The Thorn Birds
by Colleen McCullough
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Book Summary Information
Author: Colleen McCulloughEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Unabridged
Published: 2005-09-06
ISBN: 0060837551
Number of pages: 688
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Product features:
- Avon - Paperback - #1 Bestseller
- The Thorn Birds
- By Colleeen McCullough
- Huge Hit Mini-Series
- Collectible
Book Reviews of The Thorn Birds
Book Review: The best novel I have ever read...
Summary: 5 Stars
If I could give this book 10 stars I would. From the first page I was drawn into the Cleary family's world...into their colorful lives and the journey through their truimph and pain that spans a lifetime. This is a superb novel that centers around Meggie Cleary, a girl only but 7 years old at the start of the saga. Born into a poor Irish family of sheep shearers in the beautiful land of New Zealand, Meggie learns quickly that she must look after herself. From the time Meggie was a small child she was wise beyond her years. Having to hold her own against a family of all boys, save her mother Fee, who is but a shell of her former self. Fee being too busy with chores and duties, had no time to give love or affection to any of her children, except Frank...because he was different, he didn't resemble the Cleary's, he didn't behave as a Cleary. Meggie's oldest brother Frank was the only one who showed little Meggie any affection and she clung to him as if he were the only person who ever really loved her.
Fast forward 3 years....The Cleary's recieved a letter from their wicked, wealthy Aunt Mary Carson asking them to come to her home in Austrailia and learn how to tend her sheep and work her vast farm. Mary knew she was growing old and wanted the land and Drogedha, her home, to remain in the family once she died. So they left, with the promise of prosperity and a new future. Arriving after a trying journey by land and sea, they were met at the train station by priest Father Ralph De Bricassart, Mary's trusted confidant and friend.
From the moment Father Ralph and Meggie met they were both in awe of eachother. She being only 10, he being a man of 28. They shared a spiritual bond that neither could ignore from the beginning. He thought she was the most beautiful little girl he'd ever seen. She thought he closely resembled God because of his magnificant beauty and charm. He took Meggie under his protective wing and showed her an affection she had never known. She looked to him as a father, he to her as a daughter, but it was much more...
This is a tale of forbidden love, a love that cannot be consumated or entertained, but also can't be smothered and ignored. It is a love of two souls who are so entertwined it squeezes the heart with longing and desperation. Beyond their control, they fight their feelings and sometimes succomb to them over the period of their lives. Throughout this sweeping saga through generations of Cleary's, life lessons are learned the hard way and passed down to the next generations to learn all over again.
This book takes you on a long, winding road throughout time and the difficulties of the heart. It isn't just a romance, it is much more and any fan of great literature would appriciate this book. I recommend it highly.
Summary of The Thorn Birds
Colleen McCullough's sweeping saga of dreams, struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love in the Australian Outback has enthralled readers the world over. This is the chronicle of three generations of Clearys, ranchers carving lives from a beautiful, hard land while contending with the bitterness, frailty, and secrets that penetrate their family. Most of all, it is the story of only daughter Meggie and her lifelong relationship with the haunted priest Father Ralph de Bricassart?an intense joining of two hearts and souls that dangerously oversteps sacred boundaries of ethics and dogma.
A poignant love story, a powerful epic of struggle and sacrifice, a celebration of individuality and spirit, Colleen McCullough's acclaimed masterwork remains a monumental literary achievement?a landmark novel to be cherished and read again and again.
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