Prince of Tides Pat Conroy

¶ … Prince of Tides

Pat Conroy

The Prince of Tides" by Pat Conroy is a story of pain and healing. Through a series of flashbacks Conroy weaves the tale of the Wingo's, a family that has lived for generations in the low country of Charleston, South Carolina, a family with a dark secret.

The story is narrated and told through the eyes of Tom Wingo, the protagonist of Conroy's novel. Born and raised in the low country, Tom is forced from his secure environment and becomes a fish out of water when he is called to New York City by Susan Lowenstein, the psychiatrist who is treating Tom's twin sister Savannah following yet another suicide attempt. Tom is forced to cope with city life, Savannah's illness, and his physical and emotional attraction to Lowenstein, as well as unlocking the past in order to save his sister.

As Tom reflects in the first sentence of Conroy's novel, "My wound is geography. It is also my anchorage, my port of call" (Conroy 1). The terror and horror of the past slowly unfolds as Tom becomes Savannah's memory, reluctantly allowing the childhood secret to surface, replacing his familiar humor and sarcasm with tears of truth and heartbreak, exposing his own vulnerability to Lowenstein and to the world.

Conroy's novel is an excellent read and contains a little something for everyone. It is a love story, a mystery, a thriller, a heroic adventure, as well as a story of compassion and empathy. As Conroy entwines the past and present, the reader is carried away by this very engaging story.

Although Conroy paints Tom as very human, complete with flaws and strengths, his character is not as memorable as, say perhaps, a Charles Dickens character. However, Conroy's psychological profile of this Southern family is every bit as captivating as that of William Faulkner or Tennessee Williams. The story depicts how easy a family can hide behind a veil of secrets, never daring to allow the light of truth, lest the emotions of guilt and shame overpower one's grip on reality. Yet that is exactly what happens when certain events stay buried, as evident in Savannah's character, and to a lesser degree in Tom's.