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Book Review of The Prince of Tides

The Prince of Tides
The Prince of Tides
Author: Pat Conroy
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
reviewed on + 20 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 8


Pat Conroy is one of the finest writers of the last 60 years. Similiar themes run throughout some of this novels. Others are vastly. But all draw on his native North Carolina, it's Low Country, and the people there.

This is undoubtedly his most accomplished work (maybe Lords of Discipline gives this one a run for its money). A unusual, gifted mother, an absent and abusive father, a suicidal sister and older brother make up the family.

While attending to his hospitalized sister in NY, our hero begins meeting with her therapist, ostensibly to provide family background. In the process, a hideous family secret comes to the fore. But this is not a mystery, nor a blood-sucking novel. It's the journey of a close family through perilous times - and the journey of a deeply troubled man.

The story aside, Conroy's writing will lift you from your chair and softly deposit you on the gentle shores of the marshes. His prose awakens your nose to the smells of bogs and rotting fishheads. The stars in the sky are no longer specks of light; we pulse with them and wink mischievously at dolphins and humans.

THIS is the book to order if you want to be carried away on the words of a gifted writer. (Except for the plot summary, this review covers all his writings.)