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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
125 of 129 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conroy's best...,
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,
By
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,
By
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!
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