I read this after several years on my to read list. It was a favorite of a good friend, and their particular recommendation.

The plotting, characters, setting, and wordsmith were all exemplary. In everyway, this was an excellent book. In the end I just can't make it a favorite because it didn't completely connect in a meaningful way. Maybe I had difficulty with the main character of Tom, or possibly the abuse throughout the lives of the characters. It still was an honest, insightful look at abusive relationships intertwined with love and pain. The physical setting of a small coastal, Southern Island and community even reflected the reality in the lives of the Wingo family.

This is a great read, and I hope others that haven't read it, will give it a try. It may not have harmonized with me at this point in my life, but it just may for you. ( )

I have very mixed feelings about this one. I wanted to keep reading it, but at the same I didn’t enjoy what I was reading. ( )

I read this one so long ago that I don't recall any details. ( )

My 15 year old had to read this for freshman English. He dislikes reading so when he recommended it to me, I was somewhat in a state of shock, but figured I'd best read it.

So happy that I did.

It is a story of three children . . .Tom, Luke, and Savannah . . .growing up in the South on an island with a physically abusive father. Savannah has attempted suicide, and the story alternates between contemporary scenes in New York City where Tom attempts to aid Savannah's psychiatrist and scenes from Tom and Savannah's childhood.

The beauty of this book has a great deal to do with Conroy's incredible talent for pacing. He builds suspense slowly, inexorably, until you really feel like you cannot put the book aside even for a few moments. And then, he uses great storytelling to reveal his characters slowly - - truly a master of the adage to "show the reader, don't tell them". Finally, the icing on the cake is his beautiful descriptive prose . . .which, for me, was woven into his tale in such a way as not to be too distracting, but just to add to the pleasure of reading it.

I will say this is a dark novel . . .so be prepared. It's not for the faint of heart. Chapter 22 was disturbing to say the least. I'm a little surprised it was assigned to ninth graders. ( )

Tom Wingo, procedente de Carolina del Sur, debe dirigirse a Nueva York para ocuparse de su hermana Savannah, afectada por una profunda depresión. A partir de este viaje y del encuentro de Tom con la psiquiatra Susan Lowenstein, el autor nos presenta la fascinante historia de la familia Wingo, y pinta un cuadro compuesto por figuras, paisajes y costumbres propios del sur profundo. Un relato conmovedor en el que humor, ternura y observación psicológica se unen para confirmar una obra literaria de gran calidad.