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The Great Santini
 
 
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The Great Santini (Mass Market Paperback)

by Pat Conroy (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Bantam Books; Reissue edition (Sep 1994)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0553268929
  • ISBN-13: 978-0553268928
  • Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 10.7 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 590,271 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #14 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > C > Conroy, Pat

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Product Description

Product Description
From the author of "The Prince of Tides". This novel based on Pat Conroy's own family life of growing up on Marine bases in America, tells the story of a family's suffering under the tyranny of their bullying father, Marine pilot Bull Meecham. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover
Step into the powerhouse life of Bull Meecham. He's all Marine - fighter pilot, king of the clouds, and absolute ruler of his family. Lillian is his wife - beautiful, southern-bred, with a core of velvet steel. Without her cool head, her kids would be in real trouble. Ben is the oldest, a born athlete whose best never satisfies the big man. Ben's got to stand up, even fight back, against a father who doesn't give in - not to his men, not to his wife, and certainly not to his son. Bull Meecham is undoubtedly Pat Conroy's most explosive character - a man you should hate, but a man you will love. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5.0 out of 5 stars Good but ..., 23 Jan 2005
This review is from: Great Santini (School & Library Binding)
This might prove to be a disappointment for anyone coming from the Prince of Tides but is still a great portrait of an ugly brute, namely Conroy's own father, the Great Santini of the title.

It is a little sentimental and too forgiving of what was basically a thug with a few minor redeeming features but hell, it's the closest to patricide most us of will ever get.

There are some missed opportunities with not developing characters such as the feisty Arabella Smalls, the black maid that nonplusses the Great Santini by physically and emotionally repulsing his cowardly bullying.

The ending disappoints the most, not for it's actual conclusion but the emotional cop-out, but then again my opinion is prejudiced by my own bullying father who's moral bankruptcy causes me to be disgusted and repulsed rather than forgiving...

That said, it's fine but rough edged read, apparently the movie (quoted in William Goldman's "Adventures in the Screen Trade") is reputedly superb especially in Robert Duval's performance of the reprehensible protagonist.

As an aside, apparently, Conroy's mother produced the book as "evidence" in her own divorce case. All in all, a good early start from a great writer-recommended.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Good intentions but the characters fall short, 31 Aug 1999
By A Customer
Good intentions but the characters fall short. The book is full of important life lessons. The problem is the people learning them are unrealistic. First, the oldest, Ben, for a seventeen/eighteen year old he's very immature. When you read the book it'll be obvious to you, the reader, what I mean about Ben's immaturity. The second oldest, Mary Anne, is smarter but too cynical to pity. She gets herself and Ben in trouble so many times with her cynicism that the reader can't believe she wouldn't have learned her lesson after the 100th time. I don't have many gripes about the other kids because they acted their age while Ben and Mary Anne acted their age too.
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5.0 out of 5 stars "Major Dad" in a serious bent, 21 Jul 1999
By A Customer
It's arguable that Pat Conroy is the Faulkner of the 'Boomer generation, and this story is a good argument for the opinion that some warriors should not raise families. The syndrome of "bringing the job home" can really get out of hand. Bull Meecham (a.k.a. "the Great Santini") has only his Southern Belle--Philosophical Version wife to counteract his attempts to turn his household into a boot camp and his children into grunts (until I read this book, I thought my own WWII generation Dad was the poster child for vets who never really became civilians again--at least my old man wasn't still serving). "Santini" is without a doubt an asset to his jet fighter wing, but he's managed to father a son who's got an identity crisis from trying to emulate the old man without being enough of a hardcase to bring it off. There's also a daughter whose above-average intelligence, combined with the household invironment, has made her into an aggressive cynic. Then there's a baby sister who's still young enough for naiivite, but you can't help but speculate about what kind of person she'll turn out to be later in life. "Santini" is a curious mixture of a superlative fighthing man and a lousy parent.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars TREMENDOUS NOVEL!
This was the first Pat Conroy novel I ever had the privelege to read. I have recommended it over and over to numerous friends, relatives, and the like. Read more
Published on 21 Jun 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Hate Him, But Love Him
I read this book when I was in high school and at first I hated Bull. Towards the end of the book I learned to understand how he ticked and I bawled at the end, very sad. Read more
Published on 13 Jun 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Bull Meacham is an asshole, but a true hero.
I loved this book. As the son of a fighter pilot (one who was very different than Bull Meacham, but who would have understood him ), I thought this book captured the life of a... Read more
Published on 5 Jun 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
This was the first of Pat Conroy's books I ever read and it has since become my favorite of all time. Read more
Published on 18 Dec 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!
I found the book to give a different perspective on the "american family". I was delighted to see the great detail that Pat Conroy used when describing the emotions of... Read more
Published on 3 Nov 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book to read
It made my trip to NY worth remembering.
Published on 26 Jun 1998

4.0 out of 5 stars Life inside the fortress...
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... Read more
Published on 14 April 1998

4.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining book
This book was highly entertaining, with a great character that you'll never forget. This book was never boring, and makes you care about the characters. Read more
Published on 29 Nov 1997

4.0 out of 5 stars The Great Santini
I thought the Great Santini was a very good book which appealed to most people in very different ways. It appealed to men because of the references to military and sports. Read more
Published on 20 Nov 1997

5.0 out of 5 stars Conroy draws from his own experiences to write "Santini".
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. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 1997

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