The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Thorn Birds
Book Review: A must read...
Summary: 5 Stars
I am usually not a big fan of romance novels...so it is a big suprise to me that this is one of my all-time favorite books. I think one of the most difficult tasks as an author is to describe characters that are not only well-rounded, but believable as humans. In the Thorn Birds we love the characters for their human flaws, and struggles. For example, Ralph's struggle between his love for God, his love for Meggie and his undying ambitions. What I loved most about this book is it's realism. None of that hollywood, unrealistic, happily ever after cliched garbage. The characters must face fate which is not always helpful (ex/spoilers when the fire kills Patty & Board Stewy). And like in many families, our lives turns out to be like that of our parents. (Meggie's like is very similar to that of her mother). If you are ready to love/hate characters, be engrossed in one of the most passionate yet tragic love stories of all time..this book is a must.
Book Review: A page turner but on the whole too fantastical
Summary: 4 Stars
Books like these are precisely the reason why I have decided to stick to non-fiction. The story is enthralling and gripping, but on the whole too implausible to believe or take seriously. It also gets predictable in certain parts. However, if you're one of those people who enjoy the occasional book-as-candy deal, then you'll like this one.Book Review: A real treasure.
Summary: 5 Stars
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.Book Review: A timeless story of love, ambition, and struggle!
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Book Review: AN OUTSTANDING LOVE STORY WITH SUBSTANCE, DEPTH, AND TRUTH.
Summary: 5 Stars
Colleen McCullough certainly knows how to weave an exceptional and intricate story of a true but frustrating love; in this instance we read about a classic example of the torture and tragedy two people have to endure due to the attitude of the Roman Catholic Church. This is a very telling tale, and the reader needs to look beyond the physical and emotional attraction between Father Ralph and Megan and straight into a stiff-necked Roman institution that prevents normal men from expressing themselves sexually while married to the woman they love. Of course, the book didn't end the way I wanted it to; how could it? I wanted them to get married and live happily ever after, but, instead, both of their lives were unnecessarily destroyed.