South of Broad
by Pat Conroy
South of Broad by Pat Conroy holds a well received rating of 3.78 out of 5, based on 31.6K reader ratings. First published in 2009. The book spans 514 pages.
About South of Broad
The one and only Pat Conroy returns, with a big, sprawling novel that is at once a love letter to Charleston and to lifelong friendship.Against the sumptuous backdrop of Charleston, South Carolina, South of Broad gathers a unique cast of sinners and saints. Leopold Bloom King, our narrator, is the son of an amiable, loving father who teaches science at the local high school. His mother, an ex-nun, is the high school principal and a well-known Joyce scholar. After Leo's older brother commits suicide at the age of thirteen, the family struggles with the shattering effects of his death, and Leo, lonely and isolated, searches for something to sustain him. Eventually, he finds his answer when he becomes part of a tightly knit group of high school seniors that includes friends Sheba and Trevor Poe, glamorous twins with an alcoholic mother and a prison-escapee father; hardscrabble mountain runaways Niles and Starla Whitehead; socialite Molly Huger and her boyfriend, Chadworth Rutledge X; and an ever-widening circle whose liaisons will ripple across two decades-from 1960s counterculture through the dawn of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. The ties among them endure for years, surviving marriages happy and troubled, unrequited loves and unspoken longings, hard-won successes and devastating breakdowns, and Charleston's dark legacy of racism and class divisions. But the final test of friendship that brings them to San Francisco is something no one is prepared for. South of Broad is Pat Conroy at his finest; a long-awaited work from a great American writer whose passion for life and language knows no bounds.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Author | Pat Conroy |
| Published | 2009 |
| Pages | 514 |
| Genres | Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fiction |
| Average Rating | 3.78 / 5.00 |
| Total Ratings | 31,640 |
Reader Ratings & Analysis
Rating Overview
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Frequently Asked Questions
What genre is South of Broad?
South of Broad is categorized as Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fiction. Its primary genre classification is Historical Fiction.
Is South of Broad worth reading?
Based on 31.6K reader ratings, South of Broad has an average score of 3.78 out of 5.00, which is considered "Well Received."
How many pages is South of Broad?
South of Broad has 514 pages. It is a longer read suited for dedicated readers.
Who wrote South of Broad?
South of Broad was written by Pat Conroy. It was first published in 2009.
What is the ISBN for South of Broad?
The ISBN-13 for South of Broad is 9780385413050.0.
Data sourced from community book ratings and reviews. Last updated: April 15, 2026
