The Prince of Tides

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Tied with "Lords of Discipline" for the best book I have ever read. It's ashame they can't make a movie that captures the spirit of the book.

Rating:
Summary: Really Good, Not Great
Review: I love visiting the American South, so I love the description in Conroy's novels. And the prose is wonderful. But I really didn't like the characters in this book. I saw the movie first and maybe that's the problem--I thought the movie was very poor. But the characters to me seem a bit shallow, the ending is quite predictable and nothing of this book stayed with me. Still, it's a marvelous read if you're a Conroy fan.

Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary!
Review: Pat Conroy has a gift that captures the south in all of its modern day glory. It was because of this book that I became a regular visitor of the south, and eventually a resident of Charleston, SC. I had the unique opportunity to meet Mr. Conroy, a wizard who shares his love for the beauty and slowness of the South with the world.

Rating:
Summary: An unbelieveable experience
Review: This book is truly one of the best I have ever read. Part of me couldn't wait to finish it, to find out what happens, and part of me never wanted it to end. It is a sensational novel with beautiful language, and a truly meaningful story. The character of Tom Wingo came alive with his sharp humor and wit as well as his deep sorrow and pain. The same is true of Savannah. I loved the book's descripitons of Southern life and times, as I am a Southern girl at heart. A beautiful, poignant story.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best novels.
Review: I throughly enjoyed this book. It was so true to the sights and places in South Carolina. After working in the S.C. State Hospital for years, I could relate to the visit in the book. Pat Conroy is one of my favorite writers.

Rating:
Summary: THE PRINCE OF TIDES changed my life
Review: THE PRINCE OF TIDES changed my life. I read it first when I was sixteen, back in 1992, and I didn't even know then how much the experiences and feelings developed in this magnificent story would eventually resemble my own. I read it every year and still sincerely cry because of pure identification. There is a bit of Tom Wingo in all of us, we all share that ambiguity of feelings about our family, land and life itself. Each character has their own complexity, their own ambiguity, which make them close and human more than anything else. As a reader, I can't love more a book than I love this one; it taught me things I needed to know and also things I may not have wanted to know at an age when I thought life would be easier. For these and more other reasons, I consider THE PRINCE OF TIDES as my personal guide book. Other Pat Conroy novels such us THE WATER IS WIDE, THE GREAT SANTINI, BEACH MUSIC, and, above all, THE LORDS OF DISCIPLINE are also life-changing experiences in themselves. My e-mail adress is open to all those who want to share their views on this and other literary subjects. I'd love to learn so much more!

Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: Having discovered Pat Conroy's literature is one of the best things that have happened to me. This is the first book I read from him and I am always trying to find other Conroy's books.I have also read Beach MUsic and, more recently, Lords of Discipline. Both of them deeply moving. You can learn so much by entering these characters'lives. By writing such stories, Pat Conroy makes us better people.

Rating:
Summary: A novel that uncovers the strength of the human spirit
Review: There is a little bit of Tom Wingo in all of us. Tom is a metaphor for the American spirit that continues to live in the face of a turbulent past. Every emotion that Tom displays: shame, anger,and love is sonomous with the American tradition. The greatest part is that he somehow overcomes his past and continues to live on.

Rating:
Summary: the most morose, depressing, well written book I've read
Review: The summary above says it all for me. I love to read the writing; Pat Conroy is a superb story teller. But he can't seem to get out of the deep south intercoastal nor cast his lead characters as anything other than white trash. In "Prince", I made it through two thirds of book until I realized that it simply became more depressing as I progressed. Don't read this book if you need uplifting. But do read it if you are an unabashed Pat Conroy fan.

Rating:
Summary: Classic from America's best storyteller
Review: Conroy is an American treasure. All of his novels touch the inner-spirit, and bring back memories from my childhood on the ocean. His writing takes you places with beautiful prose, and his depth of character only makes you feel empathy in times of sorrow, and joy in the good times. Tom Wingo will live within me my whole life.