Rating: 
Summary: Not to be Mistaken With The Streissand Movie
Review: Pat Conroy's novel, which is a long read if you've seen the book or if you've read it, is a rich and romantic story telling of the lives of Tom Wingo, a Southern man with a dark past, and his love affair with New York psychiatrist Susan Lowenstein. But then novel is much more than that. It looks at the world of children, innocent in play and fancy in imagination, their trauma with an abusive father, issues of morality and of parental love. The novel is very narrative, Tom Wingo is a character whose mind can fill an entire palace of memories. There are many elements of the story that people nowaday can relate to. Look at the characters of Tom's mother, his sister Savannah and the charming urbane Dr. Lowenstein and her father-deprived son and you will see how closely connected to reality this novel can be. It is a romance, and in fact, in its depiction of an affair almost close to Bridges of Madison County. This novel will make you cry, will make you think and will warm your heart. So pick up a copy and read it before bed, perhaps listening to the music of Bach, who is the favored composer of Dr. Lowenstein's son. You will fall in love with Conroy's imagery and romanticism. A five star read.
Rating:
Summary: A magnificent and captivating novel
Review: When I first read this magnificent book, I couldn't put it down because it always kept me yearning for more. I loved the story from the very beginning to the very end and the way that Pat Conroy wrote with so many different emotions, it really made me feel like I was there experiencing and observing everything that was happening on Melrose Island, South Carolina. This fascinating novel of love, abuse, humor, rape, and the ultimate struggle through life is about the very dysfunctional Wingo family and their experiences throughout life. Tom Wingo, the protagonist and narrator of the story, retold his life in the South with so much feeling and depth that I could not resist but to have empathy for his character. With his father, Henry Wingo, physically and mentally abusing the family, his grandmother, Lila and the amusing part in the story when she was pretending to be dead in the coffin, the most powerful scene in the novel which is a big part of the reason why Savannah is mentally ill, and Tom's constant effort to find peace with his past all showcase that this book is a must read for anyone and everyone who desires the beauty of life's lessons. Despite the length of the book, The Prince of Tides is definitely one that you can't put down after you have picked it up because it will captivate your every emotion and keep you guessing how the story will conclude. I ultimately recommend this book to everyone who enjoys being able to relate to what he or she reads and at the end learning from these experiences and knowing that even though we all go through hardships, life goes on. Please pick up a copy because I guarantee you will not be unsatisfied!
Rating:
Summary: Compelling and well-written
Review: This is not a short book, but then, when you're writing a major work of literature--a saga if you will--that covers years and years of pain, frustration, insight, and healing of the psyche, you can't expect it to be short. Prince of Tides is akin to other books that cover a great deal of ground (think Styron's Sophie's Choice or McCrae's Bark of the Dogwood)--all that do so in a riviting way, full of close-ups into human nature or lack thereof. Brilliantly written with believable characters and enough atmosphere and location change to make things really interesting, "Prince" is a major work not to be taken lightly. If you're not afraid of a big book, this is a great read.Also recommended: Sophie's Choice, Bark of the Dogwood, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Rating: 
Summary: Purple prose detracts from a fast-paced story
Review: I opened this book hoping to be moved by a well-written epic about the effects of a traumatic childhood. I had already seen the movie some years ago, so I knew what to generally expect. I was put off pretty quickly by the extremely longwinded descriptions and the totally overwrought dialouge. Who talks like this? Even if (especially if) you're a well-read football coach from the South? To his credit, Conroy has written a very fast-paced and entertaining story. The problem is that the reader does not ever forget that this is a work of pure fiction. Nowhere is this more true than in the "Free Willy" episode of the rescue of the white porpoise. Also, other than the climatic event of their lives, the parents don't seem really that bad. Certainly not bad enough for the poet sister to call her childhood "Auschwitz." In short, a fast read made slightly above average by the likeability of the narrator, Tom Wingo.
Rating: 
Summary: A great book for all Pat Conroy fans!
Review: Annotation:
Prince of Tides is about Tom Wingo, an ex-football coach from South Carolina, who is in New York after the attempted suicide of his gifted sister/poet Savannah. Tom finds himself in a troubling time, as he must recount his families harsh past to Savannah's psychiatrist, Lowenstein, right after the finding out that his wife is cheating on him. The story is one of loss, love, and the loyalty that you can only find in a home, born of great and horrific experiences as a family. Moral values are questioned and so are the ties that bind a family close. This story is an epic of a southern American family that must relive the events in their lives, in order to get rid of the hatred that was born from them. Author Bio:
The first of seven children, Pat Conroy was born in 1945 in Atlanta, Georgia, to a career military officer. He wrote his first novel, The Great Santini, which was published in 1976. The Lords of Discipline was published in 1980. The novel, another that was made into a film, exposed the Citadel's harsh military discipline, racism, and sexism. Beach Music is Conroy's sixth book, and Prince of Tides was written shortly after. At present, he divides his time between San Francisco and South Carolina. Evaluation:
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys great storytelling. Especially for past Conroy readers, I would surely recommend this one. Conroy has the ability to make you hate the characters throughout half book, but learn to love them for what they truly are. He captures the setting through detailed descriptions, that frankly make you feel like you are there, and actually witnessing the story. Overall this novel is saddening and I will wore warn anyone who reads it of that fact. Death, murder, and rape are all witnessed and I would also like notify those who have a weak stomach.
Rating: 
Summary: go Barbra Streisand in the movie
Review: The movie was heaps better. Thank gosh it had such a wonderful actress such as Barbra Streisand, otherwise, it might have been as boring as the book. I can't believe how much I enjoyed the movie, and how little I enjoyed the book.
(p.s. if you ever get a chance, see the movie. dont waste your time on the book)
Rating:
Summary: Evocative
Review: After I read this book for the first time, I recall thinking to myself: I wish I could write a novel like this.
Up until that point (I was nineteen at the time, and I'd read many books), it was the most intriguing and emotion-stirring book that I'd ever read. Perhaps, being something of a self-proclaimed critic, I was more swayed by the way that Conroy wrote, more so than the actual content of the book. But even still, the content was great. I believe it takes a gifted person to write a book that touches and pulls on all of your emotions. The average writer only grabs on to a few.
I will say, though, that Conroy went a little oevrboard with descriptions, but hey, every writer indulges in something.
What's ultimately important is how much of an impact one has on a reader, and I tell you that the impact was heavy for me. Also, a great book stays with you for awhile.
It's been five years, and I can still remember numerous passages in the book.
How crazy is that?
Rating:
Summary: 2 long 2 boring
Review: I guess for most of the fellow reviewers, reading this book was their most "intellectual" experience ever, which is sad.
The book is too long, the characters are pretty unreal (tragic lives supposedly caused by a tragic childhoods which in the end are not that tragic), I could go on forever, but worse of all, the story bored me to dead.
But who is the greatest fool, the one who enjoyed reading it, or the one that hated it and still read it?
Rating:
Summary: the prince of tides
Review: If I'm ever asked what my favorite book is, I always say Prince of Tides. Books are always better than the movies and this is no exception.
Rating:
Summary: Long, but worth the read.
Review: I recently finished reading this book for the first time. At almost 700 pages, I wasn't sure if I would. But I'm glad I did. Sometimes I was bogged down in the verbose writing style, but I loved it just the same. I read another review of this book or another of Conroy's that pointed out the contradictions you'll find in the book and in your mind while you're reading, and I completely agree. Occasionally, I was annoyed by Tom Wingo's (the protagonist and narrator) arrogance, and other times I was impressed by his insight, or perhaps I should say Conroy's. The descriptions of the South are wonderful and create beautiful images in your mind. The Wingo family definitely had their share of hardships, and some of them are very difficult to read. Some of them made me cry. However, this is a wonderfully done portrait of a family and their struggle to survive, despite all odds--and despite themselves.
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