Rating: 
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: Powerful but flawed
Review: Just like the title character of this book, the novel itself is powerful but flawed. While I was caught up in the maelstrom of family relations and spellbound by the character of Bull Meecham, there were too many times where events where whipped up and then cut off, leaving the reader with no resolution. It was ridiculous the way Conroy skipped describing the after effects of traumatic events on the family dynamics, which is the reason we're all reading the book in the first place.
Also, while the descriptions of Bull's experience while flying and his thoughts of what a fighter pilot is were poetic, they really didn't add to the story and became repetitive by the end of the book.
I would recommend this book if you haven't read a real powerful novel before (and Sheldon and Steel don't count) but if you've read about real family dysfunction in other good novels, this one doesn't really go all the way.
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: 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: How did he know?
Review: Pat Conroy has given us one of the most memorable characters in all of literature. My question for him is "How did he know what my father was like?" I don't think he realized when he wrote SANTINI that he was describing quite a few Southern fathers out there. While for some it would be scary enough to think there's one (in the book), the realization that Santini might be the 'norm' is truly frightening. This is a brilliant book: well-written with fully-developed characters and enough food for thought to last you a lifetime. If you have to pick one Conroy book to read, this is it. Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD
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: 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: 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: Discipline is a Double Edged Sword
Review: I recently read the Lords of Discipline and wanted to read more of Pat Conroy. I was not disappointed with the Great Santini. It is a coming of age story as seen through the eyes of the son of a disciplined Marine pilot and Lt. Colonel. The father gives himself the nickname, "The Great Santini" though Conroy never explains the origin of that nickname. But the main point is that the father tries to run his family the way a Marine drill instructor would run a platoon of recruits. The message of the book is that blind senseless discipline can be as damaging as no discipline at all. The novel has many facets. It covers the insecurities of "military brats" who are new kids in school each year, fathers who drive their sons too much, the relationship between the military and the civilian townspeople that surround tha base, and family reationships and alliances against a father who is both friend and foe. His relationship with his family is at times abusive. It also touches on race relations in the Deep South in the early 1960s, adolescence, and peer groups in school. Conroy writes from personal experience. I heard him say on a radio program that his father shut him out to some extent after The Great Santini was published. I guess it hit too close to home.
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