The Prince of Tides

Rating:
Summary: Pat Conroy - THE masterful magician with words and emotions!
Review: This book is my favorite. I am SO glad I saw the movie first. Since then, I have read the book twice and bought the video. (I've lost count of the times I've watched it...) The characters in the movie couldn't have fit the characters in the book any better, and Streisand (and the others,) did a FANTASTIC job. I was so glad to have faces and voices to put with the characters in the book. My favorite part is when Savannah makes a place in the barn for a Jewish neighbor and then tells her it is ready for her if the Holocaust ever happens again. Savannah, despite the odds, is filled with such compassion for others. In this family, where on God's Earth did it come from? This young family is SO real, yet so UNreal, it is hard to imagine living for even a day in such a dysfunctional one, but we all have our "skeletons in the closets;" just some more than others.

Rating:
Summary: Pat Conroy captures the dysfunctional family
Review: Pat Conroy uses Southern flavor to enhance a great book with everything. Conroy takes the reader through the tragic life of Tom Wingo and his family, and leaves the reader amazed at the end. A MUST read for the mature reader!

Rating:
Summary: My favorite novel of all time!
Review: When I am asked what is my favorite book, "Prince of Tides" comes to mind immediately. Though somewhat depressing in parts, the visual images of the south, the family conflicts and the wonderful love story all combine to make a masterful tale. I have since read all of Conroy's works and love them all though this one holds a special place in my heart.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've read in a long time!
Review: Conroy is a master! This book had been recommended to me by many people, but for years I never got around to reading it. I was given this book as a gift--and what a gift! There are many authors who can write engaging, convincing, even compelling stories, but who can't write people to save their lives. Conroy, much like John Irving, is a modern master of writing people, and convincingly so. Those who criticize this book for being too long and wordy, seem, in my opinion, to miss the beauty of a fully fleshed out character, and in this case, the Wingo family, for better or worse. When this type of writing is done poorly, it can be a chore to read. When it's done well, it's a joy to read. I'm sure I'll read this book again soon, and that's a rarity for me.

Rating:
Summary: Starts off interesting, but then trails off
Review: When I began this book I was excited, because everyone either loved Prince or Pat Conroy. The words threw me, but I continued on because i wanted to see if it was as great as everybody said it was. It wasn't. The words got worse, and I lost interest after a couple hundred pages. He would state a supposed reason for why the family was so mixed up, not adress it for a 100 pages, and i still didn't understand. I would rather read a 300 page book that could've said the same thing without all the comments about how wonderfull/horrible the south is.

Rating:
Summary: American fiction is alive and well and residing in Conroy
Review: I have read several of the reviews and was astounded to find even one dissenting vote among them. The poorest review of Conroy's masterpiece is so full of grammatical errors and misspelling that I am not surprised the reader had trouble understanding the subtleties inherent in Conroy's work. The only area I thought was overdone in Prince of Tides was the details concerning shrimping. I lived in the dictionary looking up words related exclusively to this industry. I am not sure the general reader needed this level of detail. However, Conroy writes an incredibly believable story. The only reason this book is not for everyone is because it requires the reader to surrender an entire weekend since once you pick up Prince of Tides, it is impossible not to finish the story of Tom Wingo. I found it not only believable, but plausible. American literature is alive and well. Thank God.

Rating:
Summary: A chidhood adventure with "The Prince of Tides"
Review: This is excellent writing at it's best. Pat Conroy captures the essence of what it is like to grow up as an outsider in your own community, family, or group. The memories of his own childhood stories are so real that you can imagine being their with Tom and his brother and sister as they live out their chilhood fantasies on their little island. The story arouses your sense of love for life and brings out the many different emotional aspects that one faces as a young person growing up in a small town.

Rating:
Summary: This one really drags.
Review: It was somewhat painful for me to finish this novel. Conroy is certainly a gifted writer, but he could have made this novel about 300 pages shorter. Some of the stories are particularly boring (i.e. the white porpoise). Don't read this book unless you want to give yourself nightmares.

Rating:
Summary: Two stories, one short and fun, the other long and boring
Review: I found this book unnecessary long, the story of Tom Wingo in New York is very exiting and naturally appealing, but having such long background on his southerner childhood was extremely boring, not to talk about the almost insulting stories about the white porpoise and the older brother fighting against the world. I think the author tries to explain that Tom Wingo is a looser because he had such a terrible childhood. Fair enough, but I think the explanation went on too far. To me the whole book is about Wingo blowing his last chance in life, and then blaming it on his childhood. I think a looser is a looser even if he/she had a bad childhood (like many of us have).

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Read!!
Review: Of all the books I have read this summer this has to be the most enjoyable one yet. I will definately be reading this again over the years. Although I will say that at times it is hard to keep up with all the adjectives and adverbs but focus it is well worth it. This story depicts the real life of so many of us.