PAT CONROY, America’s preeminent storyteller, delivers a sweeping novel of lyric intensity and searing truth–the story of Jack McCall, an American expatriate in Rome, scarred by tragedy and betrayal. His desperate desire to find peace after his wife’s suicide draws him into a painful, intimate search for the one haunting secret in his family’s past that can heal his anguished heart.
Spanning three generations and two continents, from the contemporary ruins of the American South to the ancient ruins of Rome, from the unutterable horrors of the Holocaust to the lingering trauma of Vietnam, Beach Music sings with life’s pain and glory. It is another masterpiece in PAT CONROY’S legendary list of beloved novels.
Strong start for this touching novel of a man coming to grips with the suicide of his young wife and raisiing their daughter by himself. The reader is drawn in by the seemingly normal life and marriage that has ended so tragically. The charactes are rich and emotionally charged, but the constant flashbacks can take the reader off track. There is too much telling and not enough showing, about the turbulant years of this man and his high school/college friends and their coming of age angst. Overall a good read and interesting story.
First let me say this book took me forever to finish. This book is like a fine meal; meant to be savored. Pat Conroy's use of the English language is achingly beautiful and unlike many of the pulp novels that blight the shelves of our Wholesale clubs, this book is worth taking the time to digest. While I can't say it's better than Mr. Conroy's other novels (The Lords of Discipline was amazing); I can say that it's worth every minute one invests in reading it. Highly recommended!
