South of Broad

By: Pat Conroy

Narrated by: Mark Deakins

Length: 20 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Number one New York Times best seller.

“A big sweeping novel of friendship and marriage” (The Washington Post) by the celebrated author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini.

Leopold Bloom King has been raised in a family shattered - and shadowed - by tragedy. Lonely and adrift, he searches for something to sustain him and finds it among a tightly knit group of outsiders. Surviving marriages happy and troubled, unrequited loves and unspoken longings, hard-won successes and devastating breakdowns, as well as Charleston, South Carolina’s dark legacy of racism and class divisions, these friends will endure until a final test forces them to face something none of them are prepared for.

Spanning two turbulent decades, South of Broad is Pat Conroy at his finest: a masterpiece from a great American writer whose passion for life and language knows no bounds.

©2009 Pat Conroy (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

“Vintage Pat Conroy...a big sweeping novel of friendship and marriage.” (The Washington Post)

“Conroy remains a magician of the page.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“Richly imagined...These characters are gallant in the grand old-fashioned sense, devoted to one another and to home. That siren song of place has never sounded so sweet.” (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

Loved this book from beginning to end

First Pat Conroy I’ve read since Beach Music. I will definitely catch up his books.

A Sweeping and Magnificent Story

Like Thomas Wolfe or Faulkner, Conroy give's a deeply resonating voice to the South and the human condition. His superlative and nearly peerless descriptive powers continue to ripen and bloom. Many times when listening to this book my heart ached not only for the characters in his story, but at Conroy's ability to capture the the subtle nuances of human interaction and the inner world. Lengthening an already long book, over and over again, I simply could not stop myself from pressing the rewind button. The narrator (Mark Deakin's) hit the tenor and accent for the story just right.

This is a book I will read again, and Leopold King is an inspiring, lovable, and unforgettable
character.

Rob Obst

You can Feel the South with Every Syllable

Pat Conroy's writing is wonderful as always, but the combination with his prose and this narrator was sublime. I have read a lot of Conroy writing, but have never listened on Audible. What an amazing combination. I found myself reversing to listen to passages again simply for the pleasure of hearing them read aloud to me. The story bogs down occasionally, as do all long detailed novels of this genre; but trust me and bear with this one. It will prove worth the effort. Good job all around.

herb who????

Love the book and the reader EXCEPT that Herb Caen would be ROLLING over in his grave.. his name is HERB CANE not Cahn.....anyone who writes about SF should know this.. the producer and reader should know this. and certianly the author ( has he heard this?). PLEASE correct this.. it makes these chapters about my home city unbearable. Herb would probably laugh it off .. or write something about it in his column.. but those of us who read him in the "Chron" know .. its CANE.. not Cahn.. a bit of reseach please.... and HUGGY.. no way.. but I will leave that to the "Charlestonians" to correct

Top 10 of 4,000

Any additional comments?

I have been a member of Audible since its inception, and currently have over 4,000 audiobooks in two accounts. When the request came for increased reviews, I decided to select my top 10 of the 3,900 that I completed. (Yes, a few were just too awful).Audible has allowed me to listen to authors that otherwise would have completely escaped my attention. Pat Conroy is one of those.In my ten reviews some will be more extensive than this one, but suffice it to say that - as a serious story and book lover - Pat Conroy receives my vote as belonging to a rare and wonderful group of writers: Hemingway, Steinbeck, King, Preston, Child, Turow. . .It will take time to select the other few. Don't judge South of Broad too early. It is a book of increasing and dramatic momentum.Hope this opinion is of some value.

I just wanted entertainment and that's what I got

I am a big Pat Conroy fan if for no other reason than his fictional families are more messed up than the real ones I know. I cannot say "South of Broad" is fine literature but it is entertaining and gives me hope people can overcome their troubled beginnings (over which they have no control).

Really enjoyed

I loved the main character in this book. Twists and turns and flash backs made the story compelling. The reader in this was exceptional.

South of Broad

Enjoyed this book, as always Conroy uses his humor to tell a tale of growing up in the south. I think I know these characters from my own childhood growing up in the south during the 60's.

ONE OF MY T0P TEN BEST LISTENS

What made the experience of listening to South of Broad the most enjoyable?

I have listened to SOUTH OF BROAD twice, and will listen to it over and over. I fell in love with Leo! All the characters made fun of him because he was supposedly ugly. Leo's inner goodness and his love of people, and how people loved him proved, beauty is only skin deep.. Leo's character made me want to be more like the LEO portrayed in the SOUTH OF BROAD.

What other book might you compare South of Broad to and why?

I would compare Pat Conroy's writing to that of James lee Burke when Burke describes his love for New Orleans. Conroy's description of Charleston, and his love for the city made me want to take the flight out to visit!

What about Mark Deakins’s performance did you like?

I loved the narrator's voice and the smoothness, and fluency which he told Leo's story. His deep southern accent made the words almost seem like I was listening to a song.

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

If this were to become a movie, my tag line would read," TRUE BEAUTY COMES FROM WITHIN!

Any additional comments?

I was dismayed to read so many negative reivews of this book! THE SOUTH OF BROAD has made me a PAT CONROY FAN forever! The people who did not like South of Broad, must have listened to a different version that I did! I could not stop listening to the book nor the narrator. I rated this book one of my best listens!

Good solid read with interesting characters

The book had good character descriptions. The plot was interesting but sometimes felt contrived. The ending was good. The emotions of the characters were well developed but sometimes not realistic. He seemed to be playing up to the alternative life style at times. Otherwise, it was as decent read. I would not recommend it for everyone.