south of broad

South of Broad by Pat Conroy

You've got to love Leo King. He's this ugly boy who started life haunted by his older brother's suicide and becomes an unlikely hero in the lives of his high school friends, even as they become adults.

There's Sheba Poe, the celebrated actress, who was told by Leo's mother in high school that she would be the greatest whore who ever lived, and proved it.

There's Ike, black and proud, who became fast friends with Leo at a time when a black man would be lynched by looking the wrong way at a white man.

There's Molly, who could have been happier, but had to marry into Charleston high class because it was the life she had been born to lead.

The novel is set in Charleston, South Carolina. My friend Irene and I have agreed that we would visit South Carolina one day, solely because of our love for Pat Conroy. We've come to know The Citadel because of The Lords of Discipline. You roam the streets of Charleston and Beaufort in Beach Music. When you read one of his novels, the next one becomes a familiar place. You could close your eyes and imagine the moon rising on the river, you could almost feel how it is to ride a boat and go shrimping, and you could grit your teeth and wish you could stab men like Worth Rutledge in South of Broad, who was born with a silver spoon up his ass, same as his son.

My hands-down Pat Conroy favorite is still The Prince of Tides, but South of Broad resonates with strong characters, Charleston aristocracy, religious ardor, murder, and surprisingly, love in all its convolutions. Not bad for a six-hour session with a Kindle. :-)