The Great Santini: A Novel
by Pat Conroy
List Price:
Our Price: $8.92
You Save: $7.08 (44%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.07 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Pat ConroyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-10
ISBN: 0553381555
Number of pages: 496
Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780553381559
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Great Santini: A Novel
Book Review: Wish I'd gotten to this one earlier...
Summary: 5 Stars
It's not all that common for this reader to get fully absorbed into a world populated by completely fictional characters, but Pat Conroy's classic The Great Santini quickly proved to be an exception. It's a book as brutally honest and unvarnished as its titular character, Marine pilot Colonel Wilbur "Bull" Meecham (aka the Great Santini), in whom Conroy has created one of the most fascinating, believable, and flat-out hilarious characters in literary history. First seen moving with his family to the military town of Ravenel, South Carolina (a stand-in for the actual military town of Beaufort), Bull Meachem is a figure both larger than life and utterly human, a warrior with no off switch and consummate alpha male who seems most in his element when pounding beers with his men or pounding on some local toughs who attack his eldest child on the street. He's also a walking contradiction, beholden to the prejudices and enmities of his time but still gripped with a profound sense of fairness, and a seemingly loving father who only rarely manages to show his children any genuine affection. Depending on your particular viewpoint, he could represent either everything that's wrong with this country or everything that's great about it, but in Conroy's hands Bull's always more of a character than a caricature of an archetype. Even while finding a large share of Bull's actions and pronouncements objectionable, I always read just a little faster when he was the focus, which is a testament to just how sharply drawn a character he is. Whatever your societal views, it's hard not to like an unapologetically masculine guy like Bull, who lives for male camaraderie and the thrill of unfettered flight and, yes, the chance to kill a few Commies that the Marine Corps offers.
Despite its title, though, The Great Santini is far from a one-man show. While he remains the dominant figure, Bull shares the spotlight with the other members of his family (those older than 12, anyway): his oldest, Ben, a brilliant basketball player whose feelings toward his father range from ambivalence to outright hostility; Ben's younger sister Mary Anne, a self-described weirdo and social misfit with literary aspirations whose biting sense of humor serves as an ever-present defense mechanism; and Bull's wife Lillian, a product of the Southern gentry who tries tirelessly to preserve at least the appearance of peace in her house. The story eventually comes to encompass a whole universe of minor characters as well, from educators to clergy to poor blacks, who make up the fabric of a pre-integration Southern military town, but in the end the focus remains squarely on the Meechams and their frequently stormy existences. To say that Bull isn't in touch with his inner child or his feminine side would be an understatement: he tends to run the family in much the same way he runs his Marine unit, with a constant focus on discipline and a push to succeed at the expense of all other considerations. Naturally, this approach can sometimes grate on the rest of the family, especially Ben, whose conflicting drives to please and defy his father should be familiar to just about anyone who remembers being a teenager. Ben's struggles to find his own way and deal with the overwhelming shadow cast by his father's influence eventually come to form the center of the book, making it equal parts coming-of-age story, family drama, and slice-of-life comedy.
Although his pen can run over a bit, especially in the book's later going, it's still beyond disputing that Conroy is an enormously skilled writer, who brings the same level of insight and precision to his description of an inconsequential high-school basketball game that he does to a beer-soaked Marine gathering. Conroy shows a keen insight for the twisted humor and atavistic rituals that make up male bonding, as well as for the dynamics of a mismatched family held together at least in part by intimidation and relentless discipline. He's also deeply plugged into the devices people use to get by in daily life, from Bull's macho bluster to Maryanne's biting humor to Lillian's relentless emphasis on manners. Of course, it also helps that The Great Santini boasts great dialogue laden with cutting and frequently off-color humor, a (mostly) affectionate portrayal of small-town southern living, and characters who are almost frighteningly real. The book doesn't rely on any contrived plot devices, or even much of a plot at all, to keep pages turning, instead getting by on Conroy's significant ability to draw readers into a different time and place (different for me anyway), capturing the rhythms and events large and small that make up both military and family life. Even those who don't consider themselves military types would be well advised to give The Great Santini a read.
Summary of The Great Santini: A Novel
Step into the powerhouse life of Bull Meecham. He?s all Marine?fighter pilot, king of the clouds, and absolute ruler of his family. Lillian is his wife?beautiful, southern-bred, with a core of velvet steel. Without her cool head, her kids would be in real trouble. Ben is the oldest, a born athlete whose best never satisfies the big man. Ben?s got to stand up, even fight back, against a father who doesn?t give in?not to his men, not to his wife, and certainly not to his son. Bull Meecham is undoubtedly Pat Conroy?s most explosive character?a man you should hate, but a man you will love.
Look for special features inside.
Join the Circle for author chats and more.
RandomHouseReadersCircle.com
Memoirs Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Memoirs Books
Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Centuryby Hunter S. Thompson
Penguin Books, Limited (UK); Published: 2008-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.11
Price in other shops:
Never Have Your Dog Stuffedby Alan Alda
Arrow Books; Published: 2007-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.59
Price in other shops:
The Hunger: A Story of Food, Desire, and Ambitionby John DeLucie, Graydon Carter
Ecco; Published: 2009-05-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.63
Price in other shops:
Brotherhood of Warriors: Behind Enemy Lines with a Commando in One of the World's Most Elite Counterterrorism Unitsby Aaron Cohen, Douglas Century
Ecco; Published: 2008-04-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.95
Price in other shops:
Not Lost Forever: My Story of Survivalby Carmina Salcido, Steve Jackson
William Morrow; Published: 2009-10-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Unlocked: The Life and Crimes of a Mafia Insiderby Louis Ferrante
Harper Perennial; Published: 2009-02-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Writing Places: The Life Journey of a Writer and Teacherby William Zinsser
Harper; Published: 2009-05-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.09
Price in other shops:
Got the Life: My Journey of Addiction, Faith, Recovery, and Kornby Fieldy
William Morrow; Published: 2009-03-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.)by Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.14
Price in other shops:
The Ride of My Lifeby Mat Hoffman
It Books; Published: 2003-09-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.95
Similar Books and other products
The Water Is Wideby Pat Conroy
Perfection Learning; Published: 2010-01; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
The Lords of DisciplinePARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2006-02-28; DVD
Best price: $2.69
Price in other shops:
The Pat Conroy Cookbook: Recipes and Stories of My Lifeby Pat Conroy
Nan A. Talese; Published: 2009-08-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.14
Price in other shops:
South of Broad: A Novelby Pat Conroy
Dial Press Trade Paperback; Published: 2010-05-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops:
My Reading Lifeby Pat Conroy
Nan A. Talese; Published: 2010-11-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.47
Price in other shops:
My Losing Season: A Memoirby Pat Conroy
Bantam Books; Published: 2003-08-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.21
Price in other shops:
The Water Is Wide: A Memoirby Pat Conroy
Dial Press Trade Paperback; Published: 2002-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.43
Price in other shops:
Beach Music: A Novelby Pat Conroy
Dial Press Trade Paperback; Published: 2002-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.55
Price in other shops:
The Lords of Discipline: A Novelby Pat Conroy
Dial Press Trade Paperback; Published: 2002-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.76
Price in other shops:
The Prince of Tides: A Novelby Pat Conroy
Dial Press Trade Paperback; Published: 2002-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.69
Price in other shops: