Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievable
Review: I must admit that I was entirely skeptical about reading this book, although I was forced to do so through my high school curriculum. But I did, and I was stunned not only by the characters but by the incredibly delicate and ornate language. Conroy is indeed a master of words, and I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys reading. It might be a stretch for those who don't.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book
Review: This is a good book, especially in as much as your eyes glide over the pages as smooth as butter. The test is very buttery, rich with images like a memory. It didn't stick with me, though, after I was done.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: My mom had always told me that "The Prince of Tides" was one of her favorite books. Since I am a teenager, I ignored and thought that I would never read it. Well, my friend is a big time reader and I wanted to see if I could finish a long book in one summer. When I started reading the book, I became so engrossed in it that I just could not put it down. Pat Conroy is truely one of the most amazing authors I have ever come across. I was impressed by his wonderful imagination to come up with such a great book! It seems as though it could be a true story. His way of writing kept my attention through the whole book. The stories of Tom Wingo's life were funny and often disturbing and sad. The story continually unfolds and as I neared the end, I grew sad that I would soon be finished with the best book I've ever read in my life. I do not like to read much, and I am picky about what I do read. This story really touched me. I recommend it to every person who has ever heard of this book! :)
Rating:
Summary: A Disturbing Work by a Southern Master
Review: I have to agree with another writer (bripat@wmis.net) who told us of the interesting contradictions in this story. This was my third Conroy novel, having first read The Great Santini and Lords of Discipline. In its way, this book is every bit as good as those earlier works. It is obvious that Pat Conroy is a "southern writer" who writes about the South. The son of a career Marine officer, if you listen to Pat, his father was a vicious psychopath who abused his family till the end of his days. I guess we all have to take Pat's word for that and we have to do it over and over and over again in each of his novels. Perhaps we should consider ourselves lucky that he was not as prolific as Dickens or we'd all be sick of it by now. I am a veteran who was stationed in the South and while I think there are truly beautiful parts of the region, I really hated being there. When I moved to Savannah, GA in January 1992, I had read Prince of Tides and remembered why. I met people who reminded me of the dysfunctional Wingo family and the other ignorant characters Pat likes to populate his novels with. To be sure, Pat Conroy is a master of the use of language. His descriptions of the low country of So. Carolina reminded me of the region's beauty. It also reminded me of the closed-mindedness of the people and why I hated living there. Prince of Tides for me is a primer on SOUTHERN LIVING. I used CAPS to contrast my dislike for the region with that well produced magazine that offers nothing more than positive regional propaganda. Don't get me wrong, I liked and felt sorry for Tom. He had a dead ex-SEAL brother killed by "BAD-GUY" federal agents, a suicidal sister, a social climbing white trash mother and a remorselessly abusive father. Sounds like the kind of family everyone should have. But, with Pat Conroy, they're all too common. He just changes the names and locations in each book. Some of the readers here commented on the movie version produced and directed by Barbra Streisand. I had read the book first and thought the movie was pretty true to the original plot. I felt really bad for Tom and admired him when he put Susan Lowenstein's over-bearing concert violinist husband in his place after he attempted to humiliate both Tom and Susan. After all, turnaround is fair play, but from my experience as a Northerner living in the South, it was rednecks who always took the opportunity to take cheap shots at us "Yankees." Hospitality is hospitality whether one is North or South of the Mason-Dixon line and Tom didn't find any in the Woodruff-Lowenstein household the night of his visit. These little side-bars are where Pat shows his mastery of the nuances of language. I read this novel when it first came out and then again last year. While I enjoyed it immensely, I cannot say it is my all-time favorite. For me there are just too many reminders of why I hated living in the south among southerners. The second reading also persuaded me that Pat Conroy is still tortured by growing up under USMC Colonel Conroy's roof. People who have reviewed (negatively) BEACH MUSIC elsewhere at this site seem to bear me out as well. I just hope that Conroy's next book is just a tad more upbeat.
Rating:
Summary: There's so much you can learn from this book
Review: I was born and raised 180 degrees away from the place Pat Conroy wrote this book in a totally different culture and custom but i can connect to his thoughts. This is a universal book that, believe it or not, changed my life when I read for the first time in 1992. The movie was great but nothing compared to this novel. I still read it from time to time, and still find something new to learn about life. Yes that's true. Praises at the back of the cover say it all. One critic said that reading Conroy's is like watching Michaelangelo painting Sistine Chapel. Well, I never saw Sistine Chapel, but if what he claimed is true, it must be an amazingly beautiful thing.
Rating: 
Summary: disturbing story
Review: I read this book cover to cover. It is compelling, but it is also an upsetting story about the most disfunctional family in history, who has the most terrible and uncontrolable things happen to them. It gave me nightmares, and made my family look the the Cleavers.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent story, very well written
Review: While this book feels very similar to many of Conroy's other books (i.e.- Beach Music, Lords of Discipline, etc), you cannot ignore his unique talent for storytelling. His writing is amazing, and he often weaves a complicated, yet interesting, story. Such is the case for is arguably best known book, The Prince of Tides. To read this book, or any of his other books, you feel the culture of the tidewater south. More importantly, Conroy possesses a unique ability to work out his tormented upbringing through his writing. Many people can identify with his characters because they are so real. Childhood often shackles us as we mature into adulthood. Rather than blame his parents for their shortcomings and faults, he shows us that the only path to adulthood is to confront our past...and leave it where it belongs. In the past. When you read a Pat Conroy book, you know he writes from an almost autobiographical background. Read his other book to see that Tom Wingo isn't too far from the lead character in Lords of Discipline or from the lead character in the Great Santini. Clearly, Conroy is the main character in all of his books, and his family doubles as his foil and as his antagonist. I highly recommend any of his book. 4 stars only because I think Lords of Discipline is better!
Rating:
Summary: excellent reading, worth every minute!!!!!!
Review: this has got to be one of the greatest novels ever written. I have a hardcover copy and i have read it so many times it is starting to fall apart. never have i experienced the pure joy of reading as it is truly meant to be. As conroy makes it. I first read this book at age 15 and I have read it at least once or twice a year in the seven years since. It is truly one of the best. His wonderfully descriptive and moving story has touched my heart forever. If you have not gotten the chance to read this book order it right now! You will be missing one of the greatest stories of our time. If you haven't seen the movie, dont bother it's barely even the same story.
Rating:
Summary: The first book i finished reading in my entire life!!!
Review: I'm not used in reading novels but my boyfriend recommended this book and forced me to really read it. Every night, we discuss every details of the story and he'll ask me questiones about the next chapter which will be my next assignment. It's so long...but for me, the book was very nice, touching and full of lessons in life.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant and honest depiction of the South
Review: This book only receives four stars because Conroy failed to take his own advice and end the book with Savannah's words, "Oh, Mama, do it again!" I lived in the South off and on for about seven years, and I read this novel during that period. Based on my own experiences, I greatly appreciate Conroy's love/hate relationship with his home region. Though it sounds contradictory, I can honestly say that the South is beautiful, while also saying that I hated living there. This book does an excellent job of explaining how such a contradiction could exist. It's unfortunate that Barbra Streisand was allowed to butcher this novel with her self-important film version. Not only did she fail to take Conroy's advice on the ending, but she never included Savannah's important words anywhere in the movie. What a shame. She obviously just didn't get what the story was about. I loved this book, though I also hated it. That's why I will forever cherish the hours I spent reading it.
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