The Prince of Tides

Recently, I have become interested in Pat Conroy. My book club picked South of Broad, his latest novel, for discussion last fall. I missed the meeting, but found the book at the library a month ago and checked it out.

South of Broad refers to the part of Charleston's peninsula that is south of Broad Street - where the blue-nosed, native Charlestonians live. I had met one of these folks out listening to music one night. He was my age - and a law school dropout living at home. Once I learned he lived South of Broad, I immediately judged him (perhaps unfairly), because I knew that was where people with old money in Charleston live. What I didn't realize is that people that live there refer to it as downtown, instead of the commercial center to its north, along King and Meeting Streets between Broad and Calhoun.

But I digress. I write this to explain why I was interested in reading South of Broad and how I have become interested in Pat Conroy. Supposedly, he airs Charleston's dirty laundry in the book. So, I eagerly opened that book. Early on, I found the most beautiful passages described Charleston and the Lowcountry:

"In the summertime, the saltwater that floods the creeks and bays and coves of South Carolina is warm and sun-shot and silken to the touch. It did not hurt or shock to enter the water, but soothed and washed away the frazzled nerves of our runaway week. The creek was dark with the nutrients gathered in the great salt marsh; you could not see your hand if you opened your eyes underwater. We were swimming in a part of the Atlantic that the state of South Carolina had borrowed for a while."

(Italics emphasis mine)

But the story itself seemed a little melodramatic, even for a Southern novel - I enjoyed it, but I would have liked it to be more tightly edited and realistic. Still, a story based on where you live is always a pleasure - it lets you see where you live through the eyes of someone else.

Next, I looked up Pat Conroy and learned that he writes semi-autobiographical novels that piss people off for that reason. Sounds like Thomas Wolfe, except he has come home again and continues to live in South Carolina.

Last night, I watched The Prince of Tides. Some of its melodrama I could live without, but I loved the marsh and beach scenes - looks to me like they captured the essence of Pat Conroy in this movie. Beautiful landscape descriptions and melodramatic, tortured Southerners.

I look forward to reading more of his stories and descriptions.