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Beach Music (Abridged): A Novel Audiobook
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(4.00) - 19,174 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Pat Conroy is without doubt America's favorite storyteller, a writer who portrays the anguished truth of the human heart and the painful secrets of families in richly lyrical prose and unforgettable narratives. Now, in Beach Music, he tells of the dark memories that haunt generations, in a story that spans South Carolina and Rome and reaches back into the unutterable terrors of the Holocaust. Beach Music is about Jack McCall, an American living in Rome with his young daughter, trying to find peace after the recent trauma of his wife's suicide. But his solitude is disturbed by the appearance of his sister-in-law, who begs him to return home, and of two school friends asking for his help in tracking down another classmate who went underground as a Vietnam protester and never resurfaced. These requests launch Jack on a journey that encompasses the past and the present in both Europe and the American South, and that leads him to shocking--and ultimately liberating--truths. Told with deep feeling and trademark Conroy humor, Beach Music is powerful and compulsively readable. It is another masterpiece in the legendary list of classics that his body of work has already become. PAT CONROY is the author of five previous books: The Boo, The Water Is Wide, The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline, and The Prince of Tides, the last four of which were made into feature films.
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"I think Pat Conroy has an amazing talent at word-crafting the English language (I love to savor some of the sentences he puts together), and for telling a good story. His characters are deep and his imagery is beautiful. Reader beware: excessively bad language in his books, it is incredibly oppressive, and really doesn't let up (why ruin a great book for this?). I'd like to take a sharpee and cross out all the profanity so I can keep his books in the house."
— Asti (4 out of 5 stars)
Beach Music Listener Reviews
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Scott, 1/25/2023
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" This book was incredible. It was the right balance of humor, drama, and life lessons throughout stories of a group of friends and their parents, and their lives together. Incredible. "
— Jeymei, 2/14/2014 -
" Thank you Sharon Florin for passing this on to me. A wonderful summer saga--takes place in S.C. and Rome; brimgs up issues related to Vietnam and the Holocoust as well as saving loggerhead TURTLES from extinction--who could ask for more. Why 4, not 5, stars--some of it seemed/felt cliche--reminded me of "The Help" in that sense. Plan to read more of Conroy. Thanks again, Ms. Florin... another author to explore. "
— Ms., 2/14/2014 -
" I like this one enough to reread it now and then, but somehow the language seems to get more purple every time. "
— Melissa, 2/8/2014 -
" Great book! Amazing characters with intriguing histories. "
— Vicky, 2/5/2014 -
" Didnt find it worth recommending to others. Could have been a lot shorter but the author really drug it out. "
— Miss, 1/10/2014 -
" It took a few times at starting the book, but once I did made it past the first 25 pages or so, it turned out to be very good. Glad I took the time. "
— Joy, 12/23/2013 -
" Pat Conroy is an exceptional storyteller. He will make you cry one moment and then he will make you laugh hysterically the next. This book is beautifully written and a hard one to put down. The only complaint I have of Conroy is that he isn't a prolific writer. This book/author is on my top 10 list. "
— Patti, 12/21/2013 -
" Full of raw emotion. Breath-taking in parts. "
— Sarah, 10/14/2013 -
" This was a beautiful story, however, I had a hard time relating with the characters. It is written from a very masculine point of view and the dialogue is not believable. "
— Sara, 10/8/2013 -
" His worst book ever. It is simply unreadable. Try the Prince of Tides it is a great book. "
— Craig, 9/12/2013 -
" This was an amazing book! Loved everything about it. The first Pat Conroy book I've read....will definitely have to read more. His writing is very captivating. "
— Leah, 8/24/2013 -
" Sometimes sad, sometimes hysterical, this is among Conroy's best. "
— TJ, 8/3/2013 -
" LOVED this book! LOVE the author - I met Pat Conroy and he signed this book for me. I want to re-read it... "
— Kelly, 6/5/2012 -
" Entertaining ! Good read! It involved the music of my era. I read this I'm Paperback in 2003. "
— Anthony, 5/27/2012 -
" Good story. Inconsistent at times re: character development. Enjoyable...bit too long. "
— M., 4/27/2012 -
" I love the way Pat Conroy writes. Such vivid (and sometimes horrifying) images. Beach Music was poetry to me. Rhythmic, descriptive but always hopeful in the end. I need to read more from him, but LOVE The Prince of Tides movie depiction. "
— Jenni, 4/13/2012 -
" It was too long for me and jumped back and forth between time periods and story lines. I'm glad I stuck with it and finished....great ending! "
— Rachel, 4/1/2012 -
" From what I've read of Pat Conroy, this is his masterpiece. "
— Courtney, 2/12/2012 -
" Loved this book! Written so eloquently. I booked a trip to Italy soon after reading this! :) "
— Randolf, 1/28/2012 -
" Highstrung, melodramatic, and overwrought, but I still really like it as a comfort read. And I'll admit it! "
— Sara, 11/23/2011 -
" This is one of my favorite books. I love the way he tells a story. "
— Clocklin, 9/24/2011 -
" Any thing by Pat Conroy is excellent. "
— Donnamacauley, 9/23/2011 -
" This book was fantastic! Beautifully written. I love reading Pat Conroy. It's like a love affair with the English language! "
— Cindy, 9/16/2011 -
" Some of the scenes in this book were so brutal that I have a hard time thinking about them even know. They were balanced somehow by the idyllic world this father tried to create for his little girl. Intense if nothing else. "
— Erika, 9/2/2011 -
" One of the best books I have ever read, hands down. The story of a man who has escaped to Italy with his young daughter, devastated after the suicide of his beautiful wife, Shyla, a few years before. He returns to his home in coastal South Carolina and seeks healing, and may again find love. "
— Leigh, 8/31/2011 -
" Probably my absolute favorite Conroy book. His writing is exquisite and lyrical. "
— Jan, 6/29/2011 -
" Editing Pat Conroy's books must be a massive undertaking and he can be overly dramatic at times but he has the soul od a poet and the heart of a man who has lived through good times and bad. This was a good summer read for me a few years ago. "
— Barbra, 5/20/2011 -
" How did I miss this gem by my grammar school class mate (Blessed Sacrament, Alexandria, Va - 2 years ahead of me)....it's fabulous. The perfect read for a dank, rainy May Saturday. "
— Maureen, 5/14/2011 -
" Conroy came through on this one. "
— Doreen, 5/10/2011 -
" Not my favorite of his, but still very good read. "
— Lynne, 5/6/2011 -
" Very well written! I enjoyed it a lot and didn't want it to end... "
— Kelly, 4/16/2011 -
" My favorite Pat Conroy book. The one that got me reading all of the rest. "
— Tanya, 4/11/2011 -
" Pat Conroy is one of my favorites [how can you not love Prince of Tides?] and while I enjoyed this parts seemed to drag. It took him a long time to get on with it. But I did like the brothers and he sure writes a great description "
— Jean, 4/9/2011 -
" I love the way Conroy writes. He makes me feel like I am a character in his novels. "
— CynthiaA, 4/6/2011 -
" If you like Pat Conroy you will LOVE this book. He makes you laugh and cry! "
— Linda, 4/3/2011
About Pat Conroy
Donald Patrick “Pat” Conroy (1945–2016) was an American author of acclaimed novels and memoirs, two of which made it to #1 on New York Times bestsellers list: Beach Music and South of Broad. Four of his novels were made into major motion pictures: The Prince of Tides, The Great Santini, Conrack, and The Lords of Discipline. The novel on which the movie Conrack was based, The Water Is Wide, won an NEA Human and Civil Rights Award and an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award.
About Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol is an American actor. He is known in films for his roles of Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II, Stingo in Sophie’s Choice, and David Langley in Bean. For television he is known for the roles of the eccentric lawyer John Cage in the Fox comedy-drama Ally McBeal, as Tom Lennox in the sixth season of action-thriller 24, Alan Birch in the medical drama Chicago Hope, and as physicist Dr. Larry Fleinhardt on the CBS crime drama NUMB3RS.