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Beach Music (novel)
Encyclopedia
Beach Music is Pat Conroy
's novel of Jack McCall, a South Carolina
native who flees the South with his daughter, Leah, after his wife commits suicide
. This novel explores the Vietnam War
-era, the Holocaust, and coming of age in the twentieth century. It was published in 1995.
. With Conroy's consent and help, she trimmed it into a much shorter version. The book reached the top position on the New York Times Best Seller list
. Paramount Pictures
purchased the rights for $5.1 million, but as of 2011, still hasn't made it into a movie. Scripts were written (and rewritten several times), and Brad Pitt
was at one point offered the part.Interviewed in 2009, Conroy said the film plans are "still hanging out there."
, Conroy's famous novel turned movie, Beach Music deals with "picking away at life's wounds with a sharp wit"
Some other (potentially controversial) themes in the novel include:
acknowledges in an interview that the perception he is “the product of a single landscape is actually false” As a military kid, Conroy moved often and lived in Rome, Italy for three years before finding his longest lasting home in Beaufort, South Carolina
. Both of these locales hold great significance for Jack McCall in Beach Music. He runs from the traditions and his past in the southern atmosphere of South Carolina, and seeks refuge in the food and travel of Rome, Italy.
Charleston, South Carolina
represents all that Jack wishes to forget, namely his wife, Shyla’s, suicidal jump off Silas Pearman Bridge.
Rome, Italy represents the shield Jack uses to protect his daughter Leah from their family’s tumultuous past, as well as his own discomfort with dealing with that past.
Pat Conroy
Pat Conroy , is a New York Times bestselling author who has written several acclaimed novels and memoirs. Two of his novels, The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini, were made into Oscar-nominated films.-Early life:...
's novel of Jack McCall, a South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
native who flees the South with his daughter, Leah, after his wife commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. This novel explores the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
-era, the Holocaust, and coming of age in the twentieth century. It was published in 1995.
Plot introduction
Jack McCall, an American living in Rome with his young daughter, is trying to find peace after the recent trauma of his wife's suicide. But his search for solitude is disturbed when a telegram from a family member summons Jack back to South Carolina to be with his ailing mother. He begins to explore his past and all its demons, as well as a new mystery that his sister-in-law and two school friends invite him to explore. They want Jack's help in tracking down another classmate who went underground as a Vietnam protester and never resurfaced. As Jack begins a journey that encompasses the past and the present in both Europe and the American South, he also begins a quest that will lead him to shocking truths—and ultimately to catharsis, acceptance and maturity.Writing & Publication
Conroy began writing Beach Music as a way of coping with the death of his own mother in 1984. Ten years later, he submitted 2100 typed pages to Doubleday editor Nan TaleseNan Talese
Nan Talese is an American editor and a veteran of the New York publishing industry.-Career:Talese is Senior Vice President of Doubleday and the Publisher and Editorial Director of Nan A. Talese/Doubleday...
. With Conroy's consent and help, she trimmed it into a much shorter version. The book reached the top position on the New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
. Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
purchased the rights for $5.1 million, but as of 2011, still hasn't made it into a movie. Scripts were written (and rewritten several times), and Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
was at one point offered the part.Interviewed in 2009, Conroy said the film plans are "still hanging out there."
Themes
Like The Prince of TidesThe Prince of Tides (novel)
The Prince of Tides is a novel by Pat Conroy, first published in 1986. It revolves around traumatic events that affected former football player Tom Wingo's relationship with his immediate family...
, Conroy's famous novel turned movie, Beach Music deals with "picking away at life's wounds with a sharp wit"
Some other (potentially controversial) themes in the novel include:
- SuicideSuicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, as Jack deals with Shyla's suicidal leap from the South Carolina bridge by escaping to Rome in order to avoid traumatic family drama. - WarWarWar is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
, from the terrors of the Holocaust discussed by Jewish characters and the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
's effects on those left behind. - Mental illnessMental illnessA mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
, as Jack's youngest brother, John Hardin, suffers with bouts of SchizophreniaSchizophreniaSchizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
. - Loss of innocence
- Self awareness and acceptance of self and of personal heritage
- Finding forgivenessForgivenessForgiveness is typically defined as the process of concluding resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense, difference or mistake, or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution. The Oxford English Dictionary defines forgiveness as 'to grant free pardon and to give up all...
from others and from ourselves - Abuse of powerAbuse of PowerAbuse of Power is a novel written by radio talk show host Michael Savage.- Plot :Jack Hatfield is a hardened former war correspondent who rose to national prominence for his insightful, provocative commentary...
- DeathDeathDeath is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
- GriefGriefGrief is a multi-faceted response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something to which a bond was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical dimensions...
- Southern United StatesSouthern United StatesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
- SouthernSouthern United StatesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
AristocracyAristocracyAristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy... - Story-telling
Setting
Setting holds as much importance in Beach Music as its themes, or even the main character, Jack McCall. Pat ConroyPat Conroy
Pat Conroy , is a New York Times bestselling author who has written several acclaimed novels and memoirs. Two of his novels, The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini, were made into Oscar-nominated films.-Early life:...
acknowledges in an interview that the perception he is “the product of a single landscape is actually false” As a military kid, Conroy moved often and lived in Rome, Italy for three years before finding his longest lasting home in Beaufort, South Carolina
Beaufort, South Carolina
Beaufort is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. The city's population was 12,361 in the 2010 census. It is located in the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan...
. Both of these locales hold great significance for Jack McCall in Beach Music. He runs from the traditions and his past in the southern atmosphere of South Carolina, and seeks refuge in the food and travel of Rome, Italy.
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
represents all that Jack wishes to forget, namely his wife, Shyla’s, suicidal jump off Silas Pearman Bridge.
Rome, Italy represents the shield Jack uses to protect his daughter Leah from their family’s tumultuous past, as well as his own discomfort with dealing with that past.
Characters
- Jack McCall - The main character in the novel, Jack is coping with the recent suicide of his wife, Shyla. A cookbook and travel writer, he flees Waterford to the peaceful life of a Roman Piazza with his daughter Leah. He is the oldest of the five McCall brothers. Jack is the narrator, and to some extent his character flaws and passions make him an unreliable narratorUnreliable narratorAn unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
, though he's always an honest one. - Leah McCall - the daughter of Jack McCall and Shyla Fox. There is an ugly custody dispute over Leah involving Jack and Shyla's parents (after her death), but a final letter that Shyla left for Jack proves his adequacy as a parent.
- Shyla Fox - Jack's wife, daughter of George and Ruth Fox. Commits suicide by jumping from the Silas Pearlman Bridge.
- Dupree McCall - The second oldest of the McCall brothers, Dupree is Jack's younger brother and works in the state mental hospital. His occupation often bears with it the burden of his younger brother, John Hardin, who suffers from SchizophreniaSchizophreniaSchizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
. - Dallas McCall - The third oldest of the McCall brothers, he is Jack's younger brother and a law partner with "The Judge" in Waterford.
- Tee McCall - The fourth oldest of the McCall brothers, Tee is a teacher for autistic children in Georgetown County.
- John Hardin McCall - The youngest of all five McCall brothers, John Hardin suffers from a variety psychological illnesses and often spends time in the city's mental hospital in Waterford.
- Martha Fox - Shyla's younger sister.
- Ruth Fox - Shyla's mother; Leah's grandmother.
- Judge Johnson Hagood McCall - Jack's father and the town's functioning drunk, "The Judge" has been divorced from Jack's mother for years, but he pines after her still.
- Lucy McCall - Mother of the five McCall brothers. Suffering from leukemiaLeukemiaLeukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
, Lucy wants to spend her remaining days on the beach, surrounded by her family and the endangered loggerhead sea turtles. It is her illness that summons Jack and Leah out of Italy and back to the states. - Silas McCall - "The Judge's" father; Jack's grandfather.
- Jordan Elliot - A close friend of Jack's, he moved to Waterford when the two were in high school. A military brat with a tyrant father, Jordan struggled against authority in his youth. He is caught in a scandal which has motivated him to retreat to/hide in the priesthood in Italy, which is where he and Jack reconnect.
- Mike Hess - Another one of Jack's high school friends, Mike is a Hollywood producer. He wants to tell the story of their childhood through a mini-series that he hopes to produce. Having recalled Mike as one of the nicest guys from his youth, Jack recognizes (as does Mike, himself) that Hollywood has changed Mike for the worse.
- Ledare Ansley - Capers Middleton's ex-wife, Ledare is one of Jack's childhood friends. Beautiful and charming, Ledare becomes more and more important to Jack as the novel progresses.
- Capers Middleton - Another friend of Jack's from high school. His father's heritage is known for their aristocracy and political prowess in South Carolina. Capers hopes to run for governor of South Carolina. After back-stabbing Jack in college, he tries to reinstate his friendship with him after Shyla's death.
- Max Russoff - Ruth's adopted father; after Ruth went through the Holocaust it was Max "The Great Jew" who rescued her from Poland.