The Death of Santini by Pat Conroy

"Though I had written my novel as a way of trying to save myself, the screams of the hurt boy I had been still echoed in the deep well he fell in when I became a man. The stories I hadn't told or was afraid to tell were the ones that were killing me. My course and my history as a writer were now set in granite---my work would be father-haunted and emotional enough to ward off these exhausting bouts of madness."
                                   -Pat Conroy in The Death of Santini

I may be repeating myself but Pat Conroy has recently become one of my favorite authors. I read The Great Santini several months ago and was intrigued by the story and captured by the beauty of the writing. Most of Conroy's writing involves his dysfunctional family, in fact he is quoted by John Berendt in Vanity Fair: “One of the greatest gifts you can get as a writer is to be born into an unhappy family. I could not have been born into a better one....I don’t have to look very far for melodrama. It’s all right there.” This is probably why his work seems so realistic and compelling---he has experienced most of the characters, settings and events.

The Great Santini is thinly disguised fiction, with the main characters being Conroy's family with changed names, e.g. Marine fighter pilot Colonel Don Conroy is the abusive father Bull Meecham. On the other hand, The Death of Santini is noted as fiction on the copyright page but seems very autobiographical to me. In the latter, the author tells about the aftermath of the first Santini novel as well as relating background and inspiration for his other books. He tells of his teaching experience on Daufuskie Island about which he wrote The Water Is Wide. (As a former teacher, I found it extremely touching and inspirational.) Conroy describes his time at the Citadel, happenings in the lives of his siblings, his own depression and breakdowns (see beginning quote) and the deaths of his parents with vivid emotion. The story of his grandmother, Stanny, and friend Bernie visiting the graveyard is a humorous interlude.

While it is unpleasant to read of children growing up in an abusive home, Conroy's authentic voice and stellar crafting of language make the story irresistible. His lush prose is lyrical in parts, particularly when describing his coastal South Carolina home. I will rate this book a 5. It has made me wish to see "The Great Santini" and other movies based on Conroy's work and I have decided I will read every book in his repertoire. I have a few to go!