• South of Broad

  • By: Pat Conroy
  • Narrated by: Mark Deakins
  • Length: 20 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (2,912 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
South of Broad  By  cover art

South of Broad

By: Pat Conroy
Narrated by: Mark Deakins
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.25

Buy for $20.25

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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)

What listeners say about South of Broad

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,826
  • 4 Stars
    658
  • 3 Stars
    238
  • 2 Stars
    108
  • 1 Stars
    82
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,525
  • 4 Stars
    289
  • 3 Stars
    77
  • 2 Stars
    24
  • 1 Stars
    15
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,359
  • 4 Stars
    368
  • 3 Stars
    125
  • 2 Stars
    48
  • 1 Stars
    37

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this book!

I spent 20 years living in the south and Charleston was one of my favorite cities of all. This book was so well written and very well read. I would recommend it highly!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Long, but worth it

A good story that brings to life the city and culture of Charleston starting in the late 60s. Full of memorable characters and events. Beautifully read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Another Conroy Classic

I loved South of Broad. I am sad it’s over and will spend days and nights drifting off trying the find my friends, these characters, whose story has ended. Rich, expansive narrative that brings Charleston alive. It’s hard to decide if the character drive the story or the other way around. I became consumed with the streets, homes and gardens of the Queens city. I appreciated the sweeping timespans and how the characters floated through them. I was surprised when I should be and choked up in tears too many times to count. I loved this book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • kd
  • 12-16-21

Mispronunciations and…

Fake Southern accent. The story was still well worth the listen and was the usual Pat Conroy fashion.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Another eloquent Conroy Novel

Great story. Incredibly well written but a hard one with lots of trying times…even more than some others. Listen but beware of some awful situations. Not an easy or light book but phenomenal nonetheless.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Don't listen to the end while dtiving

or you'll be steering through your tears. I thought I had read all of Conroy's books, so I was glad to discover I was wrong. It's not his best work, but still far above most of what's out there. Thanks for transporting me yet again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

LOVE Mr. Conroy's writing.

Such a gifted writer, makes you wish the story would continue. looking forward to another work of art of his.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mr. Deakins did so good!

I’ve always loved this book. I had an extra credit available and decided to purchase the audible.. Picked it up on June 16th! Narrator did a fabulous job!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Bit Over the Top, Even for Conroy

Conroy characters are sometimes 2 dimensional archetypes, like Trevor, the very effeminate, consummate entertainer who makes a lot of "ooh I'd like to take on that whole second string team" Jones even on his deathbed,

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

All-Time Favorite

This is one of my all-time favorite books. It is full of humor, heartbreak, sadness, evil, camaraderie and nostalgia. I feel as though I am a part of this group of friends and I feel deeply everything they go through. I read this book years ago, but thoroughly enjoyed it this time on Audible!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!