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)

BETTER THAN THE FIRST TIME!

I'm a big Conroy fan and read this book when it came out but decided to re-visit it after just also re-reading Beach Music. WOW, by far the best Conroy! He was truly at his writing peak when he penned this one. And the performance by Mark Deakins was outstanding. I was incredibly sad to finish the book on my way to work this morning . . . and I just may have to re-listen to it soon. The language is stunning and Mr. Deakins' performance is evocative and sublime.

So boring. Nothing happened

Boring. I kept thinking something exciting would happen and it never did. Prince of tides was a great book, not this one

epitome of love and friendship

I couldn't get enough of this bug. I put it on a reading list 10 years ago and finally got down to it and it is perfect in every way.

Superb, but so depressing.

What did you like best about South of Broad? What did you like least?

What can I say? Pat Conroy is an excellent writer, but his stories are SO depressing. His imagery is wonderful, but what he does to his characters is almost unbearable. Sometimes I wish he wrote guide books rather than plot driven stories. Mark Deakins narrates this book expertly, and the timber of his voice is like cool glass of sweet tea. If you like Pat Conroy, you will love this audiobook.

Which character – as performed by Mark Deakins – was your favorite?

Leo

Soap opera of a book but good for yardwork

I listened to this while house painting which was fine but I don't think id recommend it over many or even any of the other books that Audible has to offer. Certainly not one of Conroy's finest I'm sad to say

One of the Best Books I have EVER listened to!!!!!

Mater Story Teller, Rich Characters and Wonderfully Detailed Storyline. I NEVER wanted this book to end!!!!!!!!!!!

Patchwork quilt in need of repair

I too feel this is a stitched together story made from unfinished leftovers. It felt disjointed as though some unpublished work was thrown together to make a book. Some segments were well developed and good reading but didn't mesh will with other parts of the story. I only hope this is just cleaning off the shelves in preparation for a new and better book by Mr.Conroy because he can write some great stories.

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.

beautiful - loved every minute of it.

enjoyed this book from beginning to end. The witty exchange between characters kept me smiling throughout, Wish I had known a Leo King, and a Sheba for that matter. Listened to it three times, no doubt there will be a fourth.

So good, old school humor, family fun.

struggled with some of the deep seeded problems. The humor will make you laugh out loud. real world twists and turns. you won't be able to put it down. Pat Conroy knows how to spin a tail in the old southern ways. He actually talks about his actual family. he tells his sorry without revisionist history. Sure to enjoy