Beach Music

Oh, to read.  The journey of reading through a great book is one that finds me tearing through the words as quickly as I can consume them, only hoping that the story will never end.  A desire to know each character deeply and intimately, yet have the pages infinite.

That is how I felt while reading this book.

I almost don't want to share it with you.

A little prevew:  Beach Music is a novel about a foodie, Jack McCall, and his life following the suicide of his wife.  It goes forward from there by taking you back to the how and why of where he is today, intermixed with stories of his current life.  From Rome to South Carolina, Jack's story unfolds as all of the "characters" in his life share their stories.

The Holocaust.  My heart breaks to think that we as a people ever fell that far from humanity.  The pain and anguish of that time still lingers.

Schizophrenia.  It has its talons in a large number of people.  It affects even more than that with the families and friends of those who are afflicted.

The Vietnam War.  Who would I have been if I had been in college during those tumultuous days?  A hippie?  A supporter?

Parents.  Most of us suck at our job.  It's tough to admit.  It's even tougher to be on the receiving end of bad parenting.

Forgiveness. 

Redemption.



Now, I have to admit I've never read any other books by Pat Conroy.  Some of the reviews I read of this book have me shaking my head...were we reading the same book?  Sometimes what seems overdone or contrived in a book is the most realistic part of a story; the way we each look at the world is through a filter.  And that is how I see the characters of this book, as being "filtered" through the eyes of Jack McCall.

Now I need a day or so to mourn the ending of a great book.  

For those of you who read, I'm sure you understand.