Morgan's Run

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Summary: Why isn't this woman better known?
Review: At the pagecount 220, when Richard Morgan is surprised at his own eloquence, I am caught in surprise at hers, although I ought not be. For I have known her work these two decades, and there is none better now writing in the English tongue.

Colleen McCollough has both a voice and an ear; when she writes, you can hear her characters, and what she writes, you can her own voice, her own very active mind at work -- and at play. When I first read The Thorn Birds, what surprised me most was her voice; it was the first time I ever read a writer that didn't write in American English or even British English, her syntax and rhythms had an element all its own, it was my introduction to a distinctive AUSTRALIAN English (this was the mid-70's, before even Crocodile Dundee, after all).

Once again, she hits the nail right on the head with Morgan's Run. It's exciting to read, you fly right through the book. What amazes me, though, is the level of research she does for every page she writes. You can tell just from the maps and illustrations in each one of her books she's done her homework, and made it so interesting, to boot.

When I read CREED FOR THE THIRD MILLENNIUM, I wound up infuriated by it. After reading Creed, I realized how tired I was of people following or searching for "a philosophy worth dying for." What I wanted was a philosphy worth living for. Richard Morgan is, in many ways, the opposite number to that novel's J.C. -- he puts his nonverbalized view of life into practice, into action, and Colleen McCollough takes you along on his journey.

There are many sly little touches tossed off throughout. Early on, one of the characters uses the phrase, "The die is cast", which was attributed to Caeser as he crossed the Rubicon; yet, in CAESAR, she suggests an alternate translation of the phrase, "Let the dice fly", which is more in keeping with that books themes and character. I loved catching the reference on the fly (as it were) as I zoomed through this fascinating story. If the language is at first a little off-putting, it seems a trifle arch, but once Colleen gets going and the story gets mvoing, it all becomes of a piece.

I make no apologies; I love this woman, and I am thoroughly enjoying this book. More people should become aware of who she is and what she does and enjoy her as much as I do.

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Summary: Not Enough Australia
Review: Being a big fan of The Thorn Birds, I was hoping for a novel set mainly in Australia. But after 300-plus pages with the protagonist still in England, I just couldn't muster the interest to finish.

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Summary: An Australian Fable of Job
Review: Colleen McCullough is Australian, and established herself as a writer with The Thorn Birds, a novel of Australia. In the last few years she has been writing stories of ancient Rome, but in Morgan's Run returns to her native Australia. This novel is about the initial colonization of Australia with the Botany Bay penal colony and its offshoot on Norfolk Island, a thousand miles away. The story begins in Bristol, England, as the American Revolution is starting. Richard Morgan is middle class, unassuming, and devoted to his wife and son-unusually so for the time. Prospering until after the American war is lost, Morgan Job-like loses his fortune and family, and runs afoul of aristocratic shenanigans, ending up a convicted felon sentenced to be transported. But with the American colonies gone, England has no place to send her gaol-filling convicts. Barely discovered, much less explored, Australia is picked as the ideal dumping ground. After all, it is two oceans away, and the problem will definitely be out of sight. And by sending only convicts and their keepers, there is not likely to be another of those pesky revolutions. McCullogh captures the soul of long-suffering, long-enduring Richard Morgan as he copes with horrific prison conditions, convict labor, a transport ship little better than a slaver (which it was before being contracted as a convict transport), and a totally disorganized and corrupt expedition. A reader cannot but help to understand why the newly independent Americans insisted on the Bill of Rights as part of its written Constitution. Inept bureaucrats and corruption have been harder to overcome. This is not an action-adventure. It is a well-told tale of a man with deep inner strength, a man who perseveres through adversity. A Job. In her afterword, McCullough promises more about Richard Morgan and his family. Perhaps we will not have to wait too long.

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Summary: Thought provoking
Review: I found this book extremely difficult going. The story, while somewhat interesting unfolded excruciating slowly and the writing style did not flow smoothly. Additionally too many extraneous characters with little or no development cropped up incessantly. Frankly I lost all interest in the characters and the story by the middle of the book and I had to force myself to get there. A cardinal rule I've employed in reading books is that I abandon them if they fail to please and by 2/3rds of the way through this book I gave up on it. I only made it that far because of previous efforts which were far better on McCullough's part.

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Summary: Good historical fiction
Review: I have not read McCullough's "Thornbirds", having seen the movie, but I have been a huge fan of her "Masters of Rome" historical fiction series, so I thought I would give "Morgan's Run" a try. I certainly wasn't disappointed. It is about the first colonization of Australia and Norfolk Island as penal colonies by Britain. Some may find it lacking because it is, after all, closely based on the real-life story of an actual penal colonist. It is not action-packed (the beginning gets off to a slow start as she builds the background of the main character, but still interesting) nor a sweeping epic, but she drew me right into the story and as usual with this gifted author, I found it hard to put the book down. You immediately become immersed in another time and (due to the author's meticulous research) really come to understand the commonly overlooked details of life in our interesting and varied past. She is also a master at fleshing out historical figures and unknowns alike, able to plumb the depths of men's souls and deftly imbue them with personalities as varied and interesting as real life, able to play them together like a concert pianist. Truly a master author, as usual, I eagerly await her next novel.

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Summary: Slow going
Review: I have to admit that I abandoned the book halfway through. Although I was expecting a story about the hardships of settling in the penal colony of Australia, I reached the novel's midpoint and Morgan was still on the convict ship, sailing past the coast of Europe. I grew tired of reading about fouled bilge pumps, shipboard diseases, and the quarrels among the ship's officers.

Richard Morgan was a cardboard cutout of a protagonist. His personality radically changed, according the situation at hand, from a quiet tavernkeeper's son to a rum-sotted grieving father to a wise leader of men. Morgan seemed to be no more than a vehicle for the author's detailed treatises on 18th century England and Australia and their history, public health issues, criminal justice system, and shipboard life.

If you are a historical novel buff with a preference for the factual over the fictional, then perhaps this novel is for you. It did not appeal to me.

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Summary: An epic down under
Review: It's risky business diving into an 834-page book which begins quietly in England and sweeps you around the world to a tiny island in the South Pacific. These ambitious stories don't always click, particularly when the author doesn't know enough to put a bullet in his work when it can't get off the ground. But "Morgan's Run" bucks this unsettling trait. Colleen McCullough put her heart into this story - family ties help explain why - and the reader benefits from her careful research and enormous passion for her subject.

"Morgan's Run" follows the life of Richard Morgan, a tavern-keeper's son who is wrongfully convicted of a crime in England and is subsequently banished to the experimental penal colony on Norfolk Island to serve out his seven-year sentence. The book is certainly not without its foibles. McCullough, whose husband is a great-great-great-great grandson of the real Richard Morgan, depicts her hero with Roman, god-like qualities. It seems that there's no problem, either physical or mental, that Richard is incapable of solving, nor is there a man or woman whom Richard doesn't charm to the bone. That said, a unique cast of characters, coupled with an interesting historical narrative, more than compensate for the oh-so-romanticized qualities of McCullough's beloved über-convict.

Some may quibble that the book moves along too slowly, that we're still mired in England on p. 250 and stuck on that boat on page 400. If that's your beef, then steer clear of "Morgan's Run". The story is languid at times, and frustratingly contrived at others. But as far as historical epics are concerned, "Morgan's Run" rises above most others.

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Summary: Epic
Review: Morgan's Run is one of those novels that start off incredibly slow and creep along building up momentum until you finally find yourself caught up in the story of the hero. The plight of Richard, our hero, is a sad one and I can remember on more than one occasion thinking, "What other catastrophe can happen to this guy?" and yet Richard pulls through in the end as any hero will do.

Although the plot lags, McCullough's writing talents pass with flying colors when it comes to descriptions and long passages of exposition. You can tell she researched 18th century shipping and the founding of Australia extensively which definitely qualifies this novel in the rare breed of historical novels that are actually true to history.

If you have the time and are interested in the period I would recommend Morgan's Run, but if you are just looking for a good adventure/historical novel pass on by this one.

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Summary: From the author of THE THORN BIRDS.
Review: Richard Morgan is the kind of man that makes people sit up and pay attention. An honest, hard working man that has been duped by a dishonest group of people, he finds himself a convict, indentured for 7 years to the New World of Australia. We travel o're the globe with him and can't help but enjoy the straightforward and consistent manner that brings him respect from nearly all that he meets, including the officers aboard the ship he is transported upon. It is in the New World that he makes a name for himself and finds those things that complete a man's life.

I was a great fan of THE THORN BIRDS so I picked up this book expecting more of the same. What I found instead was a book that is more technical and very well researched but lacking the emotion I was looking for. I would give this book a 3.5 if I could. There is also an abridged version on tape that might cut down on the technical details. All said and done it was a very good ending but too little too late. Kelsana 6/11/01

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Summary: "Richard Morgan Went Through A lot"
Review: This book of Colleen McCullough's takes us on a long journey by one man who endured many a hardship in his life, yet his endurance was very strong.

Richard Morgan, son of a Bristol tavern-keeper, devoted husband, and loving father, sober and hardworking craftsman. By the machinations of fate and the vagaries of the 18th century English judicial system, he is consigned as a convict to the famous "First Fleet," which set sail, bearing, as an experiment in penology, 582 male and 193 female felons sentenced to transportation, in May of 1787 for the continent that Captain Cook had discovered only a few years earlier.

Richard Morgan was a convict who stood out, not only for his strength and his calm determination to let no man bully him, but also for his intellect, fair-mindedness, common sense, and willingness to help others. To these qualities must be added a certain innate dignity that hinted, even at the most terrible conditions, at a life marked by tragedies that would have broken most men.

I enjoyed this book pretty well. Some of the parts tended to drag a little bit, but as a whole, it was a very worthwhile read.