The Prince of Tides an Over View

The Prince of Tides



Around 10 years ago, my cousin Heather came to visit me. She also brought a box full of books. She told me that she no longer needed them and to enjoy!

Over the years, I have read about 70% of the books.

One day I was getting ready to help my Dad get back to Texas and was looking to bring an extra book (in case I finished the one that I was reading). I picked up The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy on a whim.

I have seen this movie several time over the years and throughly enjoyed it. Usually, I don't see a movie then read the book. I read the book then see the movie to see how bad they tore up the novel.

I'm glad I did because it is one of the most wonderful books I have EVER read. Pat Conroy has never been on my bucket list of books to read. After reading this book, I am sold on his novels and looking forward to reading Beach Music (which I bought at Borders that is closing in Metairie) and his other books in the future.Tom Wingo is the son of a dysfunctional family from the South Carolina low country. His father is abusive and his mother lays the guilt heavily over her three children. Things aren’t looking good for Tom as he loses his school coaching job and his wife informs him she is in love with another man. Life takes another horrible turn as his mother arrives and tells him his beloved twin sister, Savannah, has been institutionalized in New York City for attempting suicide.

Tom rushes to his sister’s side, but her psychiatrist, Susan Lowenstein, refuses to allow Tom to see Savannah. Dr. Lowenstein fears his presence will make Savannah retreat even further into despair. So Tom gives the doctor a full history behind the Wingo family in the hopes that it will explain what lies behind Savannah’s mental illness.

It doesn’t take long for Tom and Susan to grow close and fall in love, but Tom is still attached to his wife and daughters. It’s not an easy bond to break.

Conroy chose stagnant Tom to be the backward looking one, the family historian. He was the most grounded character in a story that is beautifully surreal and downright bizarre at times. He was the anchor that kept the whole tale from spinning out of control. At first I questioned his likeability, but as he began to tell the story of Savannah, Luke and himself, as well as their parents, he was never more likable than when he was with Lowenstein. She gave him a role: initially adversary, she also provided him with an opportunity to play the hero; a rescuer, in a way, of ‘the top one percent’. Conroy is a beautiful writer.  He writes in a way that draws you in: a child's love of place, their island, jumping into the water, the streets of the town, and the idyllic ideas of home. As well as, confusion, life and relationships:

"One of the things I love about you, tom, is you're the kind of man who'll always go back to his family. But goddamn her anyway. Goddamn Sallie for loving you before I did." (p.669)

Beautiful!

The story of parental abuse, class discrimination, Savannah's mental illness, Luke's fight with the federal government and Tom's desperate attempt to save Savannah while re-examining his own life with Savannah's therapist made for a gripping narrative that I won't forget for a long time.

I'll most definitely read this book again after enough time passes. If you have not read this book, it needs to be on your "bucket list".

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Did anyone else enjoy this book as much as I did? Please share your thoughts.

Link to Amazon if you are interested in purchasing this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Tides-Novel-Pat-Conroy/dp/0553381547/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299201134&sr=1-1