Product Description

Pat Conroy's inspired masterpiece relates the dark and violent chronicle of an astounding family: the Wingos of Colleton, South Carolina. No reader will forget them. And no reader can remain untouched by their story. All Wingos share one heritage...shrimp fishing, poverty and the searing memory of a single terrifying event - the source of Tom Wingo's self-hatred and of his sister Savannah's suicidal despair. To save himself and Savannah, Tom confronts the past with the help of New York psychologist Susan Lowenstein. As Tom and Susan unravel the bitter history of his troubled childhood, in episodes of grotesque humour, poignant lyricism and shattering violence, the door opens vividly onto a world peopled by a cast of colourful, eccentric and unforgettable characters.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #92121 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 672 pages

Synopsis
Pat Conroy's inspired masterpiece relates the dark and violent chronicle of an astounding family: the Wingos of Colleton, South Carolina. No reader will forget them. And no reader can remain untouched by their story. All Wingos share one heritage...shrimp fishing, poverty and the searing memory of a single terrifying event - the source of Tom Wingo's self-hatred and of his sister Savannah's suicidal despair. To save himself and Savannah, Tom confronts the past with the help of New York psychologist Susan Lowenstein. As Tom and Susan unravel the bitter history of his troubled childhood, in episodes of grotesque humour, poignant lyricism and shattering violence, the door opens vividly onto a world peopled by a cast of colourful, eccentric and unforgettable characters.

From the Publisher
The dark and violent chronicle of an astounding family: the Wingos of Colleton, South Carolina.

From the Back Cover
‘You wish it would never end’ Vanity Fair

All Wingos of Colleton, South Carolina share one heritage … shrimp fishing, poverty and the searing memory of a single terrifying event – the source of Tom Wingo’s self-hatred and of his sister Savannah’s suicidal despair.

To save himself and Savannah, Tom confronts the past with the help of New York psychologist Susan Lowenstein.

As Tom and Susan unravel the bitter history of his troubled childhood, in episodes of grotesque humour, poignant lyricism and shattering violence, the door opens vividly onto a world peopled by a cast of colourful, eccentric and unforgettable characters.

‘Irresistible’ Independent

‘A big, sprawling saga of a novel…the kind you can hole up with and put down feeling that you’ve emerged from a terrible, wonderful spell’
San Francisco Chronicle

Customer Reviews

Great story
One of the truly great stories of all time, right up there with SOPHIES CHOICE, THE PRINCE OF TIDES is a non-stop journey though darkness and into the light. Tom Wingo is one of the main characters in this vast and verbose tome by Pat Conroy, and he's both hero and anti-hero all at once.

The way Conroy sets the scenes in this book is remarkable. Little is left to the imagination as he covers every bit for himself, using adjectives until your head will hurt. But it's all for a reason; it's all there to make you "feel" what he wants you to feel.

The story, as most probably know by now, having seen the movie, is harrowing and fraught with pitfalls for the Wingo family. Some have survived--some haven't. Tom's sister is somewhere in the middle, and this is where the story gets its push--from the fact that Tom is in NY trying to figure out what to do "about" her after her latest suicide attempt.

Filled with relief humor and intricate tales of family dysfunction, PRINCE OF TIDES is a massive books that titillates, fascinates, and compels the reader to keep reading

you won't ever want this book to end
This is undoubtedly an amazing book. I have never read a book that has gripped me in the way Pat Conroys style of writting in this book did. The story of Tom Wingo, unemployed househusband, as it alternates between his current life and his past.
It is too easy to forget that this is a fiction and throughout the book I had to keep reminding myself that this was Tom Wingo's story and not Pat Conroy's.

A moving book that captures every emotion to your realisation that such emotions exist within you.
A long but very worthwhile read that you will want to read again and again.

Constantly surprising, thought provoking great read
This book was suggested by a friend and proved well worth it. Conroy develops characters that are extraordinary but you can believe they exist out there in the Deep South and in New York. Very funny in parts, it deals with the darker side of family life but does not down-hearten.