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)

Conroy at his best

Would you consider the audio edition of The Death of Santini to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version, so I can't compare, but the audio version was excellent. The dialogue between the family members was extremely well performed by Dick Hill and at times, I laughed out loud.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Death of Santini?

The conversations between the parents and the siblings were at times funny and at times shocking, but always entertaining.

Have you listened to any of Dick Hill’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Its the first book of Hill's that I have listened to, but I don't think it will be the last. Pat Conroy read the preface only, and at first I was disappointed he didn't read the book.Now I see why he didn't. There was a wonderful variety of "voices" that only a professional like Dick Hill could have delivered with such perfection. Many times I totally forgot that Pat Conroy was not reading, because Hill did such a wonderful job capturing the sarcasm, bitterness, pain and love in the voices.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. Every free minute, I was plugged in and was sorry when it was over.

Any additional comments?

Its an amazing testimony to the power of forgiveness and love that Don Conroy was loved and mourned by so many people. It was also interesting, though not surprising to learn that Pat Conroy was similar to his father in many ways, minus the physical abuse to his loved ones. It was a fascinating followup to The Great Santini.

Pat Conroy Settles Scores

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes. I am a big fan of Pat Conroy's novels and this memoir, though self-serving, gives additional depth to his novels. Having said that, he's not a very likable person.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

It was extremely interesting to me that while he has spent a lifetime attacking his own abuser (his father), he supported and excused his sister's abuser (their mother). No wonder she hated him--I would have, too.

What about Dick Hill’s performance did you like?

I can't say I loved it. Maybe because I have always imagined Pat Conroy's voice to be more like Nick Nolte's in Prince of Tides. It took me a while to get used to it.

Could you see The Death of Santini being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I can see it, but I don't it should be made into a movie. He's hurt his family enough. This memoir is supposed to be the one that puts his relationship with his father to rest. Making a movie of it would make a lie of the premise of the book.

A Necessary End Note

Would you listen to The Death of Santini again? Why?

If you have followed Conroy's saga of Santini and his other family members through the decades, this is a necessary listen. It presents new details - many horrible of course - as well as several very moving scenes. As Conroy's neighbors note in several scenes, "Your family always puts on a great show!"

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Death of Santini?

Pat's eulogy for his father was fitting and memorable.

What about Dick Hill’s performance did you like?

Dick Hill had a great voice for Santini as I imagine him. For Pat Conroy, his voice was less perfect (I have met Pat several times over the years).

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

Any book about Santini makes one cry (my god, how did that family survive at all!) as well as laugh at and with Santini and the other characters in response to the outrageousness of their lives.

Perfect tragedy -- complete

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes . Conroy's writing is so artful and his meaning so common. As a great admirer of all his books, I believe this is a book that is continuing his life as his reader's are able to watch.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I don't have a favorite. To me, they all are part of the bigger piece.

Any additional comments?

This book appeals to people on so many levels, just as Mr. Conroy's past works have. If the reader has had a childhood or family relationships with these powerful struggles, the reader feels it in her heart and gut. If a reader was blessed to believe to never have these dramas, (which I would question of anyone with a "perfect" life), Conroy's work is a window into others as well. Beautiful words create a whirlwind of emotions.

From the viewpoint of a fellow military brat.

I was a fan of "The Great Santini". And now an even greater fan of the author, the family, and the Great Santini himself. I'd like to say Thanks to the author for sharing his life with us.

A bit sad to hear the family troubles

If you really want to learn more about the background of the family I believe this book provides that insight. It is so sad that their family was in such turmoil and that Pat lived his entire life in turmoil. He was an amazing writer but his life seems so tragic.

Can we re-record this one please?

The narration is absolutely brutal on this. We really need this one to be redone for the love of all mankind. What a disappointing shame to have such a great story lost with poor narration. The narrator yelled the story rather than live it breath it. We must all understand that there will probably never be a better narrated book than “the prince of tides” (God bless frank muller) but there are so many great narrators that would have knocked this out of the park. This narration was equivalent to asking me to play a strata-various at a wedding (I have no understanding of how to play any musical instrument.) if they ever re record this, I’ll be the first to snag it up! But unlike my other conroy books, this is a listen once only, never to be listened to again until it’s a fixed version.

Another great Conroy book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes!

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

Prince of Tides. Same subject matter and tone.

What about Dick Hill’s performance did you like?

Excellent!! Coudn't be better.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Part where Conroy gives eulogy for his dad.

Any additional comments?

I loved Hill's rendering of Conroy's father, the Colonel.

Heavy.

A fantastic story, but can be depressing at times. The author makes you feel as if you were actually living the life.

Understanding The Great Santini

After listening to Pat Conroy read the prologue, I wasn’t sure I could endure the entire book. His words mirrored my own childhood experiences of being raised by an abusive father. I decided to forge ahead and am pleased that Pat was able to come to some understanding of and grant forgiveness to his father. I know from experience that the children of such men are only able to live in peace by letting go of the emotional humiliation and physical abuse unfairly inflicted upon them. “The Death of Santini” is a story that needed to be told as only the eldest son could tell it. It brought me a better sense of the man behind the beloved author Pat Conroy. I can’t wait to re-read every one of his books with an empathy and compassion that wasn’t there 25 years ago.

Oh, how I love knowing that Pat Conroy was shaped by the sins of the father as was I. One can only understand the dark prose when they have lived under the tyranny of a complex man like The Great Santini.