tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5367491918209452164.post376918640087340510..comments2024-03-01T09:58:03.858-08:00Comments on READING FOR SANITY BOOK REVIEWS: Beach Music - Pat ConroyMindySuehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10122081120154598894noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5367491918209452164.post-8126618954213030072018-07-20T20:38:29.580-07:002018-07-20T20:38:29.580-07:00I have read nearly all the best known novels by Pa...I have read nearly all the best known novels by Pat Conroy. A long time ago I completed the reading of Beach Music but had forgotten some of the details, and so after stumbling upon a cassette audiobook of this great novel, I purchased it and was delighted I did.<br /><br />Having been raised within a dysfunctional family, my initial attraction to his writing was just that. It gave me a sense of not having been alone during my rough childhood which I escaped early.<br /><br />In all of Pat Conroy's writings there is something from his past that he allows to be exposed to the reader, but it is up to the reader to determined what parts are true and what aren't. His book, My Reading Life, will help in that regard.<br /><br />This book, Beach Music, added to me pieces of my own home library of some 3,000 books. One of my largest book collections is on the Holocaust. From them, I believe I have learned to understand the very difficult lives survivors must endure following their most horrific and unforgettable experiences. Slaughter and massacre were a constant topic for a daughter of two survivors, which was misfortunate, and to some minds, abusive. After all, look where it led.<br /><br />Sure, the book has quite a few pages, but I think the stories within the story are well worth the time. And the descriptions, the vocabulary, enviable for one like me who longs to increase his vocabulary.<br /><br />Date experiences described on a college campus that were in opposition to the Vietnam War, as I see it, or very lifelike, believable. A great deal of hatred for that war was displayed during those years by students of many universities in schools of learning.<br /><br />The funniest moment for me, of course, was the bridge scene. Boy did that and give me a chuckle. I won't ruin it for those who have not yet read the book. Anyway, read it, check it out of the library, purchase it if you are a collector of books, and read it again as I did. It is another of Conroy's masterpieces.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00779228426222669929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5367491918209452164.post-75480919655862588782010-02-28T19:32:30.829-08:002010-02-28T19:32:30.829-08:00You know, upon re-reading the review it does sound...You know, upon re-reading the review it does sound harsh. But hey, I gave it a three. I won't rule out Pat Conroy in the future, but I stand by my critique.<br /><br />However I think I need to clarify a statement I made - I originally said one Holocaust story was the WORST one I'd read - what I meant was that it told the most horrific stories of a person's experience, not that the story was badly told.Sweet Emhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06636443574868229467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5367491918209452164.post-69900955280308603172010-02-28T17:19:23.779-08:002010-02-28T17:19:23.779-08:00I have read this book three times and love it, you...I have read this book three times and love it, you are an extremely harsh critic, or maybe it was the time in your life that affected your review. I wish I could find an author that I like as much as Pat Conroy. My parents have crazy families and this book was meaningful to me in that way. I didn't feel that there were too many themes to this book until I started reading reviews and started preparing a discussion for my book club. It is refreshing to have a complex book that doesn't rush through the life of a character, but rather develops them slowly. I am tired of short books that are written more for money than for literature's sake. Read it again, please!Natalie Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09239191612660712415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5367491918209452164.post-42141366541855651892009-10-21T16:15:58.915-07:002009-10-21T16:15:58.915-07:00I read this book many many years ago and when aske...I read this book many many years ago and when asked recently to join a book club, I offered up this book to read because it was so good back then. Now I don't have time to read it - what was I thinking!!! I'm not much of a reader but I'm hoping to improve as part of this group. Enjoyed your blog (minus the ads ;-)) and hope to come back again to read other book reviews.Terri Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11814153715316992843noreply@blogger.com