The Great Santini

Rating:
Summary: More autobiographical than you will know...
Review: All of Pat Conroy's books have one foot in his childhood, and none is more autobiographical than The Great Santini. Colonel Bull Meecham is a legendary Marine fighter pilot whose military successes are almost as many as his personal excesses. Lillian Meecham is a Southern gentlewoman with a love of literature. After moving from base to base each year, the Meecham's finally settle down in fictional Ravenel, SC (Beaufort in real life).

The Colonel rules his fighter squadron and his family with an iron first. While this technique is successful in motivating his pilots, it has disastrous effects on his wife and children. His cruelty (both mental and physical) is enough to crush even the strongest soul. While he chides Ben for being a sissy, he suppresses Ben's attempts to act like a man. Yet, the Colonel can do endearing things, like when he gives Ben his original flight jacket on his 18th birthday. No wonder Ben has a love-hate relationship with his old man.

At a new school, Ben quickly establishes himself as a decent scholar and a talented basketball player. Several teachers and his principal see the potential in young Ben, and give him the love and mentoring he could never get from the Colonel. They teach him the importance of standing up for what he believes and to be his own man. When one of Ben's friends is threatened, Ben defies his dad and goes to his aid. In doing so, he becomes more of a man than his father will ever be.

The Great Santini is a fabulous story, and nobody writes with as much passion and beauty as Pat Conroy. Conroy takes us through the emotional gamut from belly laughs to tears and back again. Although some parts of the story are fiction, there is enough truth in that when Conroy's mom filed for divorce from the real Colonel after 33 years of marriage, she handed a copy of The Great Santini to the judge as evidence of the Colonel's violent nature. Conroy is a definitely success story and despite many scars, he was able to overcome his tumultuous upbringing to become the very successful writer he is. But perhaps without that childhood, we would not know the Conroy we know today. Even he admits that "one of the greatest gifts you can get as a writer is to be born into an unhappy family."


Rating:
Summary: Scarlett O'Hara and the Beast of Ravenel
Review: From what Pat Conroy has said in numerous interviews, it is obvious that his novel The Great Santini is a thinly disguised autobiographical account of his own childhood as a Marine brat. High school senior Ben Meecham, Pat Conroy's fictional counterpart, is the son of a volatile Marine fighter pilot 'Bull' Meecham, whose nom de guerre is 'The Great Santini', which, by the way, was also Pat Conroy dad's nom de guerre in real life. Pat Conroy once said that his dad was Zeus and his mom was Hera, and that his first memory was of his dad laughing and hitting his mother in face while she tried to stab him with a knife. Boy, oh boy, if this novel is an accurate representation of what went on in the Conroy household, then he is right about the true identity of his parents! The Great Santini acts, according to his wife Lillian, like a living, breathing Marine recruitment poster. Santini is a man of contradictions, a man who loves his wife and his children more than anything else in the world, but you wouldn't know it from the brutal manner by which he occasionally treats them. By the way, if you saw the wonderful film adaptation of Conroy's novel, you were probably left with the impression that Santini is the only parent in this household that is screwed up. Unlike the movie version, in the novel Santini's wife Lillian, who means well, is in her own way just as screwed up as her husband. Like Santini, Lillian also loves her children more than anything in the world, but she often acts like a demented Scarlett O'Hara. (Indeed, part of the tension between Santini and his wife comes from the fact that she is a Southern Belle who loves her cultural roots, while Santini is a purposely uncouth Yankee from Chicago who despises everything Southern.) Lillian is especially dysfunctional when it comes to teaching gender roles to her daughters. Just as Santini is one extreme with his sons Ben and Matt, wanting them to grow up to be stoic, hard marines who can unmercifully kill America's enemies, Lillian Meecham puts her oldest daughter Mary Anne through hell basically because Mary Anne is a Plain Jane nonconformist who won't conform to her mother's dictum that a woman is like a flower, pretty but silent and modest, while Mary Anne's pretty younger sister Karen does accept her mother's vision of womanhood. Lillian's ideal vision of how a woman should act is ironic because under her soft Southern Belle persona, Santini's wife is woman of steel whose temper is often as fiery and violent as her husband's.

A lot happens action wise in this novel, some of it horrifying, some of it hilarious, but The Great Santini doesn't have an overly obvious narrative drive per se. Instead, the questions that drive the plot of this amazing novel are more subtle: Will Santini be successful in his first command at the Marine base in Ravenel? Will Ben and Mary Anne be successful in their bid to fit in at their new high school? (Like Conroy's "The Lords of Discipline", the action of TGS takes place within the space of a school year.) Now that the Great Santini has come home from his year living overseas without his family, will the Meecham family have a better year together this time, or will their family situation become abusive again like in the past? I guess you could argue that The Great Santini is more character-driven than plot-driven, although it's not necessarily easy to make a distinction between the two since action often reveals character. The Great Santini is a fascinating portrayal of how even an extremely dysfunctional family can still love each other, and how a child can love a parent who occasionally causes them great pain. Five stars.


Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Good
Review: I decided to read this book on a bit of a whim. We were vacationing on Hilton Head, near Conroy's hometown, and I wanted to become better acquainted with this talented author's work while in his neck of the woods. I'd just finished reading "The Prince of Tides," which was a little disappointing (not bad, mind you, just different than I'd expected.). Of the two, I actually preferred "The Great Santini." This book, the tale of a Marine family temporarily based in South Carolina in the early 1960s, was both warm and bittersweet. The descriptions of the setting were dead on, just as one would expect it would be since it's situated in the author's home state. (BTW - the movie was filmed in Beaufort, S.C. - a real treat of a destination.) Be advised that there are troubling moments of family conflict, including domestic violence. But what is so compelling is the way that the reader becomes drawn to all of the family members -- even to bellicose Bull, the father. Particularly memorable is a chapter toward the end when Bull is flying through the night sky. It is one of the most moving and heartwrenching passages that I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Even if you've already seen the movie, you'll find this a worthy read.

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: 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: How did he know?
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: 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.

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.