Beach Music

Rating:
Summary: Beach Music is a symphony
Review: Beginning in the sunwashed piazzas of Rome where Jack McCall has retreated with his young daughter to heal after the suicide of his childhood sweetheart & to make a new life away from the family he feels has smothered & warped him, South Carolina reaches out to him when he takes a call warning his mother is dying. Soon after Jack realizes he's being followed about the streets of Rome. An old school friend turns up with an astonishing proposal & his brothers back in the States warn him their mother is not, this time, exaggerating. Beach Music is a vast symphony of time, passion & irony. A wonderful panoply of history & beauty. Superb!...

Rating:
Summary: Too Long for Too Little
Review: When an author asks you to spend 800 pages with him, I expect something to take with me afterwards. If you are a big reader of sprawling summer beach books, this probably aims much higher than the average and you will find it better written than the average. However, if you chose your reading and time carefully, you will probably experience a sense of loss. This isn't enriching time like reading more serious authors such as Steinbeck, John Irving, Dickens, Updike etc.

I have never read Conroy before and can make no comparisons to previous books, but this one was fat, undisciplined, uneven in quality of prose, rambling, and uneven in quality of characterizations. A better editor would have helped: I even found two sentences which each appeared twice.

The epic aspect of the narrative works sometimes and at other times sends the novel down the path of a satire of 'The Great American Novel.' Sometimes he gives us lilting and sweet descriptions, and at other times, he embarrassed me with mawkish sentimentality and silly writing.

There is something terribly imbalanced about how large issues are presented here. All events are overblown or exaggerated or presnted in the extreme occurance so that the reverence we may hold for courage that real people show in real tragedies and crises is diminished. (What? Only one parent was murdered and you were only raped once?)

I wish he had a good critic in his life to keep him honest. I felt certain he could write much better than he has.

Rating:
Summary: BEACH MUSIC
Review: Beach Music is not just about disfuntional Southern men, continuously dealing with mothers that can't let go of control. Nor is it just about disfunctional Southern families; holding onto "the War." Beach Music is about LIFE, LOVE, PAIN, GRIEF, FRIENDSHIP, FAMILY, and The Conroy SOUTH. Once again,Mr. Conroy weaves an emotional journey not just into the life of a character, but deep into the soul of the writer as well. As with all Of Conroy's works, it is autobiographical to some extent. He is both proud of his Southern heritage, yet defiled by what it means to be a Southern Gentleman.

In the end, Pat Conroy's emotional journey from the SC beaches to the streets of Rome helps to remind every reader that what really is most important in life cannot be bought. It is those bonds of love, friendship, and most importantly to Conroy, family that remain the best things in life to strive for.....

Rating:
Summary: Pat Conroy + Frank Muller = Perfection
Review: I didn't read this novel -- I listened to it. Unabridged. I believe there were 32 casettes -- maybe more. It's put out by Recorded Books, and it's worth every minute of your time. Frank Muller, the greatest book reader of our time, gives perhaps his greatest performance. It's not to be missed.

Rating:
Summary: 800 Pages of Sheer Poetry
Review: Beach Music is for those who delight in words. With the artistry of Fitzgerald and Hawthorne, Conroy takes us on a journey through South Carolina as if we are a painter's brush gliding across canvas covered in the loveliest of colors. His imagery is exquisite! And the story! This novel shows, once and for all, that we are all products of the 1960s and the Vietnam War. His characters are linked to this most influential time in our history. The novel is engrossing and engaging, ultimately leaving the reader with a sense that he or she has been taken on a lovely, bumpy ride.

Rating:
Summary: The Majic of A Pen
Review: Beach Music is the most engaging book that I have ever read. Pat Conroy uses his characters to evoke incredible emotions and vivid pictures, from the reader. This novel makes you laugh, makes you cry and shudder at the stories of the traumas that the characters endure. I have never read a novel that can so easily transport you from the Palace Farnase in Rome to the beaches of South Carolina with the turn of a page and make you wish you were in both places at once. Very Well done!

Rating:
Summary: A Haunting Literary Masterpiece
Review: Pat Conroy combined a haunting tale, and a sense of family to write this fine novel.The character of Jack McCall is vividly described, and is a center of the story. We find him in Rome,in the beginning. Then he is called home to South Carolina, upon hearing tragic news. The plot unfolds from there as we are taken into his world, and the events surrounding it. This is a haunting tale of epic proportions,that is a must-read. A truly great book, as haunting as beach music.

Rating:
Summary: Not Prince of Tides
Review: While I consider The Prince of Tides to be the most magnificent, moving, involving book ever written, it has taken me over 2 years to finish Beach Music. The characters are remarkably one-dimensional, borderline comic (just look at all the male characters and see how easily you can describe each in ten words or less). Instead of a novel, the endless monologues and reflections on everything from the Holocaust to Vietnam read more like history, and forced down the reader's throat with only tangential relevance to the plots. The witless putdowns between the many characters (how many hundreds are there, by the way?) were sophomoric. And the endless references to how beautiful and handsome everyone was.. it was just too much. The survivors of wars and horror are merely caricatures that speak in 10-page paragraphs, truly boring the reader with way too much detail. What a disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL!
Review: I first read this book 5 years ago and have since read it two more times. I must say that it my absolute favorite book. I keep waiting for Pat Conroy to come out with another one but until he does I guess I will have to keep rereading Beach Music! I have recommended it to all of my friends and they love it as much as I do!

Conroy is such a great author because he draws the reader into the story so well. I found myself feeling the heat of a warm South Carolina afternoon and craving all of the wonderful food Jack would always prepare! I laughed, I cried and I cried some more!

All of Conroy's books are great but this is by far the best. If you are looking for a book that has everything that you can become totally engrossed in, Beach Music is the only way to go. I'll probably read it again this summer!

Rating:
Summary: 10 STARS! I have read and re-read this wonderful book!
Review: Ok I feel truely sorry for the people who didnt understand this book. Not only is conroy an amazing writer who draws you into the story, and makes you feel like a fly on the wall throughout the main character and other characters whole lives, you actually understand what all the characters are feeling. (Cept maybe Capers) One person said "what didnt this book have! " (in a bad context) but that is exactly the point! it goes from the holocaust through the 60's and right up until the 90's, and actually makes it all interesting! All with a real believable setting and plot. Definately one of my very favorite books. I am gonna read it again really soon!