The Great Santini

Rating:
Summary: Conroy draws from his own experiences to write "Santini".
Review: Pat Conroy's novel The Great Santini tells of the coming of age of Ben Meechan. Ben, the oldest son of Bull and Lillian Meechan, is a clean cut, smart athlete. Bull, the Great Santini, is a macho marine fighter pilot who is trying to relive his youth through his son Ben. Lillian is a naive southern belle who is very passionate toward her children. Ben is scared of his father and he tries to protect the rest of his family from him. Ben moves to Ravenel, South Carolina during his junior year of high school. He makes a few friends and becomes the star basketball player. This causes a conflict with his father who is never satisfied with his son's achievements. Bull is called to go on a routine flying mission to Florida. His plane crashes and Bull is killed. At the conclusion of the novel, Ben assumes the family responsibilities formerly held by Bull. The theme in this book is that people show their love in different ways. Bull constantly nags the children and is overly intense because he is always trying to make them better. Lillian babies the children and wants the boys to be southern gentleman because she does not want them to be like Bull. Ben and his sister, Mary Anne, argue constantly as many siblings do. After their father's death, they show their love for each other by coming together as a family. Mr. Dacus, Ben's principal and basketball coach, is aware of Ben's situation at home. He becomes protective of Ben and later has to tell Ben about his father's death. The main strength in this book is the great amount of detail. An example of this is,"...sleeping as the car rolled through vast wilderness and untransmissible lights." The characterization was also a strength. It is obvious that Bull is very stern when the author says, "His voice could quiet a bar full of drunks during a fight." Sammy, Ben's best friend, showed his insecurity by usually telling his dates a false name. There were so many strengths in this book that any weaknesses would go unnoticed. The novel The Great Santini, by Pat Conroy, depicts the adolescent life of Ben Meechan as though the reader were part of the story. It is easy to understand the life that a Marine family must endure; the constant moving, having to always make new friends and the fear of your father never returning from a mission. Ben's emotions could be felt in the excitement on the court and the fear of his father. Ben's internal conflict is accurately depicted in the manner in which he deals with his father's death. Conroy is able to write this story so well because it is based on a part of his life. He actually moved to Beaufort (Ravenel), South Carolina during his junior year of high school. He was very upset at having to move one more time. His mother, whom he loved dearly, told him, "Go out and make this town your town." Conroy has lived and traveled all over the world, but he still calls Beaufort home. Conroy was the star basketball player for his high school and attended The Citadel on a basketball scholarship. His father would never let him take a typing class because he thought that typing classes were only for girls. Conroy says that this has proven to be the most expensive thing his father has ever done to him. To this day he still cannot type. He writes his manuscripts in longhand and must pay to have them typed.

Rating:
Summary: Comming of Age
Review: Pat Conroy's The Great Santini is a truly a story of comming to age for Ben Meecham, Bull "The Great Santini" Meecham's son. Bull Meecham wants his family to run like the Marine Corps. which he so proudly loves. However, families dont work like this and is very apparent throughout the course of the book. Bull is also trying to relive his childhood through his oldest son, eventually driving him to do an outrageous event. However, through all the harsh things he does, you'll grow to love and appreciate him, just as his family did, and learn of a secret love between Bull and his son Ben under the fighting between the two.

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Lords of Discipline - Pat Controy

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Probably one of the most enjoyed books I have ever read. Conroy is truly the master storyteller. The book is destined to be a classic

Rating:
Summary: Too accurate
Review: Summer 2004 Reading List - Mini Review

The Great Santini is a pretty good coming of age story. It is not bad as an embracing-your-southern-heritage story. But it shines when it humanizes a monster of a Dad and shows how families of dysfunction operate and compensate.

Conroy blends humor and morbidity in this somewhat autobiographical look at growing up as a marine kid in the South.

I prefer Ordinary People when it comes to dysfunction, and A Walk To Remember when it comes to southern coming of age but this is still a good and thought provoking read.

Rating:
Summary: Bad Dad Disease
Review: Summer 2004 Reading List - Mini Review

The Great Santini is a pretty good coming of age story. It is not bad as an embracing-your-southern-heritage story. But it shines when it humanizes a monster of a Dad and shows how families of dysfunction operate and compensate.

Conroy blends humor and morbidity in this somewhat autobiographical look at growing up as a marine kid in the South.

I prefer Ordinary People when it comes to dysfunction, and A Walk To Remember when it comes to southern coming of age but this is still a good and thought provoking read.

Rating:
Summary: Conroy Strikes Gold Again!
Review: The Great Santini is absolutely beautiful to read. There's something about Conroy's characters that just draws one into the vortex of their lives. Each character is so individually unique and so real, that by the end of the novel, I feel as if I had grown up with the Meecham family! Conroy is incredibly skilled at creating totally engrossing characters who each have their own struggles and motivations... (all the major characters, even minor characters are very fully developed.)

Bull Meecham and Ben Meecham of course are my favorite characters in this novel...but all of the supporting characters are not far behind. It amazes me how Conroy lets the reader so intimately into his own family history...sometimes I believe it is even more powerful than any autobiography could ever be.

One of my favorite qualities of "The Great Santini" is the dialogue. Pat Conroy is hilarious --the wit and pace of the dialogue between the characters had me laughing out loud so many times. And in trademark Conroy style, a few pages later, I'll find myself tearing up!

The Great Santini revolves around the family life of a family of a Marine Aviator Officer...the novel follows them as they are transplanted to a new South Carolina town. The story is told from the perspective of the son, Ben Meecham.

I'm always so amazed by Conroy's ability to pen a love story...his love for his characters and storytelling shines through his writing and imagery. The Great Santini is an incredible (and disturbing) look into the love of a father-son, husband-wife, man-occupation, friend-friend. Conroy also does an excellent job at exploring racial tensions and the journey of a boy becoming a man. (I'd recommend reading "The Lords of Discipline" too! Many parallel ideas....)

I absolutely love this book! I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who wants to be swept off their feet by one of the best authors of our time.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not Great Santini
Review: The Great Santini is the story of a Marine family, the Meechams, during the late 1950s. The father, Bull Meecham is the typical military father: crude, tough, conceited, and prone to bouts of drunkenness and violence. His son, Ben, is a senior in high school looking to college as a way to escape his father's control and abuse. The other members of the family are exhausted with Bull's mistreatment of them, though they each love him and are familiar with his rantings. The story follows the family to their new assignment in South Carolina, the last in an endless series of moves from base to base. Over the course of the novel, we see tension escalate between father and son, culminating in episodes of violence and, eventually forgiveness. The book is funny, sharply written, and filled with smart dialogue. The characters are richly conceived, especially Bull, Ben, and Lilian, the mother. The story moves quickly, despite some digressions (the prom scene, the Sammy scenes, etc.), and one is left with a memory of a strong, complex, and ultimately self-destructive man in Bull Meecham. Anyone who has struggled with their own father will be able to relate to Ben and Bull. Likewise anyone with an affinity for the south, for the military, or for witty, sarcastic characters would enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Living the Marine Family Life
Review: The Great Santini was a very humorous book. This was the first Pat Conroy novel I had read, and I found his writing style quite refreshing. His story about the gung-ho Marine living up to an image larger than life with the back drop of a typical military family makes for an enjoyable combination. The 'Great Santini' is a fighter pilot, and this identity permeates his entire existence, within and outside the aircraft. His two older children Ben and Mary Anne are creatively portrayed as two teenagers coping with all the drama of a new high school and fitting in, under the shadow of a sometimes over-bearing father. Their humor back and forth alone will leave you smiling, if not occasionally laughing aloud as they shed their views on the world around them. Conroy's definitive portrayal of the Catholic family in the early 60's is also masterfully done, and lightly dressed with the tongue-in-cheek wit and humor that flows smoothly throughout the story. The overall plot and story line of the book seemed at times to be drifting along heading no where in particular, but in the end it concludes with a swift dose of reality that lies waiting in the wings of all who are part of the military life. All in all an enjoyable book that is very well written that ends in a somewhat sad, but dramatic conclusion. The story is about growing up in a Marine family from all angles. It was quite enjoyable and eye opening.

Rating:
Summary: A great, suspenseful yet humorous novel.
Review: This book is great. In a way, I'm able to relate my own life to the characters. Bull started out to be a joker yet over the years... became a very ungrateful man. This definitely shows at the end of the book when Ben is very upset due to his fathers (Bull), expectations.

Rating:
Summary: I loved "The Great Santini"!
Review: This book was an excellent read- another classic Conroy novel with beautiful language and vivid desciptions. Though many people thought Bull Meecham was the best portrayed character in this novel, I thought Ben's younger sister stole the spot light with her dry sense of humor and hidden dark sides. I definately recommend this!