Reviews

The Great Santini by Pat Conroy

coley_reads's review

medium-paced

1.5

Too humorous for me. I thought it would b a serious marine dad training his son in basketball. Being too hard on him and being a coach more than a parent. Nope. Lot of humor dialog. I dont like ppl tryin to make me laugh. 

drron's review against another edition

emotional

5.0

readmoreyall's review

4.0

Abuse and family and....

read it.

muse19's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

karcherj's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kategci's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Picked this off my shelf for my book club to read and was annoyed I had not read it sooner.  Pat Conroy was such a gift from the South; he wrote so well and told such good stories.  This autobiographical novel about Marine Corps fighter pilot Bull Meecham and his relationship with his high school senior son, Ben is by turns brutal and sensitive.  Bull is larger than life,  ruling his family and squadron exactly in the same manner.  He is well aware of his faults, although they don't seem to push him to ever change his behavior or attitude, feeling that would be an admission of weakness.  Ben has such mixed feelings about his parents, always wishing his mother would just leave his father so they could have a peaceful life, but understanding the mores of the early 1960s which proscribed that Lillian needed to stand by her man.  Ben's senior year of high school is much more tumultuous than expected, but in Conroy's hands, the reader is left hopeful for his future.

jameshousworth's review against another edition

3.0

Not the type of book I would normally read, but I was pleasantly surprised. I liked the characters, the relationships between them, and the insider insight on military family life that others have told me is quite accurate. That said, I wish the plot had been clearer and more well thought-out. I was constantly asking myself, “Where is this going? Why are they spending so much time talking about this?” Sometimes it would tie back into the story, sometimes it wouldn’t.

So overall 3.5 stars. Not bad, sportsfans.

ogreart's review against another edition

5.0

This is a hard read. Trigger warnings abound with this one. But, ultimately, I found this book well worth the reading.

askmashka's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

bwky85's review against another edition

5.0

Pat Conroy does it again

This was such a wonderful book. Full marks. Conroy had a gift for dialogue and created a beautiful story here.