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)

Another Pat Conroy Masterpiece

This is a novel that touches a wide range of human emotions. The anger brought on by high school integration. The building of common purpose and esprit of a football team. The development of close friendships from diverse segments of Charleston cultural elements over time. This intertwined by a dark personage.

Loved it!

Loved this book. The narrator was just terrific!!!

A great story of our time

If you allow the humanity and honesty of the characters and events to guide your journey through this story, then you will undoubtedly be a fan. While it's certainly full of southern, particularly Charleston, flavor, it takes you on a trip through events, issues and realitiesx that extent far beyond that wonderful region. I believe Adults over 30 will enjoy this book the most, simply because of their ability to overlap their real life experience and knowledge on top of the characters.

OK for the ride but not meaningful

The main character is a subtle study of a classic Conroy man. The only problem is that he is surrounded by 4 or 5 melodramas. Each one would be part of a remarkable coincidence, but together they overwhelm a good story to the point of almost silliness.
This didn't stop me from enjoying the book, but I thought it was far lesser of a book than any of his previous ones. Almost every person is a caricature, and their fates just didn't mean much to me in the end.
I still was glad I bought it, but I would make sure I heard every other Conroy book before this.

(The southern accent was tolerable except when he slipped into "Mawlie" instead of Mollie - it made me cringe every time.)

Awesome--Pat Conroy we miss you!

Great book. As always, Pat Conroy delivers an amazing story with oceans deep characters.

I miss this great writer.

Hating old Charlestonians

As always I enjoyed Pat Conroy. I believe he is a great writer. However, I am begining to think there is an underlining attempt to get the rest of the world to hate the apparently over pompous residents of old Charleston. God forbid if they are really as bad as Chad and his parents. Have only been there once as a tourist and they all seemed eager enough to take my money.

Beautiful

this Pat Conroy book does not disappoint. he's always been one of the greats. just a wonderful storyteller and an awesome reader!

Pat has done it again.

Tops The Prince of Tides. Willing to wait 14 years for Pat to write if this is what he produces.

Words like poetry

The author uses the language to create beautiful relatable feelings both come to life and touch you deep within. The narrator matched this skill by bringing this story to life and heart

South of Broad

I was completely captivated by South of Broad's Author-Reader combination. This audio book was unlike any I've ever experieced. The way this story ties together at the end is pure genius. Finished listening while sitting in my car (on a Saturday night) see . . I listen to audio books on my daily 3 hour work commute . . . and couldn't wait until Monday to finish it! Mark's voice is mesmerizing, No other reader could have pulled this reading off with the same effectiveness. AMAZING!!!!! This is Pat's best in my opinion, Wish for more books by Pat with Mark as the reader please??? MORE - MORE - MORE!!!!