Pat Conroy’s new book is every writer’s dream. You know, the dream where you envision hundreds of copies being pre-ordered at your local bookstore, and then having friends and neighbors lined up in a frenzy for your John Hancock at a book signing.

All that is happening to Pat Conroy and more.

It’s only been out a few days, but already novelist Pat Conroy’s new book is creating quite the stir amongst the Literati and everyday folk as well.

It’s been 14 years since his last novel, Beach Music. To say that Pat Conroy fans have been looking forward to a new book from him is a massive understatement. A Pat Conroy book is like an old friend as you read it, and when the book winds down to the last few pages, and then to the end, it is a sad feeling indeed.

Pat Conroy’s new book, South of Broad, weighs in at over 500 pages. That’s five hundred pages of emotion, eloquence, tears, and triumph. As only Pat Conroy can do it.

Some people say that South of Broad, this Pat Conroy’s newest book, is classic Conroy. Set in Charleston, SC it is the epic Conroy tale of friendships that endure through tragedies and difficulty beyond imagination.

There are references in the book to many Charleston haunts, so much so that Southern Living magazine toured them in a recent issue.

Conroy is a rock star to many, because of his larger than life books and also his imposing personal presence and charisma.

Growing up as a military brat, he arrived to spend his coming of age years in Beaufort, South Carolina, and came to call it home. Beaufort is the home you never knew you had until you find it. Pristine beauty and charm, as though torn carefully from the pages of a Conroy novel.

Conroy’s descriptions of Low Country coastal South Carolina show the fond regard he has for the marsh, the estuaries, the shrimpers, and the coast. Not surprisingly, he still has a home locally on Fripp Island, an end of the road private resort filled with nature and wildlife.

Pat Conroy is not without his opinions about how scenic Beaufort County should be held in careful stewardship, and has stepped forward at governmental meetings to express his concern, and to hold officials accountable for any untoward actions they might take towards the environment.

The new book by Pat Conroy could well follow in the footsteps of other Conroy novels. The Great Santini,Lords of Discipline, and The Prince of Tides were all turned into Hollywood movies. Perhaps South of Broad will become a film as well.

As great as the movies were, it must be said that no cinematic creation could ever take the place of reading a Pat Conroy novel line by line, as the characters slowly and gradually come to life in a way that only Pat Conroy can accomplish.

Between the people in his books and the strong sense that you are in Carolina and no place else, a Pat Conroy new book is indeed an event worth savoring and celebrating.