Customer Reviews

Beach Music

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Once I started reading Beach Music nothing got done around the house. Pat Conroy's style of writing takes me away. It is romantic, humorous, and real all combined. I wish he would write more, but when one of his books comes along, readers will find it was well worth the wait.

Its Pat Conroy. The book is called Beach Music. Its an amazing story. That's all you need to know. Read it, be inspired, become a human being.

I read this book in three days when it was first published and loved it. Upon finding it at my library, I pounced and fell in love all over again. My only concern it that the library will get suspicious when I keep renewing it!!! Mr. Conroys turn of phrase and descriptive words remind me how much I love being a southerner and and how very much I loved Rome. Beach Music on audio CD is the only thing on my Christmas list this year

Pat Conroy's novel is a wide ranging depiction of life in Charleston, South Carolina and to a lesser extent Rome, Italy. It is a multi-generational and multi-family story with interesting, fully developed main characters. As with his prior novels and a later one, South of Broad, Conroy focuses on the psychology of the narrator and his closest friends.

Jack McCall is a person who has always been at the border of activity of his circle of friends. It is as if he just missed the center of the action but still was affected intensely by relationships with the boys and girls and later men and women of Charleston. With Jack, it is a matter of communication. He is very insightful privately but inhibited in outward expression. This makes him an excellent observer and mostly reliable witness to social events and character motives.

Two major historical themes are explored: antiwar activities of college students in the U.S. in the 1960s as the Vietnam war dragged on, and the history of Jewish life before, during, and after World War II. The two themes determine to a large extent the psychological development of the characters and the courses of their interactions. The focus is on four male characters (including Jack) with different levels of commitment to past and present South Carolina coastal life.

As in previous and subsequent work, Conroy writes in a lyrical poetic style capturing the enduring landscape of Charleston and Rome as backgrounds for his story. Each descriptive sentence, it seems, is a sensual portrait of environments the author clearly adores.

If you have read South of Broad, you may notice parallels with Beach Music in theme, story, and characters even though the novels are distinct. I read the more recent novel first and would suggest reading them in chronological order. South of Broad has more dramatic action and is not dominated by the legacy of the Vietnam war and history of Jewish survival preceding, during, and after WWII. The center of identification though in both novels is Charleston, SC and the unique culture of the residents.

I recommend Beach Music with the reservation that the characters are somewhat inaccessible to readers living outside of coastal South Carolina. The low country is a partially closed community of people with a shared past and culture. The characters are interesting and I cared about them, but did not completely identify with their motives. Because of that lack on my part, the actions and relationships of the characters did not quite ring true. This observation was not my experience with South of Broad. Even though I have lived part time in the low country for five years, I am an outsider and probably always will be.

I have read all of Pat Conroy's novels. He is one of my favorite authors. Beach Music is my favorite, with Prince of Tides next. Beach Music is so human, geographically colorful. The characters and emotionally intensity made me wish it would go on and on. I did skip some parts of the chapter re the holocaust as this is always difficult for me to deal with. I am waiting for Pat's next book.

I join Stephen King, in raving about this book, with the reading by Frank Muller. Every library should have a copy.

Beach Music would seem an unlikely title for holocaust material, yet this is but one of four intricately woven plotlines in Pat Conroy's terrific book. It takes inordinate skill to combine romance, history, family dissension, and prison camp "memories" into a cohesive novel. Don't start this book if you have lots of housecleaning to do or a job to show up for. It's very, very hard to put down.

REC'D BOOK PROMPTLY AND IN CONDITION STATED. VERY SATISFIED WITH SELLER AND TRANSACTION. THANK YOU.

I have a problem choosing my favorite book between Pat Conroy's Prince of Tides or Beach Music. Both are rich in incredible story-telling with characters you grow to love and hate. Reading Beach Music drew me into the life and detail of living in the quaintness and cruelty of South Carolina's personae. Then, equally living a whole new life experience in Venice, Italy. As the story continued I became deeply absorbed into the characters' nuances and demons. I found my self sobbing, then bursting into laughter at the turn of a page. No one does it better than Pat Conroy. This book is definitely one of his best! You won't be sorry to add this to your collection! Buy it in hard cover. You'll want to revisit it again and certainly share with others.

read this for our Book Club. Very good but not as good as South of Broad.