Pat Conroy: A Critical Companion

by Landon C. Burns, Kathleen Gregory Klein (Editor)

No one who has read Pat Conroy's novels of family wounds and healing can fail to be moved by their emotional appeal. But Conroy is also a major contemporary American novelist who follows in the tradition of Southern fiction established by William Faulkner and Thomas Wolfe. This companion is the first book-length study of his work. It explores the recurring motifs in his fiction and his special writing talents as a prose stylist of uncommon distinction. A separate chapter for The Boo and The Water is Wide and each novel― The Great Santini , The Lords of Discipline , The Prince of Tides , and his most recent, Beach Music ―provides a detailed analysis of the books and the common threads that unite all the novels.

A biographical chapter draws connections between Conroy's life and the autobiographical nature of his fiction. A chapter on genre traces Conroy's roots in southern fiction and shows how all the novels fall into the rite-of-passage genre. Each novel is analyzed for plot structure, characterization, thematic elements, and Conroy's increasingly elaborate style and development as a master of the art of the novel. In addition, Burns defines and applies a variety of alternative approaches to the novels to widen the reader's perspective. A complete bibliography of Conroy's fiction as well as selected reviews and criticism complete the work. Because of Pat Conroy's popularity among adults and teenagers, this first critical work of a major contemporary American writer is a necessary purchase by public and secondary school libraries.

216 pages, Hardcover

First published May 30, 1996

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before I start with my review, I'll be the first one to say that Pat Conroy is my favorite author. I have read all of his book besides his first publication, his stories are mesmerizing and captivating to read. There is one author that touches his writing style or his ability to write characters with so much emotional appeal. The way he describes the South, his upbringing and how he overcome obstacles will forever hold a special place to my heart. However this autobiographical book did not do Pat any justice, it basically retold the plot of his books without adding anything worth contributing. I felt that the story was far stretched or rushed, I just did not connect to what the author was trying to intend. While the beginning was luring, it was not enough for me to rate this book higher.

This has nothing to do with Pat as an author, he is my favorite. However it had a lot to do with how the story was written, it just was not all that memorable. The way it was told was almost like a bad manuscript, nothing really kept my attention. In fact, I was skimming the majority of it cause it got repetitive and boring. Maybe it was not what I was looking for cause of how it was told or whatever.

I wished I would have enjoyed it better but it left me scratching my head in bewilderment.