort and ease. That scene is so poignant to me that the first time I rocked myself in my new chair I wept for a long time and even now a rock in the chair will bring a tear to my eyes but more importantly comfort from the real world. "South of Broad" will upset you with the emotional trauma the characters have been given and like Prince of Tides" it will also give you and the characters comfort and resolution to the angst. A definite good read

Pat Conroy is my favorite author and I have waited 14 long years for him to publish South of Broad--his first novel since Beach Music. It was definitely worth the wait! While not quite as good as The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini, South of Broad is still an entertaining, eloquent and moving read. Leopold Bloom King (Leo) is about to enter his senior year at Peninsula High School in Charleston, SC. Not much has gone right in young Leo's life. His older brother, the golden boy, committed suicide and Leo spends some time in a mental institution. He also got framed for a crime he didn't commit. But the planets align for him one summer day when he meets a number of teens who will become his classmates and eventually, his best friends. During this historic year, Peninsula High School becomes desegregated and hires their first black football coach. Things are touchy at first, but Leo (the kid who never had any friends) now embraces black kids, orphans, the Charleston elite, and newcomers. South of Broad alternates between the past and the present, as Leo and his friends deal with desegregation and prejudice, love and hurt, marriages and children, aging parents, suicides, AIDS, stardom, looking for lost parents, mental illness, religion, and a homicidal maniac who is stalking them. This is quite a list, but Conroy pulls it off with his usual aplomb. While Leo is trying to fix everyone around him, he must come to the realization that he must first save himself. Some critics have called this book overwrought and melodramatic. Yes, the story may be hokey at times and the characters are sometimes a bit over the top. But I forgive Conroy for two reasons. First, his writing is so stunningly beautiful. And second, Conroy has a love affair with Charleston--my very favorite city on earth. "Since the day I was born, I have been worried that heaven would never be half as beautiful as Charleston, the city formed where two rivers meet in ecstasy to place a harbor and a bay and an exit to the world." And yet, Charleston has some warts and Conway recognizes them as well. One thing that I found interesting about South of Broad is that in most of Conroy's books, the father is the heavy. In South of Broad, Leo's mother, Lindsay, is not only a very demanding mother and his stern high school principal, but she is also a former nun. Very little that Leo does pleases her. It is Leo's father, Jasper, a science teacher, whom Leo adores. "Fishing gave me time to think and to pray and to sit with the man who had rarely raised his voice to me in my entire childhood. Because he was a scientist, his method of being a father was explanatory, and he made being his son feel like a tutorial...my father never employed a tone that did not convey a respect for every part of my boyhood." It was also fascinating to read about Hurricane Hugo as we approach the 20th anniversary of this devastating storm. The dilemma with all of Conroy's books is do you read them quickly to find out what happened? Or do you read them slowly and savor each sentence? I chose the latter--and hope that I won't have to wait another 14 years for so rich a novel.

Pat Conroy at its finest. One hell of a writer. A story well told by one of the finest storytellers.

It's not often that I give five stars to a book. In my mind that honor is reserved for Anna Karenina, The Grapes of Wrath, Angle of Repose. Why then South of Broad? Those who have read Pat Conroy's novels know of his private hell. His father, Don Conroy, was a Marine who physically and emotionally abused his wife and seven children. In later life, Colonel Conroy loved being "The Great Santini". But Santini's madness took a toll on his children; several (including Pat) attempted suicide and one succeeded. Others developed severe mental health problems and were in and out of institutions. Pat has indicated that violent memories of his father haunt him every waking moment. Out of this terrifying life came eight imposing novels and memoirs. They're at times raw, uncomfortable and sad but also tender, witty and sensitive. His prose flows like poetry. Few authors can make readers feel words the way Pat Conroy does. For years I've hoped that Pat could conquer his personal demons enough to write a book that showcases his magnificent writing talents. It would take a lot of healing and is probably too much to ask that he be totally free of his father. But in South of Broad he seems to come close. The plot in South of Broad is not as riveting as those played out in previous novels. A group of tightly knit friends search for one of their own who moved to San Francisco and is seriously ill of AIDS. Leo, the protagonist, travels with his friends to find him and bring him back to Charleston. Some are from that area of Charleston known locally as South of Broad, where the socialites live. But two are orphans, two are black and two are "poor white trash". An unlikely mixture to be sure. There is also a song in South of Broad, Conroy's love ballad to Charleston. After two pages I found myself standing on the Battery, smelling camellias and tasting the ocean. Even if you've never been to Charleston, the most beautiful city in America, you have more than an inkling of how it feels to be there. Never mind those somewhat arrogant people living south of Broad; they can be forgiven. I believe Pat Conroy has finally moved beyond, perhaps as much as he can, his horrific childhood. He writes about a loving father. Much of the angst and trauma that are so prominent in earlier novels is missing, bringing out his highest potential as a writer. It's as if chains have been removed and he's allowed to fly. And that is why I think this book is Pat Conroy's masterpiece. The thin plot that so many criticize allows his stunning prose to soar. His love of Charleston makes you take it as your own. You cannot compare this book to his earlier works. It is as if he's begun life again and finds it magnificent. South of Broad

In “South of Broad,” Pat Conroy pulls this reader into another immersive embrace, as he did with “The Prince of Tides,” and “The Lords of Discipline.” He exemplifies the craft of writers who produce elegant meditations in the form of fictional characters and well crafted plots, based upon people and places encountered during their lives. I thoroughly enjoyed “South of Broad,” even though I’ve never been to this city of Conroy’s dreams and desires in person. Yet, it feels as if I’ve walked its streets in the author’s company.

South of Broad is a study of friendship. It is at times shocking, often funny, thought-provoking throughout, and definitely worthwhile.

When I picked up South of Broad and read the prologue, I was immediately reminded of why it is I read great literature - for pure enjoyment. Simply put, in terms of sheer reading pleasure South of Broad does not disappoint. Conroy's abundant gifts as a writer are on full display from page one. Marked by vivid imagery, Conroy's extravagant prose reveals dark, sinister forces lurking in the plot against the backdrop of the ever beguiling Charleston in a way that ensures enjoyable reading through the early chapters. This one's got it all: love, lust, betrayal, and the exquisite tension found in lifelong friendships. South of Broad is decidely Conroy-esque. There are the complex characters: Leopold Bloom King, the narrator, is a study in contrasts and deeply flawed. His mordant wit thinly masks a wounded psyche and misplaced guilt resulting from the death of his older brother by his own hand. Sheba Poe, the beautiful, self-absorbed Hollywood starlet, vamps through the book's pages in a perpetual pout. And new Charleston meets old Charleston as the other characters - a wealthy scion of Charleston aristocracy and his dutiful wife; orphans who emerge from poverty to elevate their status through marriage; and the first African-American police chief and his puckish wife - come and go in supporting but no less important roles. South of Broad is at its essence about what sustains the unusual dynamic between these disparate personalities. Pat Conroy devotees and new readers alike will recognize the highly stylized writing. He paints with metaphor and simile as lightly as fine brushstrokes, using a wide range of hues as varied as the coastal Carolina sunsets he so dearly loves. Fans of Conroy's earlier works will find the same even pace and storyteller's gift. Not as emotional as Prince of Tides, South of Broad contains every bit as much high drama as Conroy's previous novels. Make no mistake: Leo King's struggles are easily as compelling as Tom Wingo's. Naked, raw, urgent - Leo's passions loom larger than life and boldly fill every page. South of Broad's sweep spans some 20 years, and predictably Conroy handles more highly charged themes. Leo first navigates the troubled familial, racial, and societal waters of Civil Rights era Charleston in 1969 with great dexterity and maturity beyond his years. The cross-currents of prejudice and psychosis-fueled malice compel him to dig deep into an adolescent's heart to serve as peace-maker, despite his own conflicted and deeply remorseful soul. He struggles to win his mother's love while serving as a sort of UN ambassador palliating the sufferings of a newfound coterie of high school friends. The first few chapters of the book are superb. Fast forward to 1989 and we are brought current with what the now adult Charlestonian group of friends has been up to in the intervening two decades. Quite a lot. If one tried to wrap his head around the panoply of American societal ills during those twenty years - illicit drug use, free love/adultery, divorce, HIV/AIDS, homophobia - he would likely be, well, consigned to a lunatic asylum. To address even just a handful of these themes is challenging. To tackle them all in one novel, even for a brilliant writer like Conroy, is over-the-top ambitious. This is where South of Broad begins to lose its moorings as a great read. Titillating, hyper-sexed dialogue in the ensuing chapters fills pages seemingly without end. Additionally, neither the characters nor the direction the plot takes are particularly believable. Some of the characters seem almost cartoonish - caricatures of real people. Perhaps most important, with the exception of Leo King, the author does not spend nearly enough time in the early chapters fully developing the characters such that they are credible at this point in the story. Some of their actions as adults, especially those of Sheba Poe's, seem disconnected from those of their earlier, younger personas - almost as if they are entirely different people. Using an odd literary device, Conroy further develops the main characters as teenagers in the latter part of the book. Disappointing. I tend to favor works of fiction whose storyline and characters are ultimately realistic - not those that pander to the prime time soap crowd. Alas, at least for this reader, fluid and carefully wrought prose does not a great novel make. Just not up to Conroy's usual high standards... Think Desperate Housewives Meets Charleston Society

It has been 14 long years since Pat Conroy has graced us with a new novel. Yet the wait was worth it. In "South of Broad" Conroy tells the story of Leo King. How it was growing up in Charleston and about the tragedy that happend to him at a young age. We meet the friends of Leo who range from social elite to outcasts. P. Conroy takes the reader through 20 years of these peoples lives. Reading ths book I could see the mansions of Charleston, smell the rivers and the harbour and feel the humidity of the summer in the South. Add this book to Conroys list of classics. ItŽs that good.

Simple in the sense of there being no lesser adjective to describe this wonderful book. I feel bereft now that I have finished spending my evenings South of Broad with such a fabulous set of characters. Thee Prince of Tides has long been in my Top Ten and now this Charleston-based story has taken its place alongside.

Excellent reading it changed course so many times and was never predictable. I am a new fan of pat conroy

Pat Conroy is such a gifted writer, able to uncover our buried feelings that we ourselves are not equipped to divulge. His word flow like melted butter. It is wonderful to discover good content, but it takes magic to make reading it a veritable pleasure, and Pat Conroy does just that!

I think this sums up what life is. A roller coaster, ups and downs, more downs that a child would have endured. Same as the one the author experienced it in his own life. I’ve read that most of the authors subconsciously or consciously express their joy or disappointment in the stories they write. In the case of Conroy, he had his history, bits and pieces, sometimes a tapestry, being woven in the stories he told. In this novel, as usual, there are happiness, joy, fun and on the dark side, heartbreaks, disappointments, missed passion and a lot of intense abuse. No, no, no. It’s not a dull and doomed story, but rather it is about redemption and forgiveness. It is written in such poetic prose that throughout the pages you’ll be drawn into the lull and lithe of the telling. That keeps me turning the pages because the prose is too beautiful, I can’t just close the book. This story will be another one from Conroy I’ll remember for a long while.