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past and all its demons, as well as a new mystery: His sister-in-law and two school friends invite Jack to help them track 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 truthsβand ultimately to catharsis, acceptance and maturity.
374:β 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
468:β 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.
462:β 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.
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American living in Rome with his 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
480:β 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.
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as its themes, or even the main character, Jack McCall. Pat Conroy acknowledged in an interview that the perception that he is "the product of a single landscape is actually false". As a military kid, Conroy moved often and lived in
384:β 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.
396:β The second oldest of the McCall brothers, Dupree works in the state mental hospital. His occupation often bears with it the burden of his younger brother, John Hardin, who has
474:β 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.
418:β The youngest of all five McCall brothers, John Hardin has a variety of psychological illnesses and often spends time in the mental hospital in Columbia, SC.
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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.
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purchased the rights for $ 5.1 million, but as of 2015, still hasn't made it into a movie. Scripts were written (and rewritten several times), and
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was at one point offered the part. Interviewed in 2009, Conroy said the film plans are "still hanging out there."
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represents all that Jack wishes to forget, namely his wife, Shyla's, suicidal jump off Silas
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as a way of coping with his own mother's death in 1984. Ten years later, he submitted 2,100 typed pages to
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deals with "picking away at life's wounds with a sharp wit".
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