Rating: 
Summary: An entertaining book
Review: This book was highly entertaining, with a great character that you'll never forget. This book was never boring, and makes you care about the characters. But my only problem was that it was way predictable. I can't give away what happens, but it in my opinion, it was way too predictable. This is a good book to read while on vacation.
Rating: 
Summary: A Journey into Marine Family Life
Review: This classic novel takes a look at a Marine family's life. It takes place on an Marine Base in South Carolina (As most of Conroy's works take place in SC)Bull Meechum is a tough Marine who runs his family as he would a group of Marines. This is evident in the events that happen to his oldest son Ben. Ben is dealing with the conflicts of being a Marine like Col. Meechum's son. This book is a fine novel, which is meaningful not only to real Marine families,but to all families. One of Conroy's finest.
Rating:
Summary: Insight into life in a military childhood
Review: This is the second book of Pat Conroy's that I have read (the first was "The Water is Wide", which was his first book, I believe). It was gripping, disturbing, uplifting, all the more so, because he based it on his own relationship with his father. I especially found it admirable that he was able to be so brutally honest about his feelings towards his father, mother and institutions like the Catholic church. This all hit home with me, having been raised by a mother who was a devout Catholic as a child (and carrying all the attendant guilt that goes with it) and also having a husband who, after 17 years in the Army, can tend towards being a bit heavy-handed with my (and his) children and unable to express his feelings. I can see parallels in this book with the experiences my sons must have gone through trying to relate to their step-dad. This is a well-written book which I would highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: The Great Santini
Review: This novel by Pat Conroy is an amazing contemporary novel that leads you through the life of a military family in the late 1950's. This book hits home having several family members, two being pilots and one a marine, that have served in the military, and it was a difficult book to put down. In many ways, the "Great Santini" reminded me of my father; a man that at times is both loved and hated by his family. Colonel Bull Meecham is a marine fighter pilot that demands respect as the "Great Santini" by both his family and his flight squadron. His oldest son Ben, a senior in high school, struggles with the relationship that he has with his father, who he hates very much but loves and respects. If not for Lillian Meecham, wife of the "Great Santini" and peacekeeper of the household, the harsh and sometimes abusive father would release his wrath without a second thought. From the witty remarks of Mary Anne to the competitiveness between Ben and his father, The Great Santini creates a family persona that many can relate. The Great Santini takes you through the difficulties of a year in the life of a southern marine family after the Korean War. I highly recommend entering the past and becoming a member of the Meecham family by reading The Great Santini. This non-stop novel reaches heights of laughter and tears and is well worth reading.
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Summary: Growing Up Marine
Review: This was an excellent book. I found this book personally very interesting, because I grew up in a Marine Family also. Many of Mr. Conroys general descriptions of Marine life were dead on. For example, Mr Conroys description of Col. Meecham loading his family in the car leaving for a new duty station before the sun comes up, reminded me so much of many of the moves we made, incredible but yet so true, it made me laugh. Col Meecham was an extreme character, but many of his phrases and philosophies were familiar to me through some of the people I met growing up Marine. Not only that, his descriptions of Beaufort South Carolina, were also excellent. It put you right back there. You could almost smell the southern sea air and the swamps as you read. The book not only confronted the issues of a family trying to meet the impossibly high standards of thier Marine father, it also confronted the issue of racism in the south. There were many complicated emotional issues in the book. A lot of them do not get resolved, but it was the kind of book that makes you think for a while after you have finished it. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Amazing!!!
Review: This was one of the most astonishing books i have read in a long time. The life of a Marine child is not easy, considering that physical and mental edurence that one has to adapte to when having a father such as Bull Meechem. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who has an intrest in dark humor, and the sarcasiem of a school boy.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Amazing!!!
Review: This was one of the most astonishing books i have read in a long time. The life of a Marine child is not easy, considering that physical and mental edurence that one has to adapte to when having a father such as Bull Meechem. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who has an intrest in dark humor, and the sarcasiem of a school boy.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful reading
Review: This was Pat Conroy's first novel and I believe this is his only book written in the third person. His writing is beautiful, and in my opinion, has grown even more so in the last 25 + years since he wrote this. I respect him because he has not flooded the market with his books like so many other best-selling authors. This is the story of the Meecham family: Bull, the father, a Marine jet-fighter pilot who refers to himself as "the great Santini"-- as in "The great Santini has spoken"--he is the *law* in the family; Lillian, the mother, a Southern belle who tries to soften her husband's pronouncements and shield her four children from his sometimes-violent wrath; Ben, their son, who is a senior in high school and has a love/hate relationship with Bull; Mary Anne, one year younger than Ben, smart-mouthed and unattractive; and the youngest children, Matt and Karen. I thought the characters were well-drawn and fully fleshed-out. By the end of this book, I felt that I really *knew* them well. The exploration of the father/son, father/children relationship was masterfully done. The locale was not as important to this novel as it was in his other books, especially "Beach Music" and "The Prince of Tides". In this respect, the book could have taken place any where...whereas in the aforementioned books, the locales were almost characters in themselves. All in all, an outstanding book, one that made me sad and happy, made me laugh and cry.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: This was the first of Pat Conroy's books I ever read and it has since become my favorite of all time. He is a wonderful author who brings his characters to life with a grace, humanity and humor rarely seen in modern literature. I would recommend any of his books, and have read them all myself many times.
Rating:
Summary: TREMENDOUS NOVEL!
Review: This was the first Pat Conroy novel I ever had the privelege to read. I have recommended it over and over to numerous friends, relatives, and the like. Conroy tells us, sometimes in brutally honest terms, what it is to grow up trapped in a military family. From his own real-life experiences that he has woven into his novel, we are tormented, debating whether or not we love or hate Bull Meecham, the symbol of old-corps Marines that fought so hard for our country. Kudos to Conroy on this one! My favorite of all the novels. I have read this book over 15 times already and every time I reread it, I gather new insight and new appreciation for his mastery of the English language. Conroy's scenery alone is enough to buy this book! No one else can paint a picture of the American South like Pat Conroy!
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