The Prince of Tides is closely related to The Great Santini (1976). Both novels share the same themes of family and abuse, and Tom Wingo could almost serve as a mature Ben Meecham. Readers of both novels will recognize strong parallels between Tom's memories of football games and the athletic arena and the rendering of Ben's participation in basketball. Both characters find themselves strongly attracted to the field of English and the use of language, although this attraction remains much stronger in the more mature Tom Wingo. While physical and emotional abuse are expressed in differing manners in the two novels, the children's unification against that abuse is similar. The sisters of both protagonists are wise-cracking cynics who each brag they are more intelligent than their brothers. Discerning readers will note the similarities between Savannah's forcing Tom to act as a champion for the first black to...