I love Pat Conroy! He is one of my favorite authors and this was the very first novel of his that I read. I think for that reason it has remained my very favorite novel of his. This book has stuck with me through the years and that is saying a lot since I read a lot. Sometimes I have already forgotten the protagonist and the plot of a novel by the time I set it down after closing the back cover. That wasn't the case with "The Great Santini". I can still remember the story, the characters, the setting and even the overall feeling of this novel. It's one of those books that once you start it you can't put it down. At least it was for me. I love the way Pat Conroy writes and the way he can just take you and drop you right into the scene he has created. He is a gifted writer and we are blessed to have him to enjoy.

Even though Pat Conroy has a wonderful writing style, I found this book difficult to read because of the "darkness" of the title character. He was verbally and physically abusive to his family and others. It was hard to read 440 pages detailing his dysfunctional behavior - and the effect his behavior had on his wife and children.

Every man, woman and child is shaped and molded by things and people in their past; there is no escaping it. Sometimes it is not until we are grown that we realize sometimes the very things we hated or dreaded, actually made us stronger. As we mature we find that things don't have to always be colorful, soft and gentle to be good -- even rocks with sharp jagged edges can be beautiful. The book The Great Santini evokes a full gammut of emotions. It is a humorous, sad, engaging and even enraging story. Bull Meachum "The Great Santini" is a hard man, a marine first and foremost, a courageous fighter pilot, a husband and father. His children shake at the sound of his voice and yet they know that no one will protect them more vigorously than their father. The sweet gentle southern mom, Lillian, is ever trying to sooth the ruffled feathers produced by both her husband and children's outbursts. This is a heart rendering story that at times makes you want to place a foot in the Santini's face and at other times makes you want to hug him and tell him you see through his gruff exterior and see the compassion and love he has for his family. Definitely a dysfunctional family, but together they find ways and reasons to bond them eternally in spirit, in love and in faith.

This is personal for me. I couldn't finish the book as it was too close to home for me - much of what he described happened in my childhood also.