The Lords of Discipline

I read The Great Santini the first semester of my sophomore year in high school, borrowing it from my truly awesome English teacher's personal collection. Within five chapters I fell absolutely in love with Pat Conroy's writing, and had to have more. She had two of his other books at the time so naturally I borrowed them as well. I started reading the Lords of Discipline that Friday afternoon, and finished it by the next evening. When I was done, instead of picking up the next book, I went back and re-read the same book, taking more time and care, paying more attention to it, and it's been at the top of my list of beloved books ever since.

Besides Conroy's writing (which just appeals to me on every level), the book itself is amazing...the plot and the characters are so complicated, so intense that you can't help but get emotionally involved with them. It seems simple at first...four seniors at a military institute, dealing with life and school, but then the book turns and twists and goes into a much darker place. There's a deceit that is spread throughout the pages so clearly that you feel like your hands have been tainted. The characters come to life, virtues and flaws, and inspire you to either love or hate. You feel pity and affection for the main character, Will McLean, and form a deep attachment to his three roommates and to their mentor 'the Bear'. This book runs the gamut of emotions...it makes you laugh, and pisses you off. It fills you with righteous indignation, then warms you to the depths of your soul. You feel triumph at the ending, but even that is marred by the sadness of what came in the middle. At one part of the book, I didn't even realize I was crying until a tear hit my page...that's how engrossed I was in it. Of course, once I realized it, I couldn't stop crying.

I loved the flashbacks, loved the eccentricities of the characters, loved the emotion that seemed to leap off of every page. This book is deep and dark, and speaks of a friendship so strong and powerful that it can beat anything, even corruption. I have read all of Conroy's novels, and though each one is special, and worthy of being re-read over and over again, none of them have ever quite grabbed me like The Lords of Discipline. I think it'll be one of my favorites for the rest of my life.