A new Pat Conroy novel

April 9, 2007 by admin | No comments

Pat Conroy To Publish 1st Book Since ‘95, Pat Conroy Says Novel, His 1st Since 1995, Will Mark Return To Dysfunction And Death - CBS News

“The Prince of Tides” author Pat Conroy says he’s finishing his first novel in more than a decade, and it will mark a return to the same dysfunctional characters he’s known for.

Conroy’s last book was a cookbook published in 2004.

“I loved writing that book. … Now, of course, everybody in this new book is dying and driving themselves off cliffs,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “So I’m back to normal.”

The new novel is set in Charleston and is already nearly 700 pages, Conroy said. “It drives me nuts. But long-windedness … there’s nothing you can do about it. I wanted to write a 250-page novel, but I realize I can’t even write a prologue that’s 250 pages.”

Conroy, 62, said his wife Cassandra King, author of “Queen of Broken Hearts,” is a much happier writer.

“I’ll hear her cackle with laughter at some funny line she’s written,” he said. “I’ve never cackled with laughter at a single line I’ve ever written. None of it has given me pleasure. She writes with pleasure and joy, and I sit there in gloom and darkness.”

Conroy has not published a novel since 1995’s “Beach Music.” He spoke to the newspaper to promote a fund-raising appearance he’s making for a library foundation.

A new Pat Conroy novel is good news. Some of his early books are among my all-time favorites. I loved THE GREAT SANTINI and LORDS OF DISCIPLINE. But his later books are, imho, a bit bloated.

Now that I have a full set of bookshelves in my basement and a lifetime membership in LibraryThing, I evaluate all new books in terms of my collection strategies. I would definitely want to have signed firsts of SANTINI and LORDS, and maybe a couple of other Conroys, but I don’t like his complete ouevre enough to try for a complete collection.

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