Barbra Streisand transformed The Prince of Tides into big-screen schmaltz, but the book’s author, Pat Conroy, remains my Lowcountry touchstone.
A fervent fan of Tom Wingo and his well-written family, I didn’t know one of my favorite authors was battling pancreatic cancer until March 4, the day he died.
Mr. Conroy wrote other novels just as compelling as his most prolific one. (Thanks again, Barbra.) He also penned several memoirs, which I highly recommend you sample if you’re already a fan of Conroy’s fiction.
Please join me in honoring the literary raison d’être of the late Donald Patrick “Pat” Conroy.
Aspiring Teachers (And Students of All Ages), Read The Water Is Wide (1972): Conroy’s short-lived teaching career on remote Daufuskie Island (called Yamacraw in the book) off the South Carolina coast produced this early memoir.
Although Pat’s unconventional teaching methods endeared him to the poor, disadvantaged kids in his two-room schoolhouse (most of them illiterate and descended from slaves), he was fired after one year of tenure. Even then, Conroy championed those who couldn’t fight for themselves.
The 1974 film Conrack, starring Jon Voight as schoolteacher Pat, is the big-screen version of The Water Is Wide. My advice: read the book first…
Military Brats and Other Acrobats, Read The Great Santini (1976): Next up, a stomach-churning ride of a book. Pat Conroy blended his transient childhood and tumultuous relationship with his hard-to-please father into a literary concoction of tequila and heartache. No margarita mix, lots of rock salt.
Due to Colonel Donald Conroy’s Marine Corps career, young Pat and his family moved 23 times before he turned 18. No way I would have survived that…
I know many military-life tomes are available for your reading pleasure. But when I say you’ve never met a “character” like Lt. Col. Bull Meecham, USMC fighter pilot, I’m telling you the truth.
So much of Pat Conroy’s father’s true persona in entrenched in Bull Meecham: the inability to separate military career from home life, his cruel sense of humor, etc. Once you read the book, fathoming Donald Conroy as an actual father seems inconceivable.
The phrase “The Great Santini has spoken” conjures random thoughts for me, such as making my bed with “hospital corners” and wondering if my ROTC roommate during graduate school had a dad like Bull Meechum.
Regardless, the film version provided Robert Duvall with one of the meatiest roles of his acting career. Beware the one-on-one basketball match between him and his eldest (book) son, Ben Meecham.
Hopeful Military Cadets and Soldiers, Read The Lords of Discipline (1980): This novel borrows from Conroy’s educational journey (to please and appease his father) at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina.
The story relays the abuse, physical, mental and otherwise, tolerated and carried out by the student cadets at this hallowed institution. The book’s narrative soup regarding the Vietnam War, the Old South/Old Charlestonians, and an alleged racist secret society known as “The Ten” makes for an intense reading experience.
God bless Pat Conroy’s audacity for channeling a subject he knew so well into this disturbing work of fiction.
True Conroy Disciples Adore The Prince of Tides and Tolerate the Film Version: If you’ve only read one Pat Conroy novel, I have a hunch it’s probably The Prince of Tides. I admit my loyal weakness for this epic poem masquerading as a book; I’ve read it numerous times since its 1986 publication.
While researching this post, I was stunned to discover more than a few unkind reviews of my princely favorite. To those critics, I say:
“Here is all I ask of a book–give me everything. Everything, and don’t leave out a single word.” (Pat Conroy, My Reading Life)
I’ll be upfront: If the seesawing flashback technique sometimes used by authors isn’t your thing, don’t read this book.
The main character, Tom Wingo, is a repressed, unemployed high-school teacher and football coach. He travels to New York to help psychiatrist Susan Lowenstein prevent his suicidal poet-sister (and twin), Savannah, from finally succeeding in killing herself.
A jumpy narrative reveals the sources of Tom’s and Savannah’s messy adult lives: an abusive father (Henry Wingo), a manipulative, ambitious mother (Lila Wingo), and a beloved brother who died for his beliefs (Luke Wingo).
Yes, there is a minor military storyline, but the key to cracking the Wingo code of silence rests with one word: Callanwolde. To tell first-time readers any more would be disrespectful of Mr. Conroy’s flair for melodrama. This book is “like buttah!”
Add These Other Pat Conroy Gems to Your Book Pile: It saddens me to realize I’ve lost touch with my “inner” Pat Conroy. Once I finish my current book selection, I’ll be settling into a year of reading “Conroy-ing-ly.” Yes, I just broke a grammar rule or two…
Knowing there will be no more books from my southern poet, I owe it to him to encourage as much Conroy readership as possible. For your further consideration:
Beach Music (1995) Honest reveal: I’ve never read this novel. Again, I will rectify my faux pas as a final thank-you to an author who’s given me hours of cognitive pleasure throughout my book-loving life.
The Pat Conroy Cookbook (1999) Dang: I couldn’t locate this one on a physical bookshelf, despite repeated efforts. Guess I’ll have to resort to Amazon or Barnes & Noble online…
My Losing Season (2002) Another memoir, it’s a humorous, touching tell-all about Pat Conroy’s final season as point guard and captain of The Citadel’s basketball team, the Bulldogs, circa 1966-67. I just might buy a copy for my sports-crazy son!
South of Broad (2009) I’ve never visited Charleston, South Carolina. But once I read South of Broad, I suspect I’ll be anxious to visit “the Mansion on the River.” I never realized the influence James Joyce’s Ulysses wielded over Mr. Conroy. The main protagonist’s name is Leopold Bloom King.
My Reading Life (2010) Just like Pat Conroy, I too have always “sought refuge in books.” (For full access to NPR’s fabulous interview with Mr. Conroy, I implore you to click the link.) Anyone whose mother reads Gone With the Wind to him when he’s a wee lad is destined to pursue a writer’s life…
The Death of Santini (2013) Pat Conroy bravely revisited his painful childhood by writing a nonfiction sequel to The Great Santini. An excerpt of the book’s prologue is compliments of WBUR in Boston (an NPR affiliate).
Final Bits of Wit Regarding My Personal Prince of Tides: You might be surprised to learn of the South Carolina Hall of Fame. I’m not at all surprised to learn of Pat Conroy’s 2009 induction into the aforementioned institution.
While scouring the Interwebs, I tripped over this delightful 2013 Conroy interview conducted by Margaret Evans of the Lowcountry Weekly (serving Beaufort, SC, and immediate vicinity). The interview coincided with the release of The Death of Santini. It’s a must-read for any Conroy enthusiast.
Do you consider yourself a Pat Conroy aficionado? Beyond the obvious affection you should bestow upon The Prince of Tides, have any of Conroy’s other fiction or memoir/nonfiction offerings added meaning to your life?
Of all Pat Conroy’s books you’ve consumed, which one do you reread most often? Nothing says “love” like a favorite book, its worn-down cover and much-turned pages patiently awaiting your return.
Farewell, Pat Conroy–thank you for sharing your words with the world.
Lori Shapiro is the owner of By All Writes LLC, a business-to-business (B2B) company in Marlton, New Jersey, that plies its trade via copywriting, editing, and other content-marketing services. She revels in shielding her clients from the time-consuming pain of writing their own print or web marketing and promotional copy.
Please call Lori Shapiro of By All Writes LLC at 856-810-9764 (or e-mail her via lori@byallwrites.biz) to schedule the gratis 20-minute consultation that will resolve your current copywriting or editing dilemma…
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