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The Great Santini (平装)
by Pat Conroy
| Category:
Fiction |
| Market price: ¥ 108.00
MSL price:
¥ 98.00
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A wonderful author who brings his characters to life with a grace, humanity and humor rarely seen in modern literature. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 12 items |
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Houston Chronicle (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
Reading PAT CONROY is like watching Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel. |
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Booklist (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
Tender, raucous, often hilarious. |
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Jeffrey Palmatier (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
From what Pat Conroy has said in numerous interviews, it is obvious that his novel The Great Santini is a thinly disguised autobiographical account of his own childhood as a Marine brat. High school senior Ben Meecham, Pat Conroy's fictional counterpart, is the son of a volatile Marine fighter pilot 'Bull' Meecham, whose nom de guerre is The Great Santini, which, by the way, was also Pat Conroy dad's nom de guerre in real life. Pat Conroy once said that his dad was Zeus and his mom was Hera, and that his first memory was of his dad laughing and hitting his mother in face while she tried to stab him with a knife. Boy, oh boy, if this novel is an accurate representation of what went on in the Conroy household, then he is right about the true identity of his parents! The Great Santini acts, according to his wife Lillian, like a living, breathing Marine recruitment poster. Santini is a man of contradictions, a man who loves his wife and his children more than anything else in the world, but you wouldn't know it from the brutal manner by which he occasionally treats them. By the way, if you saw the wonderful film adaptation of Conroy's novel, you were probably left with the impression that Santini is the only parent in this household that is screwed up. Unlike the movie version, in the novel Santini's wife Lillian, who means well, is in her own way just as screwed up as her husband. Like Santini, Lillian also loves her children more than anything in the world, but she often acts like a demented Scarlett O'Hara. (Indeed, part of the tension between Santini and his wife comes from the fact that she is a Southern Belle who loves her cultural roots, while Santini is a purposely uncouth Yankee from Chicago who despises everything Southern.) Lillian is especially dysfunctional when it comes to teaching gender roles to her daughters. Just as Santini is one extreme with his sons Ben and Matt, wanting them to grow up to be stoic, hard marines who can unmercifully kill America's enemies, Lillian Meecham puts her oldest daughter Mary Anne through hell basically because Mary Anne is a Plain Jane nonconformist who won't conform to her mother's dictum that a woman is like a flower, pretty but silent and modest, while Mary Anne's pretty younger sister Karen does accept her mother's vision of womanhood. Lillian's ideal vision of how a woman should act is ironic because under her soft Southern Belle persona, Santini's wife is woman of steel whose temper is often as fiery and violent as her husband's.
A lot happens action wise in this novel, some of it horrifying, some of it hilarious, but The Great Santini doesn't have an overly obvious narrative drive per se. Instead, the questions that drive the plot of this amazing novel are more subtle: Will Santini be successful in his first command at the Marine base in Ravenel? Will Ben and Mary Anne be successful in their bid to fit in at their new high school? (Like Conroy's The Lords of Discipline, the action of TGS takes place within the space of a school year.) Now that the Great Santini has come home from his year living overseas without his family, will the Meecham family have a better year together this time, or will their family situation become abusive again like in the past? I guess you could argue that The Great Santini is more character-driven than plot-driven, although it's not necessarily easy to make a distinction between the two since action often reveals character. The Great Santini is a fascinating portrayal of how even an extremely dysfunctional family can still love each other, and how a child can love a parent who occasionally causes them great pain. Five stars. |
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Stephen Skubinna (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
Nobody has wrung more novels from a dysfunctional family than Pat Conroy. In The Great Santinti he opens a window which may give a new and unexpected view to many Americans, into the family life of a career military man. For those who have never lived within the military, this book may seem bizarre and contrived. For those of us who did, it hits a nerve - even for those of us whose father was not an abusive borderline alcoholic fighter pilot.
The sense of rootlessness, of being disconnected from the rest of society is here. Military families live in a strange semisubmerged culture invisible to the mainstream, and with the ending of the draft we have a generation of Americans who have never served and thus the gap has widened. The only friendships we form are with other military people, for civilians, even in the towns outside the main gate, are partially alien and can never be part of the community. Conroy captures this, and superimposes upon it the additional strains imposed by the father's domineering, macho, iron willed personality. Face it, he's not Gerald McRaney from Major Dad. No trying to understand the fears and dreams of his family, we do it by the book, my way or no way, sir, yes sir!!! There is stress between Colonel Santini and his neurotic southern belle wife, who wants to ensure her children grow up with a gentle appreciation for life, with his son who wants desperately to please his father but to do it by following his own path, and with his intelligent but socially awkward daughter who being a mere girl is not qualified for the warrior life and thus doesn't count. The military life is hard enough, throwing in these problems on top of it makes you wonder at the limits we accept in everyday life.
Hard edged, disorienting, sometimes ugly, this book is for all veterans of the Cold War, active duty or dependents, who lived with the possibility that the head of the family might be called upon to go off and die in someplace most of us couldn't locate on a globe (as an aside I find that former military brats are much better at geography than most others - for one thing we got letters from all those exotic locales)... Admiral Hyman Rickover once said military officers should be like a caste of warrior priests... this novel is about that caste and the acolytes who also served. Pat Conroy once wrote elsewhere to the effect that his father's job was to be a fighter pilot, and his family's job was to provide that fighter pilot whenever the govenrment called for him.
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Annabel (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
The Great Santini is absolutely beautiful to read. There's something about Conroy's characters that just draws one into the vortex of their lives. Each character is so individually unique and so real, that by the end of the novel, I feel as if I had grown up with the Meecham family! Conroy is incredibly skilled at creating totally engrossing characters who each have their own struggles and motivations... (all the major characters, even minor characters are very fully developed.)
Bull Meecham and Ben Meecham of course are my favorite characters in this novel... but all of the supporting characters are not far behind. It amazes me how Conroy lets the reader so intimately into his own family history... sometimes I believe it is even more powerful than any autobiography could ever be.
One of my favorite qualities of The Great Santini is the dialogue. Pat Conroy is hilarious - the wit and pace of the dialogue between the characters had me laughing out loud so many times. And in trademark Conroy style, a few pages later, I'll find myself tearing up!
The Great Santini revolves around the family life of a family of a Marine Aviator Officer... the novel follows them as they are transplanted to a new South Carolina town. The story is told from the perspective of the son, Ben Meecham.
I'm always so amazed by Conroy's ability to pen a love story... his love for his characters and storytelling shines through his writing and imagery. The Great Santini is an incredible (and disturbing) look into the love of a father-son, husband-wife, man-occupation, friend-friend. Conroy also does an excellent job at exploring racial tensions and the journey of a boy becoming a man. (I'd recommend reading The Lords of Discipline too! Many parallel ideas...)
I absolutely love this book! I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who wants to be swept off their feet by one of the best authors of our time. |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
Pat Conroy's novel The Great Santini tells of the coming of age of Ben Meechan. Ben, the oldest son of Bull and Lillian Meechan, is a clean cut, smart athlete. Bull, the Great Santini, is a macho marine fighter pilot who is trying to relive his youth through his son Ben. Lillian is a naive southern belle who is very passionate toward her children. Ben is scared of his father and he tries to protect the rest of his family from him. Ben moves to Ravenel, South Carolina during his junior year of high school. He makes a few friends and becomes the star basketball player. This causes a conflict with his father who is never satisfied with his son's achievements. Bull is called to go on a routine flying mission to Florida. His plane crashes and Bull is killed. At the conclusion of the novel, Ben assumes the family responsibilities formerly held by Bull. The theme in this book is that people show their love in different ways. Bull constantly nags the children and is overly intense because he is always trying to make them better. Lillian babies the children and wants the boys to be southern gentleman because she does not want them to be like Bull. Ben and his sister, Mary Anne, argue constantly as many siblings do. After their father's death, they show their love for each other by coming together as a family. Mr. Dacus, Ben's principal and basketball coach, is aware of Ben's situation at home. He becomes protective of Ben and later has to tell Ben about his father's death. The main strength in this book is the great amount of detail. An example of this is,"...sleeping as the car rolled through vast wilderness and untransmissible lights." The characterization was also a strength. It is obvious that Bull is very stern when the author says, "His voice could quiet a bar full of drunks during a fight." Sammy, Ben's best friend, showed his insecurity by usually telling his dates a false name. There were so many strengths in this book that any weaknesses would go unnoticed. The novel The Great Santini, by Pat Conroy, depicts the adolescent life of Ben Meechan as though the reader were part of the story. It is easy to understand the life that a Marine family must endure; the constant moving, having to always make new friends and the fear of your father never returning from a mission. Ben's emotions could be felt in the excitement on the court and the fear of his father. Ben's internal conflict is accurately depicted in the manner in which he deals with his father's death. Conroy is able to write this story so well because it is based on a part of his life. He actually moved to Beaufort (Ravenel), South Carolina during his junior year of high school. He was very upset at having to move one more time. His mother, whom he loved dearly, told him, "Go out and make this town your town." Conroy has lived and traveled all over the world, but he still calls Beaufort home. Conroy was the star basketball player for his high school and attended The Citadel on a basketball scholarship. His father would never let him take a typing class because he thought that typing classes were only for girls. Conroy says that this has proven to be the most expensive thing his father has ever done to him. To this day he still cannot type. He writes his manuscripts in longhand and must pay to have them typed. |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
I love all of Mr. Conroy's novels, but as a wife of a Marine, and a Catholic to boot, I found this one is my personal favorite. His descriptions, and snippets of dialog are so right on you almost wonder if he's been in your car during a move, or in your home during cleaning day. As far as all military men being abusive, that is a typical generalized statement that fills me with rage, as it is what one of the reviewers featured here remark. However, one almost feels a kinship with the Swaggering Marine pilot, as well as the beaten backs of his wife and children. You want to love him, but you cannot, due to his violence. By the way, the revised Marines' Hymn and Hail Mary cracked me up so much my husband demanded to know why I was laughing, and he managed a smile when I told him. Of course Catholic upbringing makes it a guilty pleasure! Pat Conroy knows how to keep his readers enthralled. Write something new soon! |
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Elizabeth Madison (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
After re-reading The Prince of Tides (a classic), I went to my "To Be Read" pile and grabbed The Great Santini. Although, it did not 'capture' me in the way The Prince of Tides did, it is definitely a great read. Pat Conroy once again, through his lyrical words, proves what a great writer and story-teller he is. The Great Santini is a powerful story about military life and a very complex father/son relationship. I both loved and hated Colonel Bull Meecham (who is the Great Santini). I have spent over 20 years as a military wife and Conroy really "knows his stuff" as he tells the story of the complexities of a military family. Bull is a typical military officer who finds it difficult to separate the way he behaves on duty from the way he behaves as a husband and father. He wants and tries to run his family life in the disciplined, hard-fashioned way he commands his "troops." Lillian is his devoted wife who plays the "role" of a military wife perfectly (I found her relationship with her son very touching - the letter she wrote him on his 16th birthday is a tear-jerker). Ben is Santini's son who is coming to terms with life as an adolescent and his feelings about his father; he is an extremely well written character who I grew to feel sorry for and admire at the same time. Maryann as Santini's sarcastic, wise-cracking daughter was my favorite character who has her own unique way of dealing with her father that makes the reader laugh out loud but, at the same time, realize how much she is hurting and craving his love and attention. It is a great story of the very good and also the very, very bad times of the Meecham family. It is funny, touching, emotional, sad - it has everything!! I highly recommend The Great Santini or any of Pat Conroy's books. He is the best! |
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Bonnie Hutton (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
This was an excellent book. I found this book personally very interesting, because I grew up in a Marine Family also. Many of Mr. Conroys general descriptions of Marine life were dead on. For example, Mr Conroys description of Col. Meecham loading his family in the car leaving for a new duty station before the sun comes up, reminded me so much of many of the moves we made, incredible but yet so true, it made me laugh. Col Meecham was an extreme character, but many of his phrases and philosophies were familiar to me through some of the people I met growing up Marine. Not only that, his descriptions of Beaufort South Carolina, were also excellent. It put you right back there. You could almost smell the southern sea air and the swamps as you read. The book not only confronted the issues of a family trying to meet the impossibly high standards of thier Marine father, it also confronted the issue of racism in the south. There were many complicated emotional issues in the book. A lot of them do not get resolved, but it was the kind of book that makes you think for a while after you have finished it. I would highly recommend it to anyone. |
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Daniel Hancock (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
I recently read The Lords of Discipline and wanted to read more of Pat Conroy. I was not disappointed with the Great Santini. It is a coming of age story as seen through the eyes of the son of a disciplined Marine pilot and Lt. Colonel. The father gives himself the nickname, The Great Santini though Conroy never explains the origin of that nickname. But the main point is that the father tries to run his family the way a Marine drill instructor would run a platoon of recruits. The message of the book is that blind senseless discipline can be as damaging as no discipline at all. The novel has many facets. It covers the insecurities of "military brats" who are new kids in school each year, fathers who drive their sons too much, the relationship between the military and the civilian townspeople that surround tha base, and family reationships and alliances against a father who is both friend and foe. His relationship with his family is at times abusive. It also touches on race relations in the Deep South in the early 1960s, adolescence, and peer groups in school. Conroy writes from personal experience. I heard him say on a radio program that his father shut him out to some extent after The Great Santini was published. I guess it hit too close to home. |
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