COUSIN CONNECT


Thursday 4 March 2010

BEACH MUSIC by Pat Conroy


This book was our set read for the month of March, and at our book group meeting yesterday (3rd March), everyone agreed that it was a great story.
Having to pick the titles for the year, I always ponder how the other ladies will relate to the books and looks like I picked a winner here.

Some of the topics that stand out in the story:

Family Relatonships
Love and Loss
Holocaust
Jewish Race
Vietnam War
Alcoholism
Living in Italy
Suicide

This book has all of the above themes and probably a lot more that I may have missed.
Very intense story to read and so well written - especially the family relationships.
Jack's family - how different all the 5 boys were - their mother Lucy, her poor and heartbreaking childhood and how she overcame this and rose to become a much respected and well loved woman and mother.
Shyla's family (Jack's dead wife) and how the legacy of the Jewish holocaust stayed with her family and eventually took her life (suicide).
Jordan - the son of a career Army man, and how his life panned out because of his father.

Had never read any of this author's books before and will probably look for others:

The Prince of Tides
The Great Santini
The Water is Wide
The Lords of Discipline.

The author's descriptions of life were spot on.

No comments: