Rating: 
Summary: Epic novel with great timing
Review: I love this book! It is a beautiful story with full of right & wrong turn-outs from this passionate forbidding love between Maggie and Ralph. Even beyond all the tearful tragedies this wonderful novel is a real page-turner. Now I know that is my one of my favorite love story of my lifetime and that I'll never forget it. It's right up there with SOPHIE'S CHOICE and that fantastic book BARK OF THE DOGWOOD. All are great!
Rating:
Summary: Epic perfection
Review: The Thorn Birds is up there with Gone With the Wind on my list of favorite epics. I love the setting of rural Australia, I love the characters, I love the tragedy. After you read the book, watch the classic miniseries with Richard Chamberlin!
Rating:
Summary: A real treasure.
Review: I'm not into romance novels, but this book is my absolute favorite. Why? That's easy. It's full of adventure, rich details about family and Australia, the building up of passion (not just two people jumping in the sack). This book is long and it covers several decades of the characters lives, but it's enjoyable to read and you'll find yourself turning the pages so fast and at the same time wanting to savor every moment.
Rating:
Summary: My personal #1 of all time. . .or at least, right up there
Review: I adore this book, from beginning to end. I never put it down, and have picked it up many times since it's first 'start to finish' read.
It is rare to find a story with every single right element. I do not know where Ms. Mccullough went wrong; I do not believe she did.
I wouldn't change one thing in this sweeping, tragic, powerful love story.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing but loss
Review: Meggie loses everything she loves, the theme runs throughout the novel.
Beautifully written, pictures painted by McCullough will stay in your mind.
Someone told me this was based on a true story, I certainly hope not.
Meggie lives her life loving a man who won't give up his ambition to be with her. She matures and gains wisdom as time passes, Ralph stays ambitious and blind to real life.
It's a very sad story but beautiful and the ending is bittersweet.
Rating:
Summary: An Epic Love Story You Won't Want To Miss!!!
Review: This is one of those books that you read and think "yes, I will read this one again one day." This story is epic in detail and spans three generations of the Cleary family.
This is really Meggie's story. She is one of the main characters that we follow as she finds love where it is least likely to grow but is unstoppable. She falls in love with Father Ralph and the feelings despite being wrong are returned. This is really a story that will have you laughing and crying. Set in Australia in 1915 Ms. McCullough writes vividly and eloquently and you will find this a hard to put down read. This is truly a classic in every sense of the word and one that I highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Romance Novel of All Time
Review: I have read this at least a dozen times, and still love Meggie, Ralph, Fee, Paddy & Frank. A classic, cannot recommend it highly enough.
Rating:
Summary: an old classic
Review: could not put it down. Descriptive. Spicy. Delicious.
Rating:
Summary: A timeless story of love, ambition, and struggle!
Review: This is a truly a great and classic novel. I do not bestow these oft-overused adjectives lightly. This is a story of deep, rich, and forbidden love, betrayal, tragedy, and ambition. This is a truly wonderful story set primarily in Australia, circa 1915 and then spanning several generations to the post World War II era. McCullough writes a sprawling story which primarily centers on the forbidden love between an extraordinary woman and a good but ambitious priest.This is the story of the Cleary family, originally from Ireland, who emigrate first to New Zealand, and early on, to Australia. The young Cleary daughter, Meggie, falls in love with the local Catholic priest, Ralph de Briccasart, who is a good and ambitious man who certainly does nothing to encourage this love, but who certainly returns it as he regards Meggie as the daughter he can never have. As Meggie matures, he comes to regard her in a more romantic way. A great struggle arises between this love on the one hand ("the forbidden rose") and his ambition to become a Cardinal or perhaps more, on the other. There is much, much, more to the story than this, however. The novel transports the reader to Australia, and makes that country a real place to those of us who have never been there. This is also the story of the struggles of the Cleary family, as they battle with, and come to love, the rich outback country of Australia. This is an extraordinarily authentic and moving story that any review (or at least this one) can only fail to do justice. McCullough's prose is simply outstanding, and her characters crackle with realism--they become utterly real people and the reader will become swept away with this wonderful story. The storyline never drags, and at no point does this novel ever fail to completely capture the reader's attention. This novel is not only a classic; it is a ripping good read! If you have not yet enjoyed this novel, you are in for a wonderful reading experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Recommendation for The Thorn Birds
Review: The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough is a novel that seems to include every genre from romance to historical fiction and even tragedy. The story follows the lives of the members of a family through a full generation. This results in the development of many characters, and there is probably at least one that almost any person can relate to. One thing notable about the book is its amazing attention to detail. This was a cause of both my like and dislike for the novel. The detail is well-written enough to leave an image in the mind of the reader upon completion of a passage, a quality not all books have. On the other hand, the detail can be monotonous and cause the reader to lose interest. The latter is much less common, and the story kept me interested throughout. This novel seems to be directed at women, and I doubt if many male readers would enjoy it. I would recommend it to women high school age and older. However, because the story involves many relationships, I recommend that the reader is not completely opposed to the romance genre. Even readers who would not normally choose a romance novel would still enjoy this book because it includes so much more.
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