"Our life in the house by the river had been dangerous and harmful, yet both of us had found it somehow magnificent. It had produced extraordinary and somewhat strange children. The house had been the breeding ground of madness, poetry, courage, and an ineffable loyalty. Our childhood had been harsh but also relentlessly interesting. Though we could draw up passionate indictments against both of our parents, their particularity had indemnified our souls against the wages of tedium and ennui."
-Tom's thoughts, from the novel
Several months ago I read South of Broad by this author in connection with a trip to Charleston, SC. I loved it! When I saw this novel at a rummage sale, I picked it up and promised myself I would read it. I would list The Prince of Tides among the best I have ever read, rating it a 5 for sure! It was published almost 30 years ago and I can't imagine why it took so long for me to discover it. I know it was adapted for a movie by the same title in 1991 and I am pretty sure I never saw the film. Now I simply must!
The novel is set in Colleton County, SC (an area Conroy knows well and uses often in his writing) and revolves around the Wingo family---Tom who narrates the story and his two siblings, parents and grandparents. To call the family dysfunctional is an understatement. There's a lot to dislike, or even be repulsed by, about the parents, but the grandparents, Tolitha and Amos, are interesting with such endearing qualities---Tolitha, with her mischievous sense of humor and Amos, a devout Christian walking the walk.
As the book begins, Savannah, Tom's twin, has attempted suicide in N.Y. City and Tom immediately leaves his wife and daughters to go to her. He soon meets Savannah's psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Lowenstein, and in the process of trying to help her help Savannah, he shares stories of their family and youth. These flashbacks are fascinating stories in their own right, for example the rescue/kidnapping of a dolphin called Snow and the first-time integration of their high school by Benji Washington. The funniest family episode was when Tolitha takes the grandkids to help her make her end-of-life arrangements and she decides to "try on" a casket, much to their embarrassment. That very idea is humorous but there's more! At least one of the memories is very intense and goes a long way to explain some of Savannah's demons.
The Prince of Tides is lengthy at 567 pages but so worth the effort. Many chapters and even paragraphs are longer than average. His vocabulary challenged me, as well. Some might say Conroy is verbose but I loved the elegance of his writing style which is often poetic. In the novel, Savannah is a poet; in fact, her second book of poetry was titled The Prince of Tides. I assume the poetry quoted in the novel and attributed to Savannah was written by Conroy.
This novel was poignant, humorous, exciting, romantic---all qualities that make a page-turner and one that I will not soon forget!
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