Beach Music

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I love this book so much that I actually bought it five times so my friends could also enjoy it as much as I did. I even got my husband to read it & he is usually not into that kind of books. I would recomend it to everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes, less is more.
Review: With "Beach Music," Pat Conroy has written a good 600 page book that would have been a great 300 page book.

I was instantly drawn into the story of Jack McCall and his young daughter Leah as they attempted to put the pieces of their lives together after his wife's suicide. I was, however, not as interested in the countless turns the story took away from that plot line. While the Holocaust, the Vietnam war, and the internal battle waged by misplaced southern Americans living in Rome are certainly interesting topics, I found that they diluted the story that I wanted to read.

Without a doubt, Conroy's prose is impressive in it's style and pageantry. Now, if only it were more focused here....

Rating:
Summary: Beach Music
Review: I rank only a very few books to be a 5 star novel. "The Thorn Birds", "The Count of Monte Cristo", "Gone With the Wind", and "Beach Music". I could not put the book down and bought the book on tape to do it again. Since I have lived the times and many of the places it was like I was there. I laughed, cried, cheered, and mourned. The book is wonderful. I think I will read it again!

Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking story
Review: I've heard people have been tinkering with the idea of making a movie of this, starring Brad Pitt. I almost hope they don't try, as it would be very difficult to capture this story in even a three hour movie without blowing the balance of characters in this story somehow. The cutting of any character's story would probably ruin it.

This is one whopping good tale that somehow connects the Holocaust with South Carolina from the 50's to the 80's. It is the story of a group of friends, mostly four young men and two women, who grow up together, share the pain and/or abuse of their parents, drift irrevocably apart (or do they?), and come together to try and put the pieces of the whole story together.

It is not giving anything that is not on the dust jacket to say that one of the six committed suicide. One is a fugitive. One is in self-imposed exile. One is a politician trying to use the former assocations for political gain. And another just happens to be a movie producer who thinks the public would love to see on the screen what we are treated to in the book.

The story takes the reader back and forth in time for the six main characters. But almost as important are the parents of several of them. While The Big Six all have their problems and flaws, it is the story of some of these parents that really grabs you. I've mentioned the Holocaust, and it's no surprise that this breaks your heart, albeit in ways, believe it or not, other than the usual atrocities we hear about. But once you think the lowest depths of human behavior have been reached, the story of another of the parents appears, and you see that it was not the case.

It is these supporting stories that, in my eyes, make the story really great. For just about all of The Big Six are big achievers to some extent. We get several head cheerleaders, an aspiring governor, a famous writer, and a movie producer. I would have preferred if these people weren't all so important, and that's why I love the stories of the parents. For these were ordinary people who both did bad things, and had extremely bad things done to them, mostly not through their fault. This is a long book, but the story also zooms by as you can't wait to see what happens next.

Rating:
Summary: Beach Music
Review: I have read the book and listened to the audio cassette. The narrator's voice is one of the best and his inflections make the book a treat. This book is in my top ten of all times. Best when you are a listener.

Rating:
Summary: The most incredible book I have ever read.......
Review: I almost put this book down when the first chapter became too descriptive but fortunately I did not! I laughed, I cried and I became totally immersed in the character's lives. I enjoyed every character in the book and could not wait to find out how each of their stories ended. I was so sorry when the book came to an end and I look forward to the next Pat Conroy novel.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully written, a great summer read
Review: Throughout the first 300 pages, I was enthralled by every word, every sentence, and every paragraph. Just after that, every one of those words began to drag on and on and on... but after 200 pages of you asking yourself, "What exactly is the point of these chapters?", the pace quickens once again and you put the book down with a smile.

The character development of every single one of them is amazing, though sometimes you question whether the daughter, Leah, is 8 or 18.

Despite these small flaws, the book is truly amazing and a great read that truly delves into the life of Southerners.

Rating:
Summary: Ridiculous melodrama
Review: I read this book after a friend highly recommended it. What a huge disappointment! I didn't find a single character believable, let alone likeable--and Lord knows there is a huge cast of characters in this book. Jack McCall's whiny "my family ruined my life and I'm so bitter" routine got old after the first couple of chapters. The story line is so wrought with over-the-top tragedy that I just couldn't get drawn into it. Several flashback sequences--particularly the suffering of the Jewish characters in Europe--added absolutely nothing to the story except bulk.

I loved The Lords of Discipline and The Great Santini, but Pat Conroy has lost a fan with Beach Music.

Rating:
Summary: Occasional overwrought speechifying, but great storytelling.
Review: There's some great storytelling mixed in with the overwrought, purple prose.

My favorite character was the Great Dog Chippy. The male banter is pretty cute, too.

The first part of the book was simplistic, especially the
stereotypical depictions of girls and women, all of whom seem to have stepped out of Seventeen or Vogue. However, the descriptions of Rome and Venice were brilliant. Also, lovingly woven in are descriptions of luscious meals created by the food/travel critic-narrator.

Still, you have to get by this to be treated to some of the most
fascinating and harrowing stories you'll ever read in any book. This is Conroy's forte...the individual stories.

As a Jew, I was both touched and embarrassed by Conroy's interepretation of Holocaust history and Jewish culture. It's always a bit strange to hear your experience described in detail by someone who hasn't actually lived it...I suppose it's how some Black people feel when a Caucasion writes about Black culture. Still, it had its interesting moments. Of course, it's always suspicious when the Jews (or Blacks) are depicted as Huge Heroes and Heroines (as in Max, the "Great Jew.") It makes them outsized, and to some degree eradicates their normalcy , their ordinariness as simple human beings...

But then, everyone in this novel is out-size...larger than life. That's one of the problems with the book. Every single person and thing is huge, including the fish. If you will note from another great novel, "Moby Dick" - the only giants were Ahab and the whale. That kind of put things in perspective.

Still, a noble attempt and for the sheer joy of great storytelling, it's a "must" read.

Rating:
Summary: Lyrical
Review: I did not want this book to end! It was one of the most beautifully written books that I have ever encounterd. Every description was detailed and fitting.

I loved the scope of this book- crossing across continest from Poland to Rome to South Carolina. It spans 3 (4 if you count Jack's daughter) genereations and how each affects the next. The beauty of the novel is the interlocking families, pasts, and hidden truths.

Conrad is a magnificent story teller. The descriptions capture a sense of place and character. But it is his conversational narration that adds plot. The story is not told chronologically, but unfolds as we learn more.

This is a truly emotional story- in addition to love, friendship and hope there is abuse and despair. A few descriptions are difficult to bear, but it all adds to a rich tale.

I just finished Beach Music, but am already to go back and savor it all again. Find time to read and enjoy it!