The Great Santini: A Novel

What I liked about this work was the realistic portrayal of a military family and the vulnerability of a son who is conflicted with his ambivalent feelings toward his stern father. Pat Conroy conveys his sensitivity and understanding in all of his novels, but this one could be the nearest to autobiographical. I think the Robert Duvall/ Blythe Danner movie is great, too!

Maybe I did not like this book because it represents how so many so called fathers feel they have the right to belittle their children and their wives simply because they can. It is called bullying! How a mother has to protect her children against such behavior. Too many children grow up to repeat the behavior. This book made me look what has happened in my own family even closer.

I stumbled upon this book, and this author. This book has a great storyline and was very engaging. I felt as if I was in that family, and could feel what it would be like to be in those situations. His writing has a depth to it that was very worthwhile. I will be looking to read more of his books.

Pat Conroy has wonderful word descriptions. One can almost get lost in his scenes in their mind's eye. The reader gets to know the characters from their acts and thoughts leading to a love/hate relationship. The plots go in unexpected directions making this book an excellent read.

The story was very compelling, however, I am not a huge fan of his literary style. I found Conroy's sentence structure and vocabulary distracting. I felt he used unfamiliar words to impress the reader with how intelligent he is. I found it distracting and annoying.

I read my first Pat Conroy novel, Prince of Tides, very many years ago, and despite having loved that book, I lost sight of the author over the years. The Great Santini was recommended to me recently and I approached reading it enthusiastically, given my initial reaction to this author. As it happened, I was delighted with this book and consider Conroy a masterful storyteller and a superior writer.

I found this story to be fascinating, as Pat Conroy has drawm from his own experience growing up in a family with a US Marine pilot father.
With Dad's strict discipline, harsh language, and running his family like a Marine boot camp, this story will move your heart to have compassion for the family.

It is classic Pat Conroy. Semi-autobiographical. It's raw and the characters so real you immediately know them and have a relationship with some or all. Too close to the truth for my husband to read. Sad to know this great voice is quiet now, but what a treasure of writing and living and cooking he left behind.

Pat Conroy has been my favorite American author since I first started reading his books.I've just reread The Great Santini as I first read it when I was very young.I still love it.He really conveys his tortuous relationship with his father so well and at the same time you understand that he really loves him.If you come from a dysfunctional family this book will hit home in many ways.And in my opinion,no one writes about the South as well as Pat Conroy.I'm very saddened about his passing.

I recently discovered that Conroy is writing a nonfiction memoir (The Death of Santini, due out in October) about his real-life relationship with his father, the inspiration for The Great Santini`s Bull Meecham. I first read Santini in high school and remember loving it, but I didn't remember a lot of detail about it. I wanted to be up to snuff with my background to fully appreciate his upcoming memoir, so I thought it was high time for a re-read of one of my favorite authors!

The first 2-3 chapters may be the best opening of a book in terms of character and story introduction that I've ever read. It perfectly sets up Bull's crazy personality, his imposition of military structure on his home life and family, and, obviously, his temper. He also immediately comes across as funny and I can't decide whether or not his humor is intentional. I chuckled out loud when Bull stands on the front steps of his house at 2 am, with his entire family loaded in the car ready to move to South Carolina, and yells "stand by for a fighter pilot". I just pictured an overloaded Griswold family style station wagon almost dragging along the ground while Bull acts like he's operating a high performance fighter jet in a war zone.

Bull and Lillian (Mrs. Meecham) both ended up being much more complex characters than I remember from my initial read, or maybe I just view them differently now that I'm older. Bull has more likeable traits than I remember (he's loved by many of his Marine Corps colleagues, he does sweet things for his wife and children, and he comes to the defense/rescue of his children in many cases) and Lillian is more dislikable than I remember.

She outwardly appears to be a Saint and martyr for putting up with Bull, but she is actually a classic enabler, concerned more about appearances than the well being of her children. And, she constantly foregoes standing up for her children in favor of making excuses for Bull's antics.

I disliked Lillian more and more as the book went on and wound up wondering which personality type (Bull's or Lillian's) was worse. It was like Conroy was reading my mind because he has Ben and Mary Anne have this exact conversation towards the end of the book. He, of course, sums up the argument eloquently, saying "you always know where Dad stands and he knows where he stands, but no one will ever know where [...] Darling Lillian stands, not even [...] Darling Lillian. Mom can hurt people more with her piety than Dad can with his temper.".

Finally, Conroy hilariously skewers the Marine Corps (and military in general) and the Catholic Church, even comparing them to each other in a funny section of Bull's thoughts while daydreaming in church.

This is no doubt a heartbreaking book (even more so knowing much of the material came from Conroy's real life) and it absolutely nails the conflicted feelings of having a horrifying, volatile, and sometimes abusive parent. And, as is the norm for Conroy, it's beautifully written. I think Conroy could write about paint drying and I would love reading it!

For more reviews, check out my blog, Sarah's Book Shelves.

Great book, but I thought Bull Meachom was totally over the top. I almost put it away after the father-son basketball game. I stuck it out and was gladiator did as I ended up thoroughly enjoying the read

Great book, but I thought Bull Meachom was totally over the top. I almost put it away after the father-son basketball game. I stuck it out and was gladiator did as I ended up thoroughly enjoying the read

This book kept me reading late into the night, at red lights, at work during lunch, with morning coffee, in the tub!!! I couldn't lay it down. It was difficult and hard and tender and made you want to throw something. The vocabulary will engulf you, tease you and have you looking up words, and it reads like poetry. I just loved it.

The heavy handed Marine Macho images extended into family life did not make for an entertaining read even though counter-balanced by the family matriarch's attempts to raise a family. Perhaps people can identify but it's not for me. Conroy's ability to use words is a treat.

Beautifully written! I read this so that I could read The Great Santini has Died. I still don't know where the name came from. I am a major fan of P.C and have read all of his others. They echo his love for the low country and bear reading over and over.

Haunting, disturbing, infinitely readable. Conroy draws you in with all too relatable characters and settings. You cannot help but continue to turn the pages to discover what the next situation with be and how young Ben will deal with it. A well-deserved classic.

The details of the Great Santini reflect Conroys childhood in a military family with a colorful father who was abusive. The family survived by loving one another in unique ways and finding ways to live in spite of the stress they endured. Beautiful language and humor.

The story held my interest wanting to know more about this complicated family! Military children have a difficult life cultivating friendships and the father rules all! The story left me wanting to read more on their lives.

Pat Conroy is one of my favorite writers. He has that Southern eloquence and a wonderful terrible tale to tell. I stayed up all night the first time I read The Great Santini. It is one of the few books I have read again. It is that good.

Pat Conroy has done it again. The characters were well defined and the writting was excellent. You feel as if you really know the people in the story and can identify with their problems. He has presented the tale with clarity. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Have you ever noticed how sitcoms feature characters that say and do things that are improbable in real life? My impression of reading Conroy's book, especially the first several chapters, was that I was reading something akin to episode of Friends - action that was entertaining and humorous, but a bit outside the scope of reality because I have never met anyone who behaves that way.

As I read on, I began to settle into Conroy's writing style. I read the whole book, and legitimately enjoyed it, however I don't immediately intend to read another Conroy book. As a general rule, I am not a fan of having to suspend disbeliefs to get through a book. I tend to learn and appreciate writing that is a little closer to home, where lessons are drawn from more relatable situations, and characters are not the proverbial larger-than-life types.

But there is no doubt, Pat Conroy can write. The great Santini is longer than the average book, but the author keeps story line going chapter after chapter in many different sitcom-like episodes. The characters were all very unique, well-developed, and the author was able to nail the tone of each character consistently throughout the book. Conroy has a vast vocabulary which makes reading this book fun as the reader learns new words.

At times it feels like Conroy overwrites. It is amazing how many similes he can cram into one page. Some are good; some are a little bit of a reach: "Slowly, the boxes downstairs began to empty and Ben piled them in the backyard where they lay like the discarded shells of reptiles."

To be sure, the themes of relational conflict throughout the book are real, and at times profound. The idea of a person's worldview, coping skills, and view of oneself being shaped by our environment is a meaningful subject, and it probably helps to have some of the serious stuff delivered in an entertaining mode as Conroy delivered.

Overall, an entertaining read...but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to my reading friends.

Pat Conroy brings wonderful and complex characters to an unbelievable, compelling story. It is based on his own life. I was spellbound through the complete story. But I was also horrified at some of it.

I became interested in this book after listening to an interview with the author on NPR. The autobiographical elements fascinated me and I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie. My father was a military brat born in the 40's who went to numerous high schools and played basketball which made the book that much more intriguing. Once I learnt it was the same author as one of my favorite books, The Prince of Tides, I immediately downloaded the book and couldn't put it down. Obsessed with Mr. Conroy now.

I’ve apparently gone about reading Pat Conroy all backward, having started with The Death of Santini and now filling in with his earlier work.

In Death of Santini, Conroy provides an autobiographical recap to his earlier work through the prism of dealing with his father’s (The Great Santini) death. Having read this recap, I can now read his earlier “fiction” stories in a different light, recognizing them for their autobiographical underpinnings.

Not only having read Death of Santini, but also having seen the movie, The Great Santini, I was very familiar with the story and characters. It is impossible not to envision Robert Duvall when reading about the actions and exploits of Bull Meecham, the narrator’s old school, Marine fighter pilot father, who enjoys a reign of terror over his wife and four children. Ultimately, the movie centers upon the growth and maturation of 18 year old Ben Meecham as he becomes a man, an event that puts him on a collision course with his autocratic father.

This is a fantastic read, not only for the action within the Meecham family, but also the look at both the Marine culture and that of 1960s South Carolina. Highly recommended.

Altho this book was written many years ago, it was written by a master story teller and one of my favorite authors. I'm still reading this story but it does not disappoint. I've read almost everything from Mr. Conroy and have enjoyed them all!