Beach Music

Beach Music: 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.

"Astonishing...stunning...the range of passions and subjects that brings life to every page is almost endless." (The Washington Post Book World)

• Beach Music (Unabridged) - Digital Download

  Price

  $65.00 $45.50 (30% Off) Buy from Audible.com
  (as of 2010-06-09 0:00 PDT)

  Publisher

  Random House Audio

  Shop

  Audible

  Format

  Digital Download

  Publish Date

  Aug 17, 2009

  Length

  26 hours 57 minutes

  Narrator

  Jonathan Marosz

  Preview

  mwprealmp3

  Promotion

  Sign up for a 30 day trial of AudibleListener® Gold and Download Beach Music (Unabridged) for FREE

  Product Description / Editorial Review

  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. — Source: Audible

  

• Beach Music - Digital Download

  Price

  $29.95 $20.97 (30% Off) Buy from Audible.com
  (as of 2010-06-09 0:00 PDT)

  Publisher

  Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio

  Shop

  Audible

  Format

  Digital Download

  Publish Date

  Aug 22, 2000

  ISBN-13

  9780553472707

  Narrator

  Peter MacNicol

  Preview

  mwprealmp3

  Promotion

  Sign up AudibleListener® Gold and Download Beach Music for Special Offer Price: $7.49

  Product Description / Editorial Review

  From the contemporary ruins of the American South to the ancient ruins of Rome, and from the unutterable horrors of the Holocaust to the lingering trauma of Vietnam, Beach Music sings... — Source: Audible

  

• Beach Music (Unabridged) - iTunes Audiobook

  Price

  $38.95 Download on iTunes
  (as of 2010-09-04 15:01 PDT)

  Publisher

  Random House Audio

  Shop

  Apple iTunes Store

  Format

  iTunes Audiobook

  Publish Date

  Aug 11, 2009

  Sales Rank

  148

  Length

  26 hours 58 minutes

  Narrator

  Narrator:Jonathan Marosz Preview

  Presented by

  Audible.com

  Product Description / Editorial Review

  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.
  
  "Astonishing...stunning...the range of passions and subjects that brings life to every page is almost endless." (The Washington Post Book World) — Source: Apple iTunes Store

  

• Beach Music (Abridged Fiction) - iTunes Audiobook

  Price

  $15.95 Download on iTunes
  (as of 2010-09-04 22:15 PDT)

  Rating

  5.0 (11 reviews)

  Publisher

  Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio

  Shop

  Apple iTunes Store

  Format

  iTunes Audiobook

  Publish Date

  Aug 22, 2000

  Sales Rank

  297

  Narrator

  Narrator:Peter MacNicol Preview

  Presented by

  Audible.com

  Product Description / Editorial Review

  From the contemporary ruins of the American South to the ancient ruins of Rome, and from the unutterable horrors of the Holocaust to the lingering trauma of Vietnam, Beach Music sings with life's pain and glory. Jack McCall, an American expatriate in Rome with his young daughter, is trying to find some peace after his wife's suicide. But his solitude is disturbed by the appearance of his sister-in-law, who begs him to return home. And once there, he finds himself drawn into a painful, intimate search for the one haunting secret in his family's past that can heal his anguished heart. — Source: Apple iTunes Store

  Customer Reviews

  Beach Music

  I totally loved this book and I loved the way the narrator told the story! My only regret is that I didn't buy the unabridged version. I didn't want the story to end and felt that way right up to the last word.

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music (Abridged Fiction) review by Macymurphy, 2010-02-01

  Beach Music

  This is by far, one of the best books I've ever listened to. It made me laugh, cry, angry and sad. I recommend this to all.

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music (Abridged Fiction) review by BissyB, 2009-09-22

  A Sin to Abridge

  This is my absolute favorite book of all time. Read it, don't listen to this, if for no other reason than it's abridged. Conroy's writing is all about the style and details and to leave anything out is a disservice to the reader/listener. READ IT!! If you like this, you'll like all his other books as well. Pat Conroy is one of America's best, but somehow hidden authors.

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music (Abridged Fiction) review by kemewr, 2009-01-20

  BEST BOOK EVER!!!

  I absolutely adore this book. I, like another reviewer, felt like I had lost a friend when it was over...I wanted it to never end, I wanted more of this book. I've read both the book and listened to the audiobook. I downloaded this to listen to on a daily two hour commute while working on my graduate degree. While the audiobook is good, it's nothing like the whole book. I wish, wish, wish that this was also sold in unabridged. There is so much good stuff left out. Highly recommend, everyone who I told to read this LOVES it.

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music (Abridged Fiction) review by Lovin Readin, 2008-07-11

  Beach Music

  So, first let me say that this is still one of my favorite books...Having said that, you should READ it, NOT listen th this awful vesion on audiobook! Why? -Peter McNichol is HORRIBLE at reading this...Oh, and he mispronounces so many words, it's scary. -It's abridged...My fault for buying it, I know, but I was leaving on a long road trip and I thought it would make the time go by...It did, but the parts that were left out of the book are absolutely critical to the story! So, in conclusion, 5 stars for the book, maybe 2-1/2 or 3 for this version...It's still a great story, and Conroy can turn a phrase as well as anyone.

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music (Abridged Fiction) review by squirejim, 2008-04-17

  Beach music

  I listened to this book for the first time in 1998 and when it was over - I felt like I had lost a friend. Peter McNichol does such a great job reading this book and the music in the background is perfect. This is a wonderful book to listen to as you drive home from work and need to unwind or just for traveling anywhere by car. This is the only Pat Conroy book I have bought and read after listening to the book just because it is so well written and eloquent. 2 thumbs up.

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music (Abridged Fiction) review by shuffstuff, 2008-01-27

  My Favorite Book Ever!!!

  I wish Pat Conroy would write more books. While most people know "The Price of Tides", this is Pat's best book. His writing style is almost poetic in flow and the storyline is compelling. Well worth a read.

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music (Abridged Fiction) review by schark, 2007-07-20

  beach music

  Honestly an exceptional book - my only critique is that it isn't avail in the unabridged version - bar none exceptional in it's entirety. It can have you laughing and crying from one moment to the next...

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music (Abridged Fiction) review by sonjarohini, 2007-03-22

  A MUST!!!!!!!!!!

  BEST AUDIOBOOK EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO Good

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music (Abridged Fiction) review by Jawsrks, 2006-07-14

  

• Beach Music - Digital Download

  Price

  £16.47 £11.53 (30% Off) Buy from Audible UK
  (as of 2010-04-01 0:00 PDT)

  Publisher

  Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio

  Shop

  Audible UK

  Format

  Digital Download

  Publish Date

  Aug 11, 2009

  ISBN-13

  9780553750515

  Product Description / Editorial Review

  From the contemporary ruins of the American South to the ancient ruins of Rome, and from the unutterable horrors of the Holocaust to the lingering trauma of Vietnam, Beach Music sings... — Source: Audible UK

  

• Beach Music: A Novel - Paperback

  Price

  $15.00 $7.98 (47% Off) Buy from Amazon.com
  (as of 2010-09-06 23:10 PDT)

  Rating

  4.0 (313 reviews)

  Publisher

  Dial Press Trade Paperback

  Shop

  Amazon

  Format

  Paperback

  Publish Date

  Mar 6, 2002

  Sales Rank

  4481

  ISBN

  0553381539

  ISBN-13

  9780553381535

  Pages

  800

  Search best deal and alternate versions of "Beach Music" in US (United States), UK (United Kingdom) and CA (Canada)

  • Beach Music: A Novel (Paperback)
  • BEACH MUSIC (Hardcover)
  • Beach Music (Hardcover)
  • Beach Music, Limited Edition (Hardcover)
  • Beach Music (BDD Audio) (Audio Cassette)
  • Beach Music (Mass Market Paperback)
  • Beach Music (Audio CD)
  • Beach Music (Audio Cassette)
  • BEACH MUSIC (Hardcover)
  • Beach Music (Library Binding)
  • Beach Music (Audio Cassette)
  • Beach Music (Library Binding)
  • Beach Music (Hardcover)

  Product Description / Editorial Review

  PAT CONROY, America’s preeminent storyteller, delivers a sweeping novel of lyric intensity and searing truth–the story of Jack McCall, an American expatriate in Rome, scarred by tragedy and betrayal. His desperate desire to find peace after his wife’s suicide draws him into a painful, intimate search for the one haunting secret in his family’s past that can heal his anguished heart.
  
  Spanning three generations and two continents, from the contemporary ruins of the American South to the ancient ruins of Rome, from the unutterable horrors of the Holocaust to the lingering trauma of Vietnam, Beach Music sings with life’s pain and glory. It is another masterpiece in PAT CONROY’S legendary list of beloved novels. — Source: Amazon

  Customer Reviews

  Best of Conryo

  This is by far my favorite out of the books I've read written by Conroy.

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music: A Novel review by War Eagle, 2010-07-15

  Heartfelt story, beautiful writing

  Pat Conroy became one of my FAVORITE authors when I first read BEACH MUSIC several years ago. His writing appeals to both men and women. Mr. Conroy has the ability to use words to describe life events in such vivid detail that you place yourself in the event, you 'feel' the feelings. I felt the childhood emotions, family bonds, teen and young adult traumas and loving relationships as if they were my own. As lives unfold in this novel, a beautiful mosaic of relationships is unveiled, laced with love, survival, accomplishment, tragedy and more love. Straight from the heart -- that is how I would describe Mr. Conroy's novels. And, if you enjoy BEACH MUSIC, do not miss SOUTH OF BROAD!
  
  Beach Music: A Novel
  South of Broad: A Novel

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music: A Novel review by Denise, 2010-05-24

  AChirevas

  "Beach Music" is a story riddled with pain, loss, confusion, cruelty and, strangely, even humor. It spans three generations and is told through the characters who survived dysfunctional families, abuse, strong friendships severely tested, the horrors of the Holocaust and the divisiveness of the Vietnam war. In the end, there is not only resolution, foregiveness and a sense of acceptance, but the promise of life made whole again.
  
  If you can get through the final chapters without having to read through tear- filled eyes, you're a stronger person than I. But it's well worth the journey.

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music: A Novel review by Alice Chirevas, 2010-05-02

  Gifed writer but...

  Pat Conroy is a gifted writer. He has the ability to weave full length stories on each of his characters in a single novel. While the central character is Jack, the plot involves many of his family and his friends in detailed recounting.
  Conroy's books would not only make for a mini series but for a weekly drama.
  Despite his talent, so much of this story, with its varying scenarios, is difficult to fathom. I tried and was not totally satisfied. Many vignettes were overdone, painful to plod through and difficult to accept.
  I believe that Conroy purposely creates his stories this way. I believe it is his way to present his personal writing ability and intent.

  Rating: 3
  Beach Music: A Novel review by An Educated Consumer, 2010-05-01

  Again Pat Conroy Delivers

  Beach Music... Captivating, complex, disturbing and harsh... but enlightening to the utmost degree. A true-to-life depiction of love, of anxiety, of anger, of secrets but most of all, of devotion. Devotion! Some of it "good" or some of it "bad" are left to the eye of the reader, but none the less, Devotion.
  
  A single father, after his beloved wife and life-long friend dives off a bridge in Charleston, South Carolina to end her life rips up his southern roots and takes his only child, Leah, to live and raise in Rome. Left bitter and bruised by a custody battle over his daughter, between he and his en-laws, he leaves all his demons from the "low country" of South Carolina behind him; his wife's death, his childhood friends, his large raucous family and his embittered en-laws. But he eventually comes back to face the good and the bad when he is told his mother is dying.
  
  What Pat Conroy does when he puts pen to paper is without words. It is an enormous gift! Within this book he lyrically carries you through the streets of Rome and the canals of Venice, Italy, as well as through those backwaters of the South Carolina "low country". But he also carries you through the heart and souls of people. People who have lived , loved, hurt and who also have varying ideas of morals and what they mean. What is "right" or what is "wrong".
  
  At times the book may seem like it is all over the place because it covers so many lives. Lives. Not just subjects like war, prejudice, how people react to different things, or a fishing trip gone wrong. This is the story of one man's journey, Jack McCall. His horror, his relief, his enlightenment, his grief and his joy. Through this book Conroy pushes Jack through the lives of others to become aware, to rediscover and redefine his sense of awareness and to ultimately come to understand the terms of life and death and the loss of his dear Shyla.
  
  Pat Conroy captures so much in this book. It's deep, it's murky, but he brings the beauty and ugliness of our lives forth so eloquently it's hard to put this one down. It is an epic! So be prepared to spend some time. You'll love that you did! As I write this I'm finishing my fifth reading of this book . Unfortunately, I haven't got my hands on South of Broad, yet. But that is the next read on my list! Best wishes.

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music: A Novel review by Russell Jeffers, 2010-04-17

  

• Beach Music - Paperback

  Price

  $10.00 Buy from Walmart
  (as of 2010-09-03 14:41 PDT)

  Publisher

  Random House Inc

  Shop

  Walmart

  Format

  Paperback

  Publish Date

  Mar 2002

  ISBN

  0553381539

  ISBN-13

  9780553381535

  Pages

  800

  Shipping Weight (in pounds)

  1.26

  Product in Inches (L x W x H)

  5.32 x 1.38 x 8.18

  

• Beach Music - Paperback

  Price

  $15.00 $10.80 (28% Off) Buy from Barnes & Noble
  (as of 2010-09-02 16:10 PDT)

  Rating

  4.5 (75 reviews)

  Publisher

  Random House Publishing Group

  Shop

  Barnes & Noble

  Format

  Paperback

  Publish Date

  Mar 2002

  Sales Rank

  7173

  ISBN

  0553381539

  ISBN-13

  9780553381535

  Pages

  800

  Edition Description

  Reprint

  Alternate Versions

  • Hardcover - $25.2
  • MP3 Book - Unabridged - $26.9

  Biography

  Pat Conroy's novels are populated with domineering fathers, Southern belles of steel, and inexorable tragedy; all are elements the author is familiar with from his own life, and he has drawn on them to create unforgettable books. He is sometimes accused of florid prose, but he never fails to draw attention -- and readers -- with his passionate stories.

  Christopher Lehmann-Haupt

  Mr. Conroy is verbosely eloquent, imaginatively violent and a superior yarn spinner, sometimes to a fault....What betrays Mr. Conroy too often are his flights of lyrical prose. True, now and then he catches the lightning instead of the lightning bug....Most damaging of all, "Beach Music" builds to a disappointing climax that is quite literally staged and rings as false as Eugene O'Neill at his most wooden....When all is said and overdone in "Beach Music," Mr. Conroy leaves you begging for less. -- New York Times

  From the Publisher

  With the spectacular success of the unforgettable Prince Of Tides, Pat Conroy established himself as America's favorite storyteller, a writer whose anguished and painfully honest insights into families and the human heart emerge in richly lyrical prose and compulsively readable narratives. Now, in Beach Music, he tells of the dark memories that haunt families 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, who want 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 the unmistakable brand of Conroy humor, this powerful novel adds another masterpiece to the legendary list of classics that his body of works has become.

  Library Journal

  Conroy's was the most talked-about book at the American Booksellers Association convention, even though it was reputedly only half-written. Hero Jack McCall, who has fled to Rome after his wife's suicide, is asked to locate a Sixties buddy whose antiwar activity drove him underground.

  Publishers Weekly

  A man tries to make peace with himself in the wake of his wife's suicide in Conroy's long-awaited blockbuster, which was a PW bestseller for 24 weeks. (June)

  Synopsis

  The author of The Prince of Tides deliveres a new novel of sweeping, lyrical intensity. Jack McCall, living in Rome with his daughter in hopes of finding peace after the suicide of his wife, is surprised by a visit from his sister-in-law. She draws him into a search for the one haunting secret in his family's past that can heal his anguished heart.

  
  — Source: Barnes & Noble

  Customer Reviews

  A Ride on the Waves of Complexity

  With tears streaming down my face, I just finished Pat Conroy's Beach Music. At first I thought, finally, a family more disfunctional than my own...but as each character tells you their own unique story which spans three generations, you begin to love them (yes, even Capers and General Elliott) and want to know why they have become who they are. At times you feel that the author could get to the point in fewer pages (the book is very long with over 750 pages) but his writing is so beautiful you just keep wanting more. The characters gave me many emotions, at times I laughed out loud, I cried and I got mad and frustrated at the reality of the horror of World War II and how the war in Vietnam and those living through that time in the late 60's really shaped so many of our lives into what we believe today. Jack's living in Rome both at the beginning of the book and at the end really pulled me into the life of living in another country and living their culture. I have always fantasized about doing this but never acted on it. Please, read Beach Music - you will love the story and it will truly touch you in a way few books have the privilage of doing.

  Rating: 4
  Beach Music review by Anonymous, 2010-04-24

  Phenomenal

  An amazing read. I simply could not cease flipping the pages.. only Conroy could have given the pages such sweep and passion. It is my Conroy book of choice so far, do read this book.

  Rating: 5
  Beach Music review by a_thousand_sunlit_kisses, 2010-04-07

  

• Customer Reviews

  "Beach Music" customer reviews and ratings