“This will probably be one of my hardest reviews to write for the simple fact that nothing I write can do this novel justice. Every emotion possible was covered in this book, and for me felt deeply: heartbreak, love, second chances, anguish, loss, sympathy, agony, joy, lust, anger, pride and hurt. I know I'm particularly susceptible to feeling as if I'm there in many of the novels I read but I think I can say with certainty that this was one of the most evocative pieces of work I've ever read and I now understand the editor's note in the front of the advanced copy sent to me. This is the first novel Mr. Conroy has published in 14 years and I can see why so many were anxiously awaiting his next. Never having read his work before, I'm loathe to do so if this doesn't exceed hopes and expectations piled upon each other for this successor to his previous novels.
When we first encounter eighteen year old Leo on Bloomsday 1969, he's a heartbroken boy who masks it with humor and self-effacement. The son of a high school principal and a chemistry teacher, he's held to rigid expectations and is to today become the welcome wagon for a motley crew of incoming seniors to his high school. He's been through the ringer more than once since he found his brother's body in the bathtub at age 9. An outcast at school who was once accepted only because of the golden beauty and popularity of his popular brother, he's once again fallen to the wayside and appears to be an odd choice to make people feel at home.
His first duty of the day is to visit the orphanage and welcome Niles and Starla, a brother and sister made close by the struggles and pain of their world since they were placed in an orphanage when they were young children and their mother and grandmother sent to prison. Another orphan Betty will also be attending for senior year. Next comes welcoming gorgeous twins who've moved in next door, Sheba and Trevor. Sheba tells Leo she is destined to become a star, and her vivacious, unapologetically effeminate brother, who is possibly more beautiful than his sister and is a musical prodigy in his own right, confirms this is Sheba's destiny. Leo quickly meets their vodka soaked acid tongued mother and welcomes the two into his heart. Following this meeting, he is brought to the country club with his mother and father to meet two recently expelled students from the private school who will now be attending his public school much to the chagrin of Chad's powerful father. Joining Chad is his girlfriend Molly who was expelled with him when they were caught with cocaine. Leo falls in love at first glimpse of Molly. Accompanying them to dinner is Chad's sister Fraser who won't be attending school with them but is welcomed into the fold all the same. And finally, Leo is sent to meet the new head of the football team Coach Jefferson, who will be the first black teacher at the newly integrated school. Joining him is his son Ike who is angry at this change, and both fearful and hateful towards white people since his a family member was murdered by a white police officer. The trials and tribulations of this group bring them closer together and the most unlikely group of friends become closer than anyone could have ever suspected. The differences in their upbringing and backgrounds should guarantee that these people never crossed paths in a classist, racially charged Charleston South Carolina in the late 1960s. Yet Leo King brings them all together, and teaches them an unwavering loyalty and love that by most accounts Leo has only experienced from his father, never his hard to please mother.
Twenty years later, all still reside in Charleston save Sheba and Trevor who've made good on their word that Sheba would be a star. Trevor had embraced a new hometown of San Francisco where he has opened his arms to the livelihood and dangers of the gay scene in the 1980s San Francisco. Sheba dropped off the radar some years ago, but Trevor was good at keeping in touch until recently. Now Sheba has reappeared asking all to help find her brother who has AIDS and cannot be found. Everyone but Chad pledges their help and they all trek to San Francisco where the beginnings of a tragedy none of them could have imagined lies in wait to devastate all of them.
Initially I was intimidated by the florid prose in this very long novel (512 pages). By page 12, I was ready to set it to the side. By page 20, I was sucked in and couldn't put the book down. Not for the sake of being redundant, but the story within the pages tapped into my emotional reserve, and I cried, laughed, gasped, shuddered, and smiled at many, many points within the pages. Nothing of the story was predictable, beyond the expectation of some overwhelming incident lying in wait. In that, South of Broad didn't disappoint. Nor in anything else actually. The tales within the plot tied up seamlessly, even one that was an integral part of the story but not expected to be given a resolution or understanding, and my heart broke for several characters many times over. The ending left me a little drained, and hoping the best for the characters within the book, and not a little disappointment that this which has kept me compelled all weekend has drawn to a close. I fell a little bit in love with the protagonist of the story and would love to see from his perspective again someday. This is truly a must read and one of the most compelling stories I've ever read.
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Ash wrote this review Sunday, July 26, 2009.
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