Rating: 
Summary: One of my top three all-time favorites
Review: Although I've nothing new and brilliant to contribute in the way of literary insights, I will say that this story fully captured my imagination. The writing was just as a comprehensive family analysis ought to be. There are layers and layers to peel away throughout the story, and I found this technique to be very satisfying. Some of the events seemed to be outrageously unbelievable; however, when I compared it to my own life I realized that this is how reality is. I loved this book and took it right to my heart.
Rating:
Summary: A song to the soul
Review: While I think that this book is long and desultory, I liked the book very much. The book is beyond description. I think Conroy should get rid of bad-parenting theme out of his books.I fell in love with most of the characters, especially Shyla. She seemed too sweet, nice and pretty to die. The ending was very touching, and made me sad, as if it were real. And that's what defines a good book... when the author is able to grab hold of your soul and talk it's language. Beach Music is very well worth the long read.
Rating:
Summary: Favorite Book
Review: I read this novel for the first time 4 years ago and loved it. I enjoyed the characters, the settings and all the sub-stories. I am now reading it again and I have been stretching the time it takes to read it out as long as possible so I can absorb even more of all the stories and some of the history the book tells. I am looking forward to the next Conroy novel, although I feel it would be difficult to top this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Bouts of Whimsy and Nightmare
Review: When this novel is good--and I'm talking about the parts where it is really well written and the characters are evocative--it's absolutely beautiful. That's why it is so annoying to have the author fall back into less appealing text and characterizations so often! I think the title, "Beach Music," like some of the action in this novel, doesn't do justice to most of this work. If only Conroy had spent a little more time on this it would have been so much better. He aludes throughout this novel to the 'big problems' with growing up in the south, what that does to people. That's something I'd like to know more about--what does it mean to the characters in the book? What interests me the most are the descriptions of several of the characters, the city of Venice, the historical monuments, the Catholic Church, the history of Jewish Holocaust survivors and the effect of that generations later. For example, gondolas moved "above the water like black, misshapen swans from bouts of whimsy and nightmare." This novel is really all over the map and Conroy does a good job of making the connections. This book is some 800 pages, and really easy to get through, you don't want it to end. This is a 4 star review, and well-deserved.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful story
Review: Beach Music is a winding romantic story that I thought was truly captivating. True, it was very long, but there were plenty of suspensful moments that kept you turning the pages. Definitely a great summer book....so you have time for 800 pages!
Rating: 
Summary: Not High on My List, But I Don't Regret Reading It
Review: I have read all Conroy's books except for Water is Wide. This one is my least favorite next to The Boo. The story is pretty interesting. A number of the characters are compelling, though they tended to be secondary folks rather than the main group. I give the author credit for holding my interest for the whole 800 some pages. Every time I would think about quitting, Conroy dangles one of many mysteries in front of you again so that you really want to keep reading. However, I found the answers to some of these mysteries less compelling than the author clearly wanted me to. I think this relates to my main objection to the book, which is that it's written with such an emphatic tone so much of the time. Jack doesn't feel ambivalent about anything--he has to love or loathe everything. I felt like Conroy was writing with hundreds of exclamation points, when a calmer, more nuanced approach would have seemed more natural. Where was his editor?
Rating: 
Summary: Incredibly Unrealistic Characters
Review: Conroy's habit of making characters with mental problems into tragic, yet charismatic and magical entities is beyond annoying. From what I know of the families of schizophrenics, caring for afflicted individuals goes a tad beyond the fond headshaking and smiling tolerance that Conroy's characters indulge in when dealing with John Hardin. Totally unrealistic. And speaking of unrealistic, why not make Jack's daughter a REAL 6-year-old (who occasionally whines, has tantrums and spills milk) rather than a beatific, Yoda-type character who is wiser than every adult surrounding her?
Rating:
Summary: So many pages, so little to say! NO stars!
Review: I was a big Pat Conroy fan. I absolutely loved "The Prince of Tides" and "The Great Santini." I was so looking forward to reading "Beach Music" that I almost put down the book I was reading to start this one up immediately. What a total, complete and dismal disappointment. Okay, I'll admit it -- I didn't finish the book. But after 300 pages of rambling with virtually nothing revealed (why the heck DID that one guy flee the country and become a priest? -- If I had to read another allusion to that I was going to throw the book in the fire! Get on with it already and let the reader know what's going on!) I just couldn't face another 500 pages. I found each character more annoying than the last. Why is it, for example, that every woman in this book is such a mythical creature? -- They're all beautiful, headstrong, articulate, slim, sexy -- who are these people? I could go on and on, but this book doesn't deserve such attention. Suffice to say that I hated it.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites!
Review: Beach Music is one of the best books I've ever read. It ranks right up there with Dickens, Michener, Hemingway, and Irving. I was astonished to read reviews giving it anything less than all five stars. To those of you that did not find this book incredible, give it another chance. Don't be critical of the story and the characters and you will find yourself swept up in a beautiful story. Hurrah for Conroy.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Written
Review: Pat Conroy is one of the few writers whose every sentence isbeautiful. The book is heartbreaking and fabulously written. It reallystruck home for me, because both my parents are Holocaust survivors, and few novels address the pain of the so-called "Second Generation," their children. I'd recommend this book to fans of any genre.
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