Review: South of Broad by Pat Conroy

We first meet Leo King as he is preparing for his senior year of high school. The previous years have been rough on Leo, he lost his brother, spent time in a mental hospital and found himself on probation for a crime he did not commit. Now his mother, the principal of his high school, has charged him with convincing the white players of the football team to accept the new black coach. The friends that Leo makes that summer and into the school year will stay with him for the rest of his life.

Before you read the following opinions, I will tell you up front that I received an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher for review. I have not received any other compensation for this review.

I was completely blown away by this novel. I had not previously read anything from Pat Conroy so I went in with little or no expectations for this book. The first twenty five pages or so were rough going for me. I remember joking that I though the author was attempting to break a record for the longest paragraph in a novel. If you start out and are finding yourself uninterested, give it time.

Pat Conroy paints a vivid and beautiful portrait of Charleston, South Carolina in 1969. He captures the various elements of society, both good and bad, rich and poor and merges them together. The integration of the schools plays a major role in Leo's life. Later in the novel, Conroy addresses the homosexual lifestyle and the dangers that those men faced during the 80s.

South of Broad is a story of friendship. The story begins with the group of friends coming together, some begin as friends and some take more time to develop. Like all friends, they are tested. They must learn to address the bad as well as the good. They must learn to accept each other for who they are, even when it is most painful.

The book begins in 1969, before Leo's senior year of high school. Then, the second and third parts move ahead to 1989, after the friendships have developed and the characters are established adults. The fourth part moves back to 1969 and highlights their senior year. Lastly, you move back to 1989 and finish out the book. Keeping the senior year portion of the book until part four was genius, it really built the suspense for what happened during that time. When you finally get there, it is worth the wait.

I have no doubts that this book will be made into a movie. I hope Hollywood can capture the true essence of this wonderful novel. Just in case she is reading this blog (yea, like she reads my blog), Reese Witherspoon would be perfect as Molly. Just a little helpful casting advice there, no charge.

South of Broad is one of those truly amazing books that you come across that makes you sound like a babbling fool trying to explain why it is so darn good to everyone you talk to. Put simply, this book is well worth your time to read.