Prince of Tides [Paperback]

Pat Conroy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1996

The dark and turbulent chronicle of the Wingos family of Colleton, South Carolina.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For sheer storytelling finesse, Conroy will have few rivals this season. His fourth novel is a seductive narrative, told with bravado flourishes, portentous foreshadowing, sardonic humor and eloquent turns of phrase. Like The Great Santini, it is the story of a destructive family relationship wherein a violent father abuses his wife and children. Henry Wingo is a shrimper who fishes the seas off the South Carolina coast and regularly squanders what little money he amasses in farcical business schemes; his beautiful wife, Lila, is both his victim and a manipulative and guilt-inflicting mother. The story is narrated by one of the children, Tom Wingo, a former high school teacher and coach, now out of work after a nervous breakdown. Tom alternately recalls his growing-up years on isolated Melrose Island, then switches to the present in Manhattan, where his twin sister and renowned poet, Savannah, is recovering from a suicide attempt. One secret at the heart of this tale is the fate of their older brother Luke; we know he is dead, but the circumstances are slowly revealed. Also kept veiled is "what happened on the island that day"a grisly scene of horror, rape and carnage that eventually explains much of the sorrow, pain and emotional alienation endured by the Wingo siblings. Conroy deftly manages a large cast of characters and a convoluted plot, although he dangerously undermines credibility through a device by which Tom tells the Wingo family saga to Savannah's psychiatrist. Some readers may find here a pale replica of Robert Penn Warren's powerful evocation of the Southern myth; others may see resemblances to John Irving's baroque imaginings. Most, however, will be swept along by Conroy's felicitous, often poetic prose, his ironic comments on the nature of man and society, his passion for the marshland country of the South and his skill with narrative. 250,000 first printing; $250,000 ad/promo; movie rights to United Artists; BOMC main selection; author tour.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA In order to aid a psychiatrist who is treating his psychotic sister, Tom Wingo arrives in Manhattan and describes figures from his youth, among them an abusive father, a mother obsessed with being accepted by Colleton's tawdry elite, eccentric grandparents, stolid brother Luke, and sensitive, poet-sister Savannah. Despite the book's length, scenes such as Grandmother Tolitha's visit to Ogletree's funeral home to try out coffins, Grandfather's yearly re-enactment of the stations of the Cross, Mrs. Wingo's passive-aggressive retaliation by serving her husband dog food, Luke's Rambo-like attempt to keep Colleton from becoming a nuclear plant site, and a bloody football game with the team's first black player deserve students' attention. While Conroy's skills at characterization and storytelling have made the book popular, his writing style may place it among modern classics. He adds enough detail so that readers can smell the salty low-country marsh, see the regal porpoise Snow against the dark ocean, and taste Mrs. Wingo's gourmet cooking and doctored dog food. The story is wholly Tom's; Conroy resists the temptation to include the vantage points of other characters. It is the reluctance of Tom to tell all, to recount rather than recreate his family's past, and to face up to the Wingos' mutual rejections that maintain the tension just below the story's surface. It is Tom's coming clean about his past that lays bare the truth and elevates Prince of Tides above a scintillating best seller. Alice Conlon, Univ . of Houston
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Black Swan (February 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552996920
• ISBN-13: 978-0552996921
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (264 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,225,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pat Conroy is the author of eight previous books: The Boo, The Water is Wide, The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline, The Prince of Tides, Beach Music, My Losing Season, and The Pat Conroy Cookbook: Recipes of My Life. He lives in Fripp Island, South Carolina. Photo copyright: David G. Spielman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

125 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conroy's best..., September 24, 2004

By 

Cynthia K. Robertson (beverly, new jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Prince of Tides: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

In Pat Conroy's masterpiece, The Prince of Tides, not much is going right in Tom Wingo's life. He drinks too much, has lost his teaching/coaching job, and his marriage is on the rocks. He grew up with an abusive father whose violent behavior left physical and emotional scars on all the Wingo children. His mother was more supportive, but was powerless to protect her children from her husband's wrath. She also put her social ambitions before anything else in her life. The only that has gone right in Tom's life is that he lived his entire life in the low country of Charleston, SC--one of the most beautiful and nurturing places on this earth.

Things come to a head when Tom learns that his beautiful and talented twin, Savannah, has tried to commit suicide again. As she lays comatose in a New York City mental hospital, Savannah's psychiatrist, Susan Lowenstein, urges Tom to travel to New York. Doctor Lowenstein realizes that the only thing that can help save Savannah is to unlock the secrets of her terrible childhood (something that all the Wingo children have long suppressed and refuse to talk about). Tom flies to New York reluctantly, and at first, presents Dr. Lowenstein with a façade made up of humor, sarcasm and even rudeness. But Dr. Lowenstein eventually is able to break down Tom's protective shell to discover the horrors that took place during the Wingo's childhood. She also realizes that in trying to save Savannah, that this might also be Tom's last chance to save himself. But it turns out that Lowenstein has erected her own protective mask to hide her own unhappiness. With a remote husband and a spoiled son, Tom is able to turn the tables and help the good doctor in promoting a little self-healing as well.

The Prince of Tides is my favorite of all fiction books, and one of the most moving and emotional novels I have read. I think Conroy is one of our best living authors, and his words seem more like music than the written word. For those that know Conroy's background (including his own abusive father), it is disturbing to realize that much of this story is autobiographical in nature. I watched the movie after reading the book, and while the movie was quite good (especially the actors including Barbra Streisand, Nick Nolte and Blythe Danner), the movie can't hold a candle to the novel. Major storylines had to be left out and the plot greatly simplified.

If you can only read one Conroy, make The Prince of Tides your choice.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars his best work, July 29, 2002

By 

Elizabeth (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Prince of Tides: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I reserve my five star rating for books that stand out as the best of the best. This is on the list of my top ten books, so I don't hesitate to put it as a five star book. Unlike some of Conroy's other books, this story line flows very easily, the plot seems reasonable, and it is as if you could have been there in South Carolina with the characters. This is a book for people who love to read-- it seems like Conroy is writing a long and beautiful poem, rather than a novel. But, don't get me wrong, the writing is not heavy or Faulkner-like that you can't get through it. It is a beautiful story of Tom Wingo as he deals with his sister's mental illnesses, his marital problems, and his childhood. As a person from the south, the book seemed very relevant in the way that family dynamics play out and the way childhoods are remembered. I would recommend the book for anyone who wants a captivating story, eloquent writing, and a taste of southern life. There is also some very good humor, too, which I appreciated!

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conroy is in a class with Maugham and Styron, May 2, 2001

By 

Mary J. Schaudt "maryjill" (Sagle, ID USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Prince of Tides: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I read The Prince of Tides in 1984 and have read it many more times since then. It is my number one favorite book, and I have been reading for 45 years. Conroy spins a tale of a family and southern town in a prose that is poetic. The Wingos are a tragic family, yet paradoxically have golden memories, interspersed with some of the most humorous imbroglios imaginable. Tom Wingo's recollections of growing up in the low country marshes are the heart of the story, and telling them to Dr. Lowenstein is the avenue to healing himself and a form for the author to promote this dialog. All along the way every chapter is a story unto itself. Many vivid characters are introduced, in such astounding fashion! Who could dream up a Mr. Fruit, or Tolitha's coffin shopping expedition? So many adventures, and yet with such underlying sorrow. Conroy's gift is his ability to intersperse his books with humor and immaculate prose. I have copied down some of his phrases as treasures to quote. Reading some of the the one, two and three star reviews made my heart sink, for these reviewers just don't seem to recognize one of the greatest books of the last quarter century. I do agree with anyone who thought the movie made by Streisand focused predominately on the love affair, and in effect may have quenched a savvy reader's desire to read the novel. Please read this book and recommend it to others!