Blog #4 Heather

I was completely blown away by Conroy’s novel. I had never read anything by him before, and because the book was long and the description on the back didn’t seem very interesting, I feared that I would have a difficult time reading the book. However, I was greatly surprised from the very beginning. In fact, he had me from the prologue. And what captured my attention at the outset was not necessarily the plot, but the writing style. Conroy’s writing is so flawless that it seems like he wrote the novel so effortlessly. His writing is convincing and his characters are very well rounded that I had a difficult time remembering that this was fiction and not an autobiography or memoir.

Besides the writing style and the beautiful descriptions of both New York and South Carolina, I appreciated the complexity of the characters. Although I don’t typically read 700 page novels, I enjoyed the fact that Conroy took his time to carefully and thoughtfully create these characters. Each detail about them, such as Tom’s inability to love women, Savannah’s haunting dogs, Luke’s compassion and protective nature, Lila’s love for her kids and for her position in society, and Henry’s failed entrepreneurship, create a world that is close enough to our own but far enough away to escape to. What was most essential in creating the complexities of each character, I believe, was time.

From Conroy’s Prince of Tides, I’ve learned to slow the pace of my own novel. Conroy’s book would not have been as interesting if the characters had not been so fully developed. In my fantasy novel, I’m going to strive to write the main character, Byrn, with more depth. Conroy taught me that every good novel has action, yes, but every great and beautiful novel also has interesting exposition. I want to explore each character in my work and even develop the setting, which is earth after the core has erupted, with a back story. And through this process, I hope to discover more about the characters myself.