The world lost a great storyteller last week, when Pat Conroy died at the age of 70. His books are among some of my all time favorites, and I'm sure I'll be spending some time in the coming months re-reading old favorites and reading those that I haven't yet.
The first book I read by Mr. Conroy was The Prince of Tides - and I read it back in high school, shortly after it was made into a movie. I was around 14, and not old enough to understand the story, and the people, so when I received Beach Music as a gift nearly 20 years later, I didn't rush to read it. I didn't realize my lens of memory was flawed by immaturity and that I was postponing reading one of the most beautiful books of my life.
I love books of drama, family and good friends. I'm especially drawn to books with depictions of beautiful, complex friendships, and both Beach Music and South of Broad have characters whose friendships are life altering, and which define the characters their entire lives.
In his work The Great Santini, Conroy thinly fictionalizes his own teenage years and exposes a life with a beautiful mother, an abusive father, and a family who struggles through loving him and hating him. It's so easy to be charmed by this handsome man in the story - and then you're picking yourself up off the floor along with the characters when his temper flares and his fists fly.
There are still several books I need to read...I think because Conroy was not as prolific as some authors, I've paced myself rather than devouring everything at once. I'm thankful for the beauty, joy and pain that he so masterfully illustrated. I look forward to enjoying his writing again and again.
God Speed, Mr. Conroy.
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