The Lords of Discipline

Starred review from June 28, 2010
As Conroy's tale of military college secrets reaches its 30th anniversary, Dan John Miller brings a new audio edition to life with passion and attention to detail, and the author himself offers an insightful introduction. Miller brings complexity and nuance to his portrayal of the mysterious St. Croix family, the old-money Charleston blue bloods who provide a home away from home for protagonist Will McLean. Miller recreates the mix of Lowcountry and upstate Carolina dialects on campus and also skillfully adds the voices of Will's Italian-American roommates Dante "Pig" Pignetti and Mark Santoro into the mix. The hazing sessions, where a vicious secret society of cadets use multiple forms of torture to preserve the racial purity of their school, have never sounded more harrowing, nor has the author's point—that there is exists a very dark side to obedience—been clearer. A Dial paperback.

No matter what his narrative gifts, when it comes to overwrought writing, Pat Conroy need not bow to any contemporary novelist. His excesses, though, are a reader's opportunities, and Stechschulte rises to the occasion. Conroy gives Stechschulte plenty of room for dramatic flourish, for soaring soliloquy, for indulgent melodrama. But that's not the end of Stechschulte's bag of acting tricks. He creates an astonishing array of distinctive characterizations, from aristocratic Southern belles to poor New York City ethnics to crusty, unyielding military officers. Between Conroy and Stechschulte, we are treated to a charged, involving saga about a young man's coming of age as he confronts corruption and brutality at a Southern military school. M.O. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine