Although this story is purportedly about Don Conroy, the father of Pat Conroy who became the abusive military father as the main character in the former’s novel [The Great Santini], it was really about the author’s whole family from his own perspective. Brutally honest in its tone, it would be more than I would want revealed in a novel about me if I were one of its characters, but this author can wring such beauty and life out of words he writes, that I might overlook this were it me. My only tiny criticism is that I found some facts in the story repetitive, but as a whole it was heartening to read about what could have been a total failed relationship with Pat’s dad to have ended up as a recovered one. Sadly, the same could not be said about Pat’s relationship with one of his his sisters, Carol Anne.

I’ve always loved Pat Conroy’s writing and enjoyed reading this book although some of the topics he discussed were deeply sad or made me uncomfortable. I have developed a greater understanding of the man who has always been one of my favorite writers. I came to learn why he developed certain characteristics such as sensitivity for others as well as realize to what great extent his novels were based on his own life and inner pain. I am only sorry that he is no longer alive and can no longer fill pages with his colorful thoughts and emotionally-provoking stories. ( )

I enjoyed listening to this book about Pat Conroy's dad and his relationship with him. It was an awful childhood, and I think he had some of his father's personality in him. He could have easily written off his dad, but he didn't. He continued to have a relationship with him and over time they became close. I truly believe that by the end he actually loved him. ( )

This might be the last Pat Conroy book I have to read. Although I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them because of the beautiful writing, I have to admit, the Conroy family, at least through Pat’s stories, has worn me out. If you look up the word “dysfunctional” in the dictionary, you will see a family picture of the Conroys.
I taught high school English for 40 years; Pat lasted a mere three, as I remember, and that’s a shame because as good a writer as he was, he would have been a marvelous teacher.
I’m sorry that I’m out of Pat Conroy books to read. There’s only one thing left to do: start reading them again. ( )

I’ve heard this book described as a sequel to The Great Santini but it is more apt to call it the real story behind The Great Santini. The level of dysfunction gets tedious after a while. Conroy's tone starts to sound like whining--I thought that the book was complete after two hours...imagine my surprise to find out it goes on for another ten or so. My first Conroy book--maybe, I'll do another--maybe just watch the movie? ( )

Pat Conroy’s classic southern novel The Great Santini is, in the words of the author, the story of his own family growing up as the children of a Marine Corps colonel and a sharecropper’s granddaughter. In his penultimate book, The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son, Conroy describes his actual life with his family and his father, Marine fighter pilot Col. Don Conroy, the original Great Santini. This nickname even appears on his military gravestone at the National Cemetery in Beaufort, South Carolina.

I’ve heard this book described as a sequel to The Great Santini but it is more apt to call it the real story behind The Great Santini. One does, of course need to take such statements with a grain of salt, especially when dealing with published authors. I learned a lot about Pat Conroy from reading both books, this one especially, but I believe I learned as much by reading between the lines as I did reading Pat’s stories. It was obvious that everyone in the Conroy family became masters in the art of domestic survival and other forms of passive aggressive behavior. Every interaction they had with anyone was, first and foremost, a defensive maneuver. No statement was ever taken at face value. Everything said was carefully examined for subtext that could conceal a verbal attack. It’s no wonder that most of the Conroy kids considered suicide and Tom, the youngest son, unfortunately did.
I was particularly interested to read about how the family got on after Santini was published. While Col. Conroy was at first enraged by the book he soon realized that it was his ticket to fame and he embraced the roll, getting a custom license plate reading SANTINI and attending book signings with his son and gloating when his autograph line was longer than Pat’s.

I usually read two books at one time, one text and one audio and often make sure the books are of different genres so that I don’t mix them up in my head. This time, though, I read The Great Santini while listening to the audio version of The Death of Santini. The experience was a bit confusing but overall it was fascinating. It reminded me of “Ghosts of History” a website where images of soldiers from past wars are superimposed over recent photograph of the same location. It also showed me how actual people from Pat’s life became characters in his novels. Bernie Schein, Conroy’s best friend from high school can be none other than Sammy Wertzberger in Santini.

Bottom line: Having read both books I feel like I have an almost three-dimensional view of the Conroy family and of Pat Conroy in particular. He was a magnificent writer who took to heart more than anyone else Ernest Hemingway's statement that “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” ( )