Pat Conroy’s latest, South of Broad, is a love story to both South Carolina and the sense of place one can have for one’s hometown. Contrary to popular belief, love stories aren’t always composed of sunshine and roses; instead they very often contain periods of darkness and clear eyed realism. South of Broad follows Leopold Bloom King and several of his friends through their initial meeting in High School during the very racial charged 1960s, through the first days of the 1990s. True to the southern tradition of literature, Conroy includes characters and situations that may seem somewhat unbelievable and contrived, but so eloquently presents the story that the reader becomes deeply engaged in the telling of the story and thus the story itself. Conroy seems to have included as much darkness as possible; pedophilia, racial tensions, classism, homophobia, suicide, and even murder, yet the book is not hopeless and the reader comes to truly care for many of these damaged characters. In the final analysis, South of Broad is a novel worth reading for both the subjects addressed, as well as Conroy’s unique flair of storytelling.