Rating: 
Summary: Hauntingly Beautiful Book
Review: This isn't just a book -- it's a revelation that has stuck with me since the moment I first read it seven years ago. I've seen it commented that it feels like more than one book and should have been broken up into more than one manuscript, however I disagree. Every piece has it's purpose and place in the book. It just wouldn't have been the same without certain elements in each section. It's an epic story told in wonderfully crafted flashbacks and first person narration.
If a reader begins to question why a certain scene is being presented, I encourage them to continue reading -- and all will be revealed.
Symbolism and fantastic, vivid imagery is abundant in this book. I am not normally a fan of first person narration, but Jack McCall is a character that sticks with you. When I was first assigned this book to read in high school, I balked because it was lengthy, and not the sci-fi books I normally liked to read. I first rented it from the library, and since then I've bought the book a total of 6 times. I read it, and then give it to a friend. Now I'm getting ready to buy it on Amazon for my mother.
I can't recomend this book enough!!
Rating:
Summary: Great read!
Review: This is my favorite book that I have EVER READ!! (and I read a lot) I didn't want it to end. I have recommended to every "reader" I come across. This is a must read-two or three times!
Rating: 
Summary: Ehh, not my cup of tea.
Review: Conroy's a bit too emotional for my taste and he tends to overwrite. I enjoyed The Great Santini a lot, but this one didn't do much for me. There's one chapter, when a few teenagers get stranded at sea on a motorboat, that's great. And his portrayal of southern life is cool, but I wasn't crazy about this one overall.
Rating:
Summary: Case Studies
Review: To fans telling the story again and overwriting are cause to rejoice. The main character is a widower of one year. He has a young daughter and determines to move to Europe. Jack McCall has been blamed by his wife's family for her death. His sister-in-law seeks him out in Rome. Jack had been in love with his wife's mother when he was a boy. Jack survives in Europe by writing about beautiful cities and great places to eat. Mike, Capers, Jordan, Ledare, and Jack were students in the same high school group. Mike Hess is doing better than anyone. He has appeared in PEOPLE MAGAZINE. Capers Middleton is running for Governor of South Carolina. Jordan Elliott has joined the Benedictine Order. For all intents and purposes Jordan has vanished. There is a suspense build-up as the reader wonders what it is that Jordan has done to make him hide away in various monasteries. Jack has four brothers-- Tee, Dallas, Dupree and John Hardin. Their father used to be a man of substance. Unfortunately he was the town drunk, too. The father had loved Tolstoy but could not bring himself to love his own family. Jack returns to South Carolina upon learning that his mother is hospitalized. Mike sets up a meeting that includes Ledare and Capers in order to obtain the help of his classmates to create a miniseries. (Actually the author uses a delightful conceit here, that of having a group of high school friends gather together to produce a miniseries.) Capers begs Jack to support his political career. It turns out that Capers took child custody from Ledare through the use of private eyes and other machinations and even arranged to kill her favorite tree. Jack thinks that if Italy survived the Huns it could survive a visit from his mother. Jack does make peace with his deceased wife's parents and his daughter Leah gets to know her grandparents during a visit to North Carolina after Jack's mother's visit to Rome which ended in a shoot-out at the airport. Jack's mother is a story teller. His father married the shape of a woman and had no particular clue to her nature. Jack's parents inherited a notable house from a woman with ties to South Carolina history who had been a friend of Jack's mother. Leah, Jack's daughter, finds Waterford, South Carolina comfortable. She wonders why her father took them to Rome, (where he attempted to come to terms with his demons). Leah's maternal grandmother Ruth Fox had come to Waterford as an orphaned teenager. Jack's father had loved drink too much to provide his sons with a happy childhood but his friend Jordan had an even worse time with his Marine officer father. Once in boyhood though Capers, Jack, Jordan, and Mike were lost at sea. Jrodan's survival skills learned from his father ensured their safety. They landed at Cumberland Island, Georgia after fifteen days at sea. It seems that Jack's wife's father served on the Judenrat. In the camp he lived in his head and concentrated on music. Mike restages their college years for the participants in a mock trial setting. After the shooting at Kent State Jack and his friends were arrested for attempting to destroy the South Carolina draft records. Capers, it was discovered, had been working for the state investigative body all along. They had received a suspended sentence from a generous-spirited judge. The writing is sensuous. The story is very very moving.
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