South of Broad

I love the writing of the southern states of America and this is gothic southern at its best and most baroque. Rich, lush, evocative writing with a cast of characters that would not look out of place in a freak show. Leopold Bloom King is the narrator and the central character around whom the action revolves. He’s the son of a mild mannered teacher and a formidable former nun with a passion for Joyce - hence Leo’s name. After the suicide of his golden boy brother, Leo is lost until his final year of college. Here, an unlikely group of friends comes together through desperation and circumstance - a brother and sister from the orphanage, twins of unnatural beauty and unnatural appetites, the son of the first black coach at Peninsular High in Charleston and to round everything off, three members of the first families of Charleston. If you like your writing spare and minimalist, this is not the book for you but if you like over the top, lush, descriptive narrative and larger than life characters with a bit of a mystery thrown in, and of course if you’re a Pat Conroy fan, you’ll love it.

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