Headline »

May 16, 2012 – 3:36 pm | 2 Comments | 13 views

It looks like Speaker of the House John Boehner is up to his old tricks again, threatening to block an increase in the federal debt limit ceiling without obtaining significant new cuts in spending.  There is little doubt that the last two years, which resulted in over $1.0  trillion per year in deficit spending, will bring the country close to …

Read the full story »
News

National and Global News

Economics

Trending Issues on Economics and Business

Self-Awareness

Discussion of Women’s Issues

Our Home Town

Hometown Pittsburgh

family
Home » Entertainment

SOUTH OF BROAD: A GREAT READ

Submitted by on September 29, 2009 – 10:33 am6 Comments | 0 views

It is that time of year when there is a chill in the air and we retreat indoors once again. With a log in the fireplace, I curled up in my favorite chair to read Pat Conroy‘s bestseller South of Broad. Often when I read a book that I truly enjoy, I will give it to a friend with my recommendation. Not this one. I will hold onto this book. I will take it from the bookcase to enjoy and to revisit characters I came to love.

The setting of the book is in Charleston, South Carolina and Conroy’s lush descriptions of the city have put it on my must-visit list. The story revolves and evolves around a group of friends, the unsuspected intertwining of their lives, and the endurance of their connections through mangled circumstances. There were times when my eyes welled-up with tears and other times when I laughed aloud.

Pat Conroy’s use of language commanded my complete admiration for an author who is so eloquent. The main character in the novel is Leo, whose brother Steve committed suicide at a young age, causing Leo to wrangle with his own spiritual well-being. Conroy writes, ” Since his death, I had come to think of him as some fearless, irrepressible angel who watched over me, part Rottweiler, part guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and in part seer who would one day unlock the mystery of both our lives. In my worst moments, I could pray to Steve and not to the God who had stolen my brother and left me to face a terrifying world without my greatest ally by my side.”

Conroy’s characters have captivating depth. He allows the reader to draw from them as they struggle, like so many of us do, to cultivate truth, forgiveness, and understanding within the framework of life’s meandering paths. To paraphrase William Butler Yeats, ‘When I am old and gray and full of sleep, I will take down this book and slowly read.’ Again….

cher

Enhanced by Zemanta
Share

6 Comments »

  • Tina T says:

    Charleston should definitely be on your “must see” list. It’s beautiful. This book sounds wonderful. I had heard about it before, but the description didn’t pique my interest like your description did. Looking forward to picking up a copy.

  • grace says:

    Great post, Cher. Thanks for sharing your thoughts to us. :)

  • admin says:

    Tina T,
    I hope to see Charleston sometime soon. Please let me know what you think of the book. I don’t give recommendations often, but this is worth sharing—-just not from my bookcase! ;)

  • admin says:

    Grace,
    Thanks for stopping by. Great to see you here!

  • DorothyL says:

    Wow Cher…great book review.

    I have that on my list of good reads recommended by a good friend:)

    Your description of you being curdled up by a cozy fire made me crave some hot chocolate and marshmallows :)

    Have a very nice day girl!

    Huggzzz~D~

  • admin says:

    Dear D,
    I think you will fall in love with this book as I did. Get the hot chocolate ready and enjoy!

    Huggzz back, sweet D!

Leave a comment!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

You can use these tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

This is a Gravatar-enabled weblog. To get your own globally-recognized-avatar, please register at Gravatar.

Get Adobe Flash player