Thorn Birds

Rating:
Summary: The Book is Better Than the TV Movie
Review: Having been a long-time fan of The Thorn Birds mini-series on TV, I finally got around to reading the book. And am I very glad I did. McCullough's prose provides readers with an incredible amount of background of both Australia and the characters that no movie could ever match. The book delves into the minds of many of the main characters, giving readers a better sense of their inner-selves, what makes each of them tick. Perhaps the best insight focuses on Father Ralph de Bricassart and Meggie Cleary. Ralph's battle between loving God and Meggie is explored in a manner that makes his anguish truly believable. Likewise, Meggie's anger at God for withholding from her the men sho loves most is detailed in a way that readers can identify with her plight, too. Information of the true character of hardened, undemonstrative Fiona Cleary, Meggie's mother, is trickled into the plot throughout the entire book. Meggie's children, Justine and Dane, allow the plot to progress to it's expected, bittersweet ending. The Drogheda sheep station is another important character, providing the characters a stable home they can always come back to. Which they all do, time and again. A strong cast of secondary characters adds to the real-life quality of this sad tale. This book is a true modern classic and a must read for anyone who loves lengthy, well-written historical fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Oh, Frank, my darling, misunderstood, forgotten Frank!
Review: This novel is, in a word, mystifying. Mc'Cullough's style is, at some times, brilliantly poetic and beautiful, and at many others, extremely tedious. Her almost exclussive focus on Meggie and Ralph was annoying, and extremely one-sided; even though they are the main characters, it would have been refreshing to hear from the minds, as well as the lips, of people such as Paddy, Frank, and Dane, much more often than was the case. And speaking of Frank, as one can probably tell from the title of this review, he was my favorite character; I could relate to him most of all, despite never having been in prison. Did anyone else feel the urge to hold and comfort him as much as I did? My high level of empathy for him stems from the fact that he is, unlike so many males in contemporary literature, truly sensitive, compassionate, and idealistic, beyond the pursuit of monitary success (see Luke O'Niel for a portrayal of the power and money-obssessed egotist archetype). I thought the most romantic and touching sceens in the book were not between Meggie and Ralph (at least, not as older adults), but between the young Meggie and Frank, her misunderstood, despised, beautiful older brother. In contrast to Frank's, and Meggie's (as a child) softness, Justine, whose childhood was neglected so much that her decisions in later life seem to have no basis or logic to them, seemed overly heartless, impulsive, and, in spite of appearances, extremely insecure. Justine was so ascerbic and emotionally afraid that she was almost a characiture of the self-absorbed, overly dramatic, restless modern teenager struggling to break loose from tradition. Meggie, who I could relate to in early life, until she began her relationship with Luke, seemed more believable, in most situations, than many feminine characters in today's literature. Unlike them, she was not always stowical in the face of adversity, which reveals a true emotional center and capacity for great depth of feeling. Ralph had this as well, in spite of his ambition, and deference to the church's regulations; the reader has to keep in mind the time period and atmosphere of the culture in which Mc'Cullough's characters are placed. It was a stifling, rule-bound society. As for my point about the author being tedious, her inclusion of conversations between Ralph and his superiors, especially Cardinal Vitorio and Mary Carson, seemed more fitting for a political thriller and a true romance novel, respectively. Perhaps it is because in only a recent high school graduate who had the audacity to read this seven-hundred pager in four days because I just had to finish it, but I could not understand the intended humor or subtleties in their dialogues. Also, I disliked the subtle, but clear implication and portrayal of Maori people in the book. An Australian friend told me about the stereotype of Maori men as violent, uncontrollable miscreants, and after reading the description of Frank's eventual personality, and the diagnosis by friends of the family, I resent Mc'Cullough's idea on tne subject, considering Frank's first introduction as a compassionate, caring young man. (This, of course, could simply be my psychology classes working over time, and I could be overanalyzing Frank's character, and defaming Mc'Cullough needlessly), and it seems to me like a case of sensitive young man is mistreated horribly by society, and crushed by their insensitivity to his condition. In any case, Frank is still, to me, the little boy who needs protection and nurture, not to mension understanding and a realistic way to externalize his rage and other strong emotions. On the up side, though, Mc'Cullough has a definite talent for descriptions of the Australian landscape, as well as, when aplicable, the motives and exact nature of her characters's emotions. And, just to end on emotion, Fionna's relationship to Paddy, and all the other characters was never fully realized, and Stewart's contemplative tendencies never explained, and I would have loved to know more of Fi's life with Pakeha, what attracted her to him, etc. And, as I said, more Frank and young Meggie, and descriptions of their life in New Zealand in general would always have been appreciated!

Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable!
Review: Read this book and buy the Movie (I got it new for $16). Greatest love story ever. Makes Gone With The Wind look like Pee Wee Herman. This should be a must see for every one. Shows what true love can be, although it is heartbreaking. Hard to get it out of your mind. The young Meggie is spectacular (played by Sydney Penny). I put this book up there with Roots and A Walk across America). Buy it, read it, watch it.

Rating:
Summary: the passion is inspiring
Review: I just finished this book for the first time and I plan to read it many more times. The passion that this woman writes with inspires me. The characters are so vivid in my mind that I feel like I'm in the story. If someone can do that to you then that is a sure sign of a great book. Read it, I assure you you'll love it.

Rating:
Summary: Decent effort, but extremely disappointing.
Review: I'll admit it, I buy into hype a lot, which is why I read this book. The way people talked about it as well as its TV movie version, I expected a masterpiece along the lines of Gone With The Wind, which I read and loved. I can't say the same for The Thorn Birds.

First off, I can not see how a thorn bird (a bird that endures pain on a thorn to sing a few minutes of a beautiful song) fit into the story. It is supposed to explain the forbidden love between a young girl, Meggie, and a priest named Ralph. However, it is touched on so lightly that it seems more like the two have crushes on each other than anything. The only part that I thought came even close to interesting was when Meggie married a man because of his stature (Luke) and ended up in an extremely unhappy marriage. The rest of the text is more or less a complete bore.

Overall, though, the concept was interesting and some of the writing was just beautiful. However, I still cannot say that those two make this a worthy read. In fact, the whole time I managed to read this I kept thinking that this book tried way too hard to be the next Gone With The Wind. Read that one, but not this one. Meggie is no Scarlett O'Hara.

Rating:
Summary: This book will change how you see yourself.
Review: I was first introduced to The Thorn Birds when the miniseries was run on television for the second time (I believe this was around 1993), and after seeing it, I had to buy the book. This book is captivating and involving. Once you get started, you will not want to stop reading until you've finished.

The book is much better than the miniseries in many ways, because you get to know exactly what the characters are thinking and you get to know the characters themselves very well.

The story is tragic, yes, but I think the most tragic thing about it is that we readers cannot live with as much passion and desire and spirit as these incredible characters do every moment of their lives. If you read this book, I doubt you'll be able to look at the world or yourself in the same way again.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Epic
Review: I highly recommend this to anyone interested in adding modern classics to their reading list. It's well written, engaging, and well plotted. It has many elements of good literature: irony, drama, tragedy, humor, and every aspect of human life. And surprisingly it is a quick read despite the hefty length. This also was written by someone who does their homework. How could someone get all those details of sheep farming/herding in Austrailia without some research?

Rating:
Summary: Moving along with vivid and believable characters
Review: The Thorn Birds is an epic saga about the family of Paddy and Fee Cleary, and their children, especially Meggie, the only girl. Paddy is a working class sheep shearer, but his wife Fee seems mysteriously aristocratic. The story opens in 1915, in rural New Zealand on Meggie's fourth birthday. Writing about the next two years in the life of the Cleary's, the author introduces us to the personalities, family relationships and struggles of Paddy, Fee and their first four children.

The story resumes in 1921 when Meggie is ten years old. The Cleary's move to Drogheda in New South Wales, Australia. Drogheda, in the Outback some 610 miles West of Sydney, is a vast sheep farm owned by Mary Carson, Paddy's long lost sister. Mary Carson is immensely wealthy, shrewd, treacherous and weary of living. Since Mary has no other living relatives, she invited Paddy to run Drogheda during her final years. In return, he would inherit the bulk of her vast estate...well that's what she told Paddy.

Mary Carson has an interesting relationship with a twenty-eight year old, ambitious, handsome Catholic Priest, father Ralph de Bricassart. Having enticed father Ralph with generous contributions to the church, Mary claws into his psyche to play mind-games, and conceives a twist that will set the story soaring. The central intrigue, however, is going to be the relationship between Meggie and Father Ralph during the next 48 years.

This is a brilliantly crafted tale that draws the reader into life in the Australian outback where it took six weeks for the mail wagon to complete its rounds. It also pokes a hard-nose into the workings of the Catholic Church and the trauma of celibacy. The descriptions of Drogheda as it changes during the seasons and over the wet-drought cycle are a bit tedious at times, but otherwise the pace moves along with vivid and believable characters.

Rating:
Summary: Spends too little time on most interesting characters
Review: While this 50-year look at a family's loves and losses is interesting at times, McCullough spends too little time on the most interesting characters and relationships and too much time on mundane details or on her attempts at being poetic and/or artistic. In the end, this novel is just not as well executed as it could/should have been. Several passages about love and/or lovemaking are labored and unnatural, and McCullough lets interesting people like Frank and Luke practically drop off the face of the earth. While Meggie and Ralph's relationship thrilled me at first, it became annoying after Meggie had Dane. Ralph was far too self-absorbed and his suffering seemed far too superficial for him to be a truly interesting character. Most of all, I wanted to learn more about Justine and Rainer, whose relationship received a light treatment though it is the true finale for the book.

Had the quality of writing been a little better, the characters and relationships been a little more developed, and the observations of people and life been more astute, the engaging storyline could have carried this novel into greatness. Instead, it kept me only semi-satisfied right up to the last page.

Rating:
Summary: A completly amazing novel..
Review: Colleen McCullough's The Thorn Birds is quite honestly the best book that I have ever read and probably will ever read. This novel made me feel every emotion possible. I was clapping, smiling, and jumping up and down whenever Ralph came to Meggie at Matlock Island. I was crying for the last portion of the book, starting with Dane's death and continuing through Justine, Meggie, and Ralph's reaction. I was so angry whenever I read of Luke's mistreatment towards Meggie. I was screaming at Justine to marry Rainer. I weeped for the Cleary family whenever This is the first novel that I came to know and love the characters, and I did not want to end the story because I did not want to lose touch with the characters and their lives. McCullough did an excellent job with her descriptions and development of plot. Though many of the other reviews say McCullough is extremely verbose, she writes no unnecessary words. Every word furthers the plot along of gives us a more vivid description of the characters or their feelings. By the end of the novel, I felt as if I had lived on Drogheda. I felt as though I was in love with Ralph de Bricassart.
I would recommend The Thorn Birds to anyone. Young and old will enjoy this read because of it's array of characters and emotions. Mothers will be able to relate to Fee and Meggie's feelings and anxieties. Young women will be able to be swept off of their feet by the romance of Meggie and Ralph, and later on, Justine and Rainer. My recommendation would extend more to a woman than to a man simply because of the romantic nature of the novel. I, as a young woman, could relate very closely to Meggie. I also feared Meggie's life as my own; not wanting to ever be in such a state of longing and pain or to be tricked into marrying a man, such as Luke O'Neill, to find myself alone, homesick, and confused of the future.
If you would like to read an extraordinary novel which will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and befriend an amazing group of characters, I would suggest reading The Thorn Birds, an emotionally stimulating novel.