The Death of Santini

The Story of a Father and His Son

By: Pat Conroy

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

In this powerful and intimate memoir, the beloved best-selling author of The Prince of Tides and his father, the inspiration for The Great Santini, find some common ground at long last.

Pat Conroy's father, Donald Patrick Conroy, was a towering figure in his son's life. The Marine Corps fighter pilot was often brutal, cruel, and violent; as Pat says, "I hated my father long before I knew there was an English word for 'hate.'" As the oldest of seven children who were dragged from military base to military base across the South, Pat bore witness to the toll his father's behavior took on his siblings, and especially on his mother, Peg. She was Pat's lifeline to a better world - that of books and culture. But eventually, despite repeated confrontations with his father, Pat managed to claw his way toward a life he could have only imagined as a child.

Pat's great success as a writer has always been intimately linked with the exploration of his family history. While the publication of The Great Santini brought Pat much acclaim, the rift it caused with his father brought even more attention. Their long-simmering conflict burst into the open, fracturing an already battered family. But as Pat tenderly chronicles here, even the oldest of wounds can heal. In the final years of Don Conroy's life, he and his son reached a rapprochement of sorts. Quite unexpectedly, the Santini who had freely doled out physical abuse to his wife and children refocused his ire on those who had turned on Pat over the years. He defended his son's honor.

The Death of Santini is at once a heart-wrenching account of personal and family struggle and a poignant lesson in how the ties of blood can both strangle and offer succor. It is an act of reckoning, an exorcism of demons, but one whose ultimate conclusion is that love can soften even the meanest of men, lending significance to one of the most-often quoted lines from Pat's best-selling novel The Prince of Tides: "In families there are no crimes beyond forgiveness."

©2013 Pat Conroy (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Listeners will be moved as they listen to Conroy's latest memoir... The humorous and gut wrenching prologue, read by Conroy himself, transitions perfectly to Dick Hill's delivery of the soul-searching memoir. Hill inhabits all the Conroy family members well, but his shifts between father and son...is where the story soars.” (AudioFile Magazine)

"Despite the inherently bleak nature of so much of this material, Conroy has fashioned a memoir that is vital, large-hearted and often raucously funny. The result is an act of hard-won forgiveness, a deeply considered meditation on the impossibly complex nature of families and a valuable contribution to the literature of fathers and sons." (The Washington Post)

"The Death of Santini instantly reminded me of the decadent pleasures of [Conroy's] language, of his promiscuous gift for metaphor and of his ability, in the finest passages of his fiction, to make the love, hurt or terror a protagonist feels seem to be the only emotion the world could possibly have room for, the rightful center of the trembling universe.... Conroy’s conviction pulls you fleetly through the book, as does the potency of his bond with his family, no matter their sins, their discord, their shortcomings.” (The New York Times Book Review)

Spectacular

Just finished the book and I want to start from page one again. I think I will read it many times.

Conroy's Final Attempt to Reconcile with Dad

What made the experience of listening to The Death of Santini the most enjoyable?

As usual, Conroy captures the humorous, sad and, hopefully, factual details of his dysfunctional family. In eventually reconciling with his Father, he travels a tortuous trail with many side roads and detours. It is classic Conroy, made more poignant with the sad realization that this would be his last work.

What did you like best about this story?

Darkness plus explosive humor throughout.

What didn’t you like about Dick Hill’s performance?

I think this was the WRONG voice for this story...the Chicago/New York accent just graited on me throughout...a poor match for this story of a SOUTHERN family in and out of crises.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

LOL

Any additional comments?

Sorry that his voce has been stilled.

Conroy takes you into his world behind the scenes

If you could sum up The Death of Santini in three words, what would they be?

Powerful, articulate, authentic

What other book might you compare The Death of Santini to and why?

This is one of a kind.

What does Dick Hill bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Dick Hill is a great story teller from a sensitive description to a loud and funny Big John impression.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Conroy tells his true story as only a master writer can.

Any additional comments?

You will lose yourself in this book and wonder what happed to your clock when you check the time.

A must read

Listening to this book and Pat’s life makes me even sadder that I never got to meet him or didn’t appreciate his writing until later in my life. It’s a great book by a great author. Thanks for the beautiful writing.

Death of Santini

Pat Conroy brings you into the story of his father’s death and his and his family’s reaction to it with great aplomb. You can see the story unfold with each sentence. When he reads his eulogy to his father if it doesn’t bring a tear to your eyes you never loved your father.

One of the Worst Narrators Ever

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

It is hard to find good things to say about the work of an author I usually enjoy. This narrator is so bad I cannot go on with the book. I will remove it from my phone and check out the book from the library.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He reads sentences as if he doesn't understand how English sentences work. Commas mean little to him and he emphasizes a word just before or just after the word he ought to have emphasized.

Absolutely aweful--not like his fiction at all

Would you try another book from Pat Conroy and/or Dick Hill?

Definitely would not read any non-fiction from Pat Conroy again.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Pat Conroy comes off as an insufferable, chauvinistic, narcissist. I found his fiction (Prince of Tides, Great Santini, South of Broad, Lords of Discipline) entertaining but this book was awful. I couldn't finish it--only got halfway through--it was too boring.

Brutal Narration - couldn't finish

What disappointed you about The Death of Santini?

Both the prologue and the book's narrators were remedial at best. Surprised at Pat Conroy's stumbled prologue delivery. Dick Hill was brutal. Reminded me of a third grader reciting the adventures of Dick, Jane and Sally. Too bad. It was disappointing as I was eager to hear Pat Conroy's newest book. Plan to read it as soon as I can erase Dick Hill's voice from my memory.

What could Pat Conroy have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Selected Will Patten to read it - including the prologue.

Would you be willing to try another one of Dick Hill’s performances?

NEVER

Are you kidding me?

I know people who loved this book. I am not one of them. There is no way this was a story of a father and his son. It is about a completely messed up family from the start. I have heard it said the Conroy is a great southern writer. What does that mean. Is there a difference between southern writers and writers who are not from the south? Are southern writers held to a different standard? I am a son of the south and I sure thought this book was trash. If his family truly acted the way he describes in this book they would all have been committed years ago. Some should have been arrested. If you are to believe anything Conroy has written his dad would never had made Colonel and his mother would be a saint. Neither things happened. The dad was a Colonel and served with distinction. His mother belonged in a mental institution with his sister and the grandmother for sure. His mother would had to be mentally ill to stay with such an abusive individual as Conroy portrayed his father to be. The most amazing thing to me is why Conroy continued to have a relationship with his dad and his sister? Why would you be close to those people even if they were family. Made me wonder if this was pure fiction. If it was fiction it made it even worse.

Could not get past the narrator.

What disappointed you about The Death of Santini?

I would have enjoyed having the option to listen to this book. I simply could not tolerate the narration. The narrator has a horrible style.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Yes, he destroyed the book.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It's a Pat Conroy work. I had to purchase the book and read it. I only wish I could get a refund for the Audible version.