Rating: 
Summary: best book
Review: This story was absolutly excellent. I read part of it. The first 100 pages and was evry bored with it. Later on when it was the only book I had to read, I picked it up and didn't put it down. I was on a vacation in Costa Rica and the ocean was so inviting but instead I sat and read the definitly best book written by Pat conroy.The story was an excellent one. One that made me cry. By the time I had finished the book I felt like I was part of the family and had gone through everything that they had. I absolutly love Pat Conroy and his stories. Read Beach Music and you will laugh, cry and be there in charleston, south carolina. For Pat Conroy fans and for everyone that has read this book I definetly recommend the Price of Tides, the Lords of Discipline and the Great Santini.
Rating: 
Summary: "Boring Music" would be a better title
Review: I wanted to like this book. Really. It was the selection of the month for my book club, it had come highly recommended by astute friends and most customer reviews were oozing with praise. I did NOT like "Beach Music" however, not even a eentsy-weentsy bit. Here're but a few of my quibbles with the book:
. It's far too long and contains too many sub-plots. "Succinct" appears not to be an adjective Conroy understands.
. The characters all are pulchritudinous. Ah, but to balance that, Conroy makes them all crazy and/or conflicted.
. John Hardin, the brother with schizophrenia,is portrayed in the most demeaning, stereotypical manner. Conroy should be hung by his toenails for contributing to the misunderstanding of and stigma surrounding this serious mental illness.
. The "Purple prose" becomes blatantly boring after a very short while. I truly am sorry I wasted so much time on this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Vacation Read
Review: You won't be disappointed in Beach Music. Engrossing novel dealing with suicide, relationships, family (it's all there) and the journey of Jack to find answers by searching through his past. Although some parts of the book seemed a bit long, I highly recommend this be on your list to read!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing to Read
Review: If Pat Conroy has has shown us anything is that he knows how to write a book. Like his other previous novels, Conroy carries on the tradition of fine Southern writers.Beach Music is a story of life and death within a family in South Carolina. The personal touches of the book make it so vivid and interesting that it is often impossible to put down. Instead of being confused with all of the multiple characters in the novel, Conroy is so brilliant with his descriptions that you cannot forget anyone. From Italy to the lowcountry of South Carolina, you are immersed in many different settings, each of them told in a memorable way that will ensure their memory. My only frustration is with the book is that it did not win the Pulitzer several years ago. Over the years I have shared my copies with other people and they too were stunned by excellent the book is. Without a doubt it is Conroy's best work and on my favorites list. Though this book may be long, do not let it fool you, when reading it time slips by and you are finished in what seems like a few hours...
Rating:
Summary: Over and Over
Review: I absolutely love Beach Music, Pat Conroy's style draws you in with tastes of the places he lives and has lived then shares the despair and drama of them both! I have read this book 3 times and still think it is wonderful. It is a vacation in your hands! I have tried his other books, and enjoy this one the best. A great read for men and women alike!
Rating:
Summary: The Good and the Bad
Review: The Good:
Reading Pat Conroy is like reading poetry. His stories are filled with unforgetable sadness and non-stop humor. Conroys uprecendented strengths as a writer are once again on display in Beach Music. His charecters are complex and wonderfully developed. You'll find yourself falling in love with the books many "relationships." A story of family and love and all the problems inbetween, it doesnt get any better then this. If you enjoyed Conroys other masterpieces (Prince of Tides, Lords of Discipline, The Great Santini), then you will surely rate this among your favorites. If this is your first Conroy read and you enjoy it, consider yourself lucky that you are able to read his other works. I would do anything to read any of his books for the first time.
The Bad:
I always find it difficult to find bad things about Conroys books, but I will try to highlight some possible dislikes people might have. This book is a very complex book, with very complex topics. People who like "soft" reads will probably find this book hard to stomach. It deals with array of subjects from family disfunction and suicide to The Holocaust. It may not be for the unsentimental or the unemotional type.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: THIS IS MY FAVORITE BOOK EVER. TOUCHING AND REAL IN EVERY WAY.
Rating:
Summary: The best of a Great American Writer
Review: I am a huge fan of PC. I grew up the son of an army colonel and a graduate of the USMA (West Point). I live in the south and find many things to love and loathe about my home. Pat Conroy and I have a lot of common benchmarks and experiences; and given what we have in common, for me Pat Conroy does the best job of any author at helping my mind see the world in which his stories take place. I have read all of Pat Conroy's books and I loved all of them; but Beach Music stands out for me as the best of what I love from Pat Conroy. It was horrifically sad, terrible, beautiful and inspirational.
Rating: 
Summary: Good solid reading with likeable characters
Review: I was a little more prepared for this book having read 'The Prince of Tides' which I started reading not realizing it was fiction (see review). The best thing that can be said about Conroy's writing is that he must have had a screwed up life. His insight and ability to read and spell out emotions is amazing. I'd offer the opinion that if someone in the mental health field hadn't read this and other Conroy books, they are letting their clients down. Probably the same could be said for pastors and lay counselors.
Rating:
Summary: MUSIC TO MY EARS
Review: To read a book by Pat Conroy is to come to the realization that so much of everything else I read, and think is good, is truly just an appetizer getting me ready for the main course -- which is what Conroy is. Every sentence you read lures you into the web of Conroy's storytelling. This is a book that will take you from the piazzas in Rome to the low country of South Carolina. You will fall so deeply in love with each setting that you couldn't possibly decide which place you would prefer to live. Every character is a tortured soul who has a tale to tell -- one more heartbreaking than the other. The main story follows Jack McCall, who flees to Rome with his young daughter Leah after his beloved wife Shyla has committed suicide. He leaves behind a bevy of colorful family and friends in an effort to escape his torment and begin a new life in a new land. As a travel writer by trade, Jack is able to pick up and live wherever he chooses. It is a telegram from a family member that will finally bring Jack back to South Carolina to face his demons and learn the stories of all those he loves. Conroy has the ability of dropping crumbs along the way leading you to each character's hidden story. He touches on times in history involving the Holocaust and the Vietnam War -- each decade so real that I don't even want to think about the horrors. But it is these horrors that have come to shape the characters whose cards have been dealt and whose hands must be played. They are all part of a finely interwoven story with South Carolina as the stage for the grand finale. In reading the book, I can only wonder if the author can write the last twenty pages and not cry himself. I don't usually cry when reading a book but I must admit that this one did me in. Conroy so neatly ties up all the loose ends so that the reader feels no need for a sequel as they are confident that the lives of the characters they have come to love will go on. While this is a book about tortured souls, it is also a book that holds great promise filled with love and hope and devotion and yes...redemption. We always talk about the books that will stay with us forever. This is one for me...music to my ears...Beach Music that is.
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