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The Thorn Birds: A Novel

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 125,935 ratings · 2,525 reviews

One of the most beloved novels of all time, Colleen McCullough's magnificent saga of dreams, struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love in the Australian outback has enthralled readers the world over. The Thorn Birds is a chronicle of three generations of Clearys--an indomitable clan of ranchers carving lives from a beautiful, hard land while contending with the bitterne...more

Paperback, 688 pages

Published May 11th 2010 by William Morrow Paperbacks (first published 1977)

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Oct 05, 2009 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, historical-fiction, favourite, 2007

I've wanted to read this book for years, but I'm glad I waited till I was at a stage in my life when I might appreciate it the most (though it wasn't deliberate). I didn't know anything about the story before I started except that it's a classic Australian novel, epic in scope, and was made into a mini-series or something starring Rachel Ward years ago. I like not knowing much about books before I read them, though: it leaves you wide-open for the story to be told, and absorbed.

This is indeed an...more I've wanted to read this book for years, but I'm glad I waited till I was at a stage in my life when I might appreciate it the most (though it wasn't deliberate). I didn't know anything about the story before I started except that it's a classic Australian novel, epic in scope, and was made into a mini-series or something starring Rachel Ward years ago. I like not knowing much about books before I read them, though: it leaves you wide-open for the story to be told, and absorbed.

This is indeed an epic book. It spans three generations of the Cleary family, focusing mostly on Meggie. Starting in New Zealand on the day of her fourth birthday, The Thorn Birds follows the large family of Paddy and Fee and their children Frank, Bob, Jack, Hughie, Stuart, Meggie and baby Hal as they sail to Australia at the invitation of Paddy's wealthy land-owning sister Mary, who intends him to inherit the vast estate of Drogheda in northwest NSW. Even by Australian standards, it's a big farm: 250,000 acres, 80 miles across at its widest point, home to over 100,000 merino sheep.

The Clearys, who had been poor farmhands in NZ, fall in love with Drogheda and learn the ways of the land, the climate, the weather, the animals, pretty quickly. The book is divided up into 7 sections titled Meggie 1915-1917; Ralph 1921-1928; Paddy 1929-1932; Luke 1933-1938; Fee 1938-1953; Dane 1954-1965; and Justine 1965-1969. These provide a slight focus, but the only characters who really dominate the story are Meggie, Ralph - the Catholic priest who falls in love with her - and Justine, Meggie's daughter by Luke.

There is definitely tragedy in this book, but I never once found it depressing. It is similar in its structure to Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, but completely different, and successful in a way the latter book was not (for me): The Thorn Birds made me care. Each character is so beautifully rendered, as if they were indeed living people whose memories were captured by a light, non-judgemental hand. Every character evoked strong feelings in me, which changed as the characters changed. Luke, for instance, I wanted to throttle and ended up pitying. Meggie, in her naivete, was at times exasperating, yet she learned and I was proud of her for that - then angry, for the way she set Dane above Justine. Sometimes I absolutely hated Ralph and wanted to smack him; at other times I felt so deeply for him and his emotional turmoil.

I can't get over how well written this book is. It is simply told, in an omniscient third-person voice, only sometimes, when needed, delving in deeper into the hearts and minds of the main characters to reveal their thoughts and feelings. The clashing perceptions people have are accurately portrayed, the poor judgements, bad decisions, mistakes - all so life-like, so real. Inferences, connections and insights can be deduced from hints in the story, but McCullough leaves a lot for the reader to realise on their own. And behind it all, like a glorious backdrop, the gorgeous landscape, so vivid and true. History and politics are there also: two world wars, the Depression, the Great Drought that ended when WWII ended, everything from clothing to attitudes to cars, as well as changing Australian slang, attitudes, the quirks - most of it slipping in unobtrusively, at other times pivotal to the plot.

That there is a plot is undeniable: that it is noticeable, I doubt very much. I don't like to predict stories anyway - the only ones I do that to are unavoidable, like Steven Seagal movies - but there was very little in this book that I could have predicted had I tried. Maybe I'm just out of practice, but there was no sense of an author dictating or pushing the characters towards certain goals. A few things I could see coming, like Dane turning out just like his father, but even then it felt completely natural, not as though McCullough was manipulating the story.

It seems funny, reading a book of extreme heat, drought, flies, fire, endless silvery grass while outside it's freezing, snowing, bleak. But I was utterly transported, and the only thing that jarred my pleasure was the strangeness of seeing American spelling and a couple of changed words amidst the Australian slang. Why, for instance, change "nappy" to "diaper" while leaving "mum" for "mom"? (As an aside, in general I really hate it when books from the UK and Australia, for instance, must undergo an Americanisation before being published in North America, whereas when books by US authors are published in Australia it's with the American spelling and all. That just doesn't seem fair! It seems pretty insulting to the Americans I've talked to, actually, but also patronising to us.) I think, though, regardless of whose decision that was, McCullough was writing to an international audience. She never intended this book to stagnate in Australia, as many works do which are "too difficult to understand" in other countries. She doesn't talk about crutching the dags on the sheep without explaining what crutching means and what dags are, or that the big lizards are called goannas and rabbits were introduced to Australia so that it would look a little more like England for the homesick settler - I know all this, but it was still interesting to read about it.

If you're interested in reading about Australia (or just epic stories in general), this is a great book to start with. It's not even out-of-date, things change so slowly! Just picture stockmen flying helicopters around herds of cattle instead of riding, their properties are so humungous. The droughts are still there, the floods, the flies, the fires, the vernacular - though the Catholics have almost disappeared. The religion aspect of the novel is equally fascinating, and handled diplomatically as well. It is a book about ordinary people living ordinary lives, and sometimes deliberately causing themselves pain: hence the reference to the thorn bird, which pierces its breast on a rose thorn as it sings, and dies.(less)

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Mar 24, 2011 Fiona rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: friend-recommendation, 2010, historical, setting-australia

This is a book my mother has wanted me to read for a long long time. It is one of her favourite books and naturally she fancies Richard Chamberlain, from the 1980's mini-series.

The story itself is not something that wholly interested me at all, but McCullough has a talent for getting under your skin with these characters. In some parts, it feels almost impersonal in the way she tells this story. It is not as if you are there amongst the Cleary's, it is as if she is there guiding you through it....more

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Jan 17, 2010 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, colleen-mccullough, 2010, classics, historical-fiction, reviewed, religion-related, romance, challenge-1010

I really enjoy epic stories and sagas, big sweeping stories that enmesh the reader in the characters and their lives, and make the reader more than just a bystander watching the action, but a sort of participant. We want things to go a certain way, we want things to go well, because we care about the characters, and we have invested our hopes in them.

Colleen McCullough has an almost magical skill in making her characters real and believable and true. That is what I love most about reading, and...more I really enjoy epic stories and sagas, big sweeping stories that enmesh the reader in the characters and their lives, and make the reader more than just a bystander watching the action, but a sort of participant. We want things to go a certain way, we want things to go well, because we care about the characters, and we have invested our hopes in them.

Colleen McCullough has an almost magical skill in making her characters real and believable and true. That is what I love most about reading, and why I love certain authors above others. Where another author's character may be interesting and dynamic and exciting, they are still just a character. McCullough, and a few other authors, has the ability to make her characters, fictional though they may be, reach out of the pages and touch us. The characters she creates no longer feel like words on a page; they follow me around, pry their way into my dreams, make me wonder how they are spending their days when I'm not able to read about them. I love when I can just plunge into a book and live in it... To that end, McCullough even seemed to make Australia itself a living, breathing character. It's described beautifully, and is as unpredictable as any human character she's introduced here.

This is the third McCullough book that I've read, and I feel like she must have spent an inordinate amount of her life just observing life and people. She brings us the stories of the people she creates, but, even though we're following an omniscient narrator, we can only see, feel and hear so much of our subject's lives. We can only reach so far into their hearts for the mysteries that elude us, because, like real people, they don't have open-book hearts and minds. But it feels like we're able to see into their souls, because McCullough understands humanity itself, and presents us with general truths that feel like intimate secrets.

This story centers around the Cleary family and what comes to be their farm Drogheda. We meet Meggie Cleary as a 4 year old birthday girl, and then follow her through six decades of life, love and loss.

Her family is a strange, introverted male-centric one. Meggie is the only girl in a rather large clan of brothers: Frank, Bob, Jack, Hughie, Stuart, Hal, James and Patrick. She learns early to be self-reliant, because in her family there is not a lot of use for girls. Her mother is very closed-mouthed, very closed-off, and works her fingers to the bone to keep the household running, because her father has very distinct ideas about the differences between the sexes - housework and child-rearing is woman's domain only, and farming and work is man's domain only. The two are not to mix or cross paths. This is not to say that Paddy Cleary was a bad or harsh man, because he was not, but he just had certain ideas of how life is, and his word was law as the Man of the House.

Their lives ease somewhat after moving to Australia, but with the move comes a new set of struggles. Meggie meets and loves Father Ralph, the Catholic priest in the area. At ten, it's an innocent, adoring love, which provides her with attention that she's neglected in other areas of her life. Meggie is never taught about puberty, or where babies come from, or many other things that girls need to know. She's generally kept in the back hall closet of life. Not maliciously, but because in the Cleary family, a daughter has to fend for herself. Boys are the goal, because boys are the workers, the backbone of the family, and the genes that allow the name and lineage to be carried on. Because of Meggie's neglect, Father Ralph has the responsibility of teaching her the things that a mother should. As she grows up, the innocent love she holds for Father Ralph turns into more, and causes both parties to struggle, because what we want most is often what is the most forbidden.

Father Ralph is probably my favorite character here. I am not Catholic, and a lot of the Catholic faith is a mystery to me. But his struggles of conscience and faith, which force him to choose between the love he feels and the vows he made, in my mind make him the most interesting character of them all. I think that probably most priests have this crisis at some point in their lives... do they regret their decision to forfeit their manhood for the priesthood? Are they strong enough to resist temptation? I'm glad that we got to see things here from both sides - not only Father Ralph's struggle, but Meggie's struggles as well.

There was a lot in this book that reminded me of other classic literature. Father Ralph's struggles and Meggie's desire for him brought to mind Hester and Rev. Dimmesdale from "The Scarlet Letter". Justine, Meggie's daughter with Luke O'Neill, reminded me quite a bit of Jo March from "Little Women" in her feminist, proud, ambitious and take no prisoners approach to life. But in both cases, the similarities are only surface level, because these characters are far less perfect, less romantic, and more real than those they bring to mind from other books.

There is more than a little heartbreak in this book and I will admit that I shed a few tears. But one thing that rather grated on my nerves was that I could always tell when tragedy was about to strike. It seemed that for every loss, there was a hopeful build-up so that the fall would be that much greater. I felt that it was obvious and I rolled my eyes more than once because of it. So that's why I've taken off a star for this book. But that being said, the depictions of the reactions to the losses were very real and honest. I just wish that the red herring ploy wasn't so obvious.

Anyway, I did truly enjoy this book, as I have enjoyed the other McCulloughs that I've read. I do plan on reading more of her books in the future, and would certainly recommend this one. (less)

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Feb 11, 2009 Suzanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: summer-read

Colleen McCullough is a great storyteller in the Celtic tradition continued by Maeve Binchy. This is a book for women who want to dissolve into a story and be transported into that world. It was such fun! Who can forget the TV miniseries and Richard Chamberlain as the priest in love with the incomparable Meggie played by Rachel Ward. Mothers and daughters and grandmothers all watched, with their box of Kleenex by their side. It seemed to begin the US love affair with Australia...the next we knew...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Xenia0201 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think I read this for the first time in 4th grade. (I hid it in my room for a month b/c this is sooo not a book for a 10 year old!!) My father is an ex-Catholic priest who left the church for my mother so when the mini series came out, the world stopped in my house for an entire week. It's an epic saga about an Irish farming family who relocated to Australia to help work at an ailing aunt's ranch. The book spans some 40+ years of hardships they encounter. The only daughter, Meggie, falls in lo...more

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May 03, 2013 Candace is currently reading it · review of another edition

Shelves: recs-by-gr-friends, owned-to-reads

BUDDY READ WITH ELLA + ALYSSA TOMORROW! SHOULD BE EPIC!

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Jan 13, 2012 Tânia F rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books

Adorei. Adorei. Adorei. É um livro que prende da primeira à última página. É uma história sobre sofrimento, persistência e resiliência. Retrata a história de uma família inicialmente na Nova Zelândia, mas que cedo parte para a Austrália (e como há tanto tempo eu anseio por visitar a Austrália...). Aí relata essencialmente a vida rural, de muita poeira e ambiente cinzento, longas extensões de terra árida, com condições meteorológicas extremas, intercalando épocas de profundas secas com enormes ch...more Adorei. Adorei. Adorei. É um livro que prende da primeira à última página. É uma história sobre sofrimento, persistência e resiliência. Retrata a história de uma família inicialmente na Nova Zelândia, mas que cedo parte para a Austrália (e como há tanto tempo eu anseio por visitar a Austrália...). Aí relata essencialmente a vida rural, de muita poeira e ambiente cinzento, longas extensões de terra árida, com condições meteorológicas extremas, intercalando épocas de profundas secas com enormes cheias. Quando ao enredo, é constituído por personagem de personalidade forte, orgulhosas e que tentam superar as adversidades de forma bastante introspectiva. Escrito num estilo soberbo, com um sentido de humor sofisticado. Pessoalmente identifiquei-me com algumas características da personagem Justine, especialmente com as suas dúvidas e inseguranças. Foi bom poder mergulhar nesta história, ao ponto de ansiar sofregamente por todos os momentos livres, para poder discorrer mais algumas páginas. Em muitos momentos, não resisti a saltitar umas páginas à frente para bisbilhotar o que se ia passar e é algo que nunca faço, mas a curiosidade era mais que muita. Ler assim compulsivamente é bom, permite-nos sentir aquela história em pleno. Felizmente nem todos os livros me encantam dessa forma, em parte ainda bem, senão deixava de ter vida para além do trabalho e leitura.
Tenho muita vontade de ler mais livros desta autora, pois a sua escrita e capacidade de contar uma história, surpreendeu-me muito. Também estou certa de que vou querer voltar a ler este livro.
Deixo aqui excertos do início e fim do livro:

Existe uma lenda acerca de um pássaro que só canta uma vez na vida, com mais suavidade que qualquer outra criatura sobre a Terra. A partir do momento em que deixa o ninho, começa a procurar um espinheiro, e só descansa quando o encontra. Depois, cantando entre os galhos selvagens, empala-se no acúleo mais agudo e comprido. E, morrendo, sublima a própria agonia e solta um canto mais belo que o da cotovia e o do rouxinol. Um canto superlativo, cujo preço é a existência. Mas o mundo inteiro pára para ouvi-lo, e Deus sorri no céu. Pois o melhor só se adquire à custa de um grande sofrimento... Pelo menos é o que diz a lenda.
[...]
O pássaro com o espinho cravado no peito segue uma lei imutável; impelido por ela, não sabe o que é empalar-se, e morre cantando. No instante em que o espinho penetra, não há nele consciência do morrer futuro; limita-se a cantar e canta até que não lhe sobra vida para emitir uma única nota. Mas nós, quando enfiamos os espinhos no peito, nós sabemos, compreendemos. E assim mesmo fazemo-lo.

A meio do livro, tal lenda é esmiuçada da seguinte forma:
Cada um de nós tem dentro de si alguma coisa que não pode ser negada, ainda que nos faça gritar, gritar, gritar, até ao fim. Somos o que somos, e pronto. Como a velha lenda celta do pássaro com o espinho no peito que canta até morrer, porque precisa de fazê-lo, porque é levado a isso. Podemos saber que vamos errar antes até de cometer o erro, mas o conhecimento de nós mesmos não afecta nem altera o resultado. Cada qual entoa o seu cântico, convencido de que é o mais maravilhoso que o mundo já ouviu. Não vês? Criámos os nossos espinhos e nunca nos detivemos para avaliar o custo. A única coisa que podemos fazer é sofrer a dor e dizer intimamente que valeu a pena.(less)

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Feb 11, 2010 Jon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: film, historical, recommendations, classics, australiana-and-kiwi

I do seem to be developing a penchant for a good epic saga, I used to be a bit brick-phobic, thinking id never get through a long book without boredom setting in. But ive seen the error of my ways, its so good to get stuck into good characters and have the time to see them develop and change. Mccullough's writing and characterisation for the main characters is great. Touchy subject matter at times, does make you question how right it is for Catholic priests to be 'married' to God and the whole c...more

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Apr 29, 2008 Fiona rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: those looking for an engrossing holiday book

Shelves: a-good-read

This is one of the books I scorned for years. Romantic fiction - I used to think - is fluff for bimbos. Since I consider myself literate and intelligent (yeah, really!) I wouldn't touch this sort of book. Bizarrely, I was not ashamed to read even the most extreme - and extremely inane - crime fiction. ("After all, we all need to relax now and then." Hmmmph!)

Well, now I'm older and wiser and more inclined to read books for enjoyment than for the pleasure of imagining how people will be impressed...more

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Aug 15, 2007 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Good Lord -- when did this book come out? 1978 -- I must have read it in the early 80s. This is one of the books that defined my reading tastes afterwards. I remember my mother reading this when it first came out. She sat in a hardback kitchen chair in our harvest gold kitchen and just read and read. Years later I did the same thing. It is funny now -- the Catholic priest angle that was so shocking back then seems rather quaint now. Still -- this is a book that shaped the multi-generational tale...more

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Oct 12, 2008 Kathi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I didn't read this book when it was popular (when I was in high school) because my mother wouldn't let me - because of the affair the Priest has. I was also banned from watching the made-for-t.v.-movie. Well, a few months ago she was getting rid of a bunch of books & asked me if I wanted any of them & The Thorn Birds was in there. I asked if I was allowed to read it now that I was 46 yrs. old????
I gave this book 5 stars because it immediately pulled me in & the characters were so re...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Sandi Layne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

I enjoy the sweeping tale that last decades. Watching characters as children, to see how they came to be who they are as "their" part of the story reaches the climax, fascinates me. Growth and change told in time spans that make sense, seen rather than related -- it's a rich way to be able to tell a story.

The Thorn Birds is a painful story. In my mind, I am plagued by what-ifs. What if Ralph had not fallen into Mary Carson's well-crafted web? What if he had done what he perhaps should have done...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Katie Herring rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Just started and I'm already in love with this book. I literally have crushes on all the male characters and my feelings go out to little Meggie. I've heard from a lot of people that they really enjoyed this, and I think I will too!

---

Excellent. This took me an awfully long time to read, and I am by no means a slow reader, I think perhaps I was slowing down to enjoy it. The print was tiny too.

I have a lot of feelings after just finishing it; some are sad and some are happy. I'm glad it ended wit...more

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Sep 06, 2012 Ginny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romanzi

Tipico esempio di romanzo devastato dalla trasposizione cinematografica.
A me era piaciuto, ma mi sono bastate un paio di puntate viste alla TV per farmelo riconsiderare da un'angolazione completamente diversa.
La mia edizione non ha ISBN e, soprattutto, non ha in copertina la foto di Rachel Ward e Richard Chamberlain!

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Oct 02, 2012 Kasey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-five-star, paperback, series, historical

Ooo la-la! J'adore!

One of my favorite romance reads, ever. I read it once every year and enjoy it like the first time, each time.

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Mar 18, 2012 Nena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: womens-reads, 2012-reads

Softcover Version:

If you like generational sagas, this book is for you. This is the story of a family who migrates to Australia to work the sheep ranch of a close relative.

This takes place in the 20's and continues through until the 80's. This is what you would call a "sweeping saga". It's a great story and without giving too much away, there was a huge controversy at one time about this book.

This was also made into a mini-series (which is being shown on Youtube right now FYI) and the mini-ser...more

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Jul 08, 2008 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of Epics, Love Stories

Recommended to Sarah by: My Mom

Shelves: favourites, epic-romance

One of the faintest memories I have of my childhood, is watching my Mom and Grandmother watch the miniseries, The Thorn Birds. At the time (around 3 years of age I would think), I didn't *understand* why they seemed so broken hearted, yet enchanted by what they were watching unfold on screen. I remember vaguely, the image of a priest in love with a young girl, a vast landscape, and an actor who went by the name of Chamberlain. That's all.

Fast forward 10 around 12 years. After I finished the epi...more One of the faintest memories I have of my childhood, is watching my Mom and Grandmother watch the miniseries, The Thorn Birds. At the time (around 3 years of age I would think), I didn't *understand* why they seemed so broken hearted, yet enchanted by what they were watching unfold on screen. I remember vaguely, the image of a priest in love with a young girl, a vast landscape, and an actor who went by the name of Chamberlain. That's all.

Fast forward 10 around 12 years. After I finished the epic scope of the brilliant Gone With the Wind, I was craving a romantic epic to satisfy the longing I felt for GWTW. Amazon tells me that those who read Gone With the Wind, also enjoyed a novel "The Thorn Birds". Ah, so the infamous title comes back to me, and after my Mom practically shoved the book in my hands, I gave it a go.

Read during the summer, I eagerly stayed up nights on end, inviting myself into the Cleary household, against the sweltering heat of the Australian outback. I was reunited with vaguely familiar friends, including the romantic "anti hero" Ralph de Bricassart, who looks after the hardworking Cleary family, and forms a special attachment to their youngest, most imaginatively driven daughter, Meggie. Anyone with a shred of intuition can instantly interpret and understand the relationship between Ralph and Meggie. Both years apart, they share the same longing for passion that both can seemingly never have. Ralph is a priest, but above all else, he is stubborn. Determinedely stubbon, that he would rather risk a life of fulfilliment to conquer his worldy ambitions. And so, one of the most ill-fated romantic stories in modern fiction begins.

Colleen McCullough has an epic imagination, and a keen eye for details, so much so, that as readers we feel that we're residing in Australia, in the dusty perils of the 1900's, all the way to the 1970's. The Cleary family saga is both epic, and tragic, with each character having a certain passage of the novel clearly devoted to their backstory. However, the chunk of the story belongs to the unrequited love of Meggie Cleary and her beloved Father Ralph. A life without her Priest results in stumbles of naivety, disillusion and cynicism. While all the while, the blood thirsty ambition of Ralph haunts him for the rest of his days.

I recommend this novel to anyone who likes to indulge in a romantic, fun epic that quite literally spans the decades. (less)

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Dec 13, 2007 Amin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

داستانی بی پروا , با شکوه که مرکزیت آن عشقی ممنوع ,خیانت و بلند پروازی است . داستان در استرالیا در سال 1915 شروع می شود و تا جنگ جهانی دوم ادامه می یابد . خانواده کلیری از نیوزلند به استرالیا مهاجرت می کنند . قسمتی از داستان به دوران کودکی مگی دختر کلیری ها اشاره دارد . مگی بالغ می شود و تبدیل به دختری زیبا و جذاب می گردد.مگی عاشق کشیش کاتولیک رالف که مردی خوش تیپ و بلند پرواز است می شود. اما رالف در کشاکش بین این عشق و کاردینال شدن به این عشق ترغیب نمی شود. مگی سعی می کند عشق به رالف را با ازدو...more

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Jul 26, 2007 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Thorn Birds (TTB) is about Meggie Cleary and Ralph di Brisscart. Meggie Cleary is the only girl in a Cleary family dominated by men. When Meggie is 10 the Cleary's move to Austrailia from New Zealand for a great job opportunity. At this time Meggie meets Ralph di Brisscart - a priest. Their love for one another at first seems quiet harmless as she is 10 and he is 28 but as she turns into a women and doesn't understand why she can't have Ralph to herself as her husband their love for one anot...more

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Jun 27, 2007 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First time I realized that the Earth puts nature first. If humans came first there would be more climates suitable for us. I was thinking about this because of the VAST difference in climate just in Australia alone. There's really no climate in the world where it's comfortable for humans all year round. I use to think of it as purely our test. To learn to deal with pesty bugs and snakes and weather but I think it's simply God putting them first for once - His beautiful creation. We're tough - we...more

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Feb 22, 2008 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: romance novel lovers

I confess: this is a romance novel. I never would have read it except my mother in law gave some old version that's an unedited proof or something- nothing suspicious about the generic cover and the sheer bulk of it was sort of impressive. I also noticed from other reviews on this site that people had written dissertations on it , so I assumed it was legitimate literature or something. But having been duped into starting it I was quickly sucked into it. There's lots of cool biology and history o...more

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Jun 22, 2007 Heather McInnis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: gluttons for punishment

I read this book because a friend of mine had said that it was one of her favorites from childhood, and quickly realized the part it must have played in developing some of her completely nihilistic outlooks on the world. It is a great tear-jerker saga, well-written and interesting, though it could easily drop a stroy-line or two and tell the more interesting parts of the story in less space. The characters are well-balanced, allowing the reader to sympathize with most of them pretty easily. It's...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Cynthia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 12, 2007 Chick_Flick rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I seldom read romance novels and only picked this up because the title sounded familiar. I learned later that's because there had been a television adaptation of the novel. This foray into the genre only reaffirmed why I avoid the genre in the first place: the book is overly melodramatic; the characters are unlikable and one dimensional. The love between Father Ralph and Meggie bothered me; it didn't seem real enough and the age difference and the circumstances in which they met (she being a chi...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Arwen56 rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romanzi

Polpettone sentimentale e strappalacrime che però, ahimè, debbo confessare di aver letto con un certo entusiasmo all'epoca. L'unica giustificazione che posso addurre a mia discolpa è che ero molto giovane.
Si salvano solamente le descrizioni della bellissima e selvaggia natura dei luoghi che sono il teatro dell'azione, dietro le quali si percepisce un certo amore per la propria terra.

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Feb 12, 2008 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: EVERYONE

Shelves: top-100-list

I LOVED this book, and until I read the last paragraph I couldn't figure out WHY! What was so utterly unexpected for me is that the reason I love this book is precisely the exact reason I would have hated just yesterday it seems?!!? If that makes ANY sense. I almost feel like I have a different outlook on life than I did one day ago...much less one year ago...but I didn't realize it until THIS book.
This book is an impressive tale with all of life's elements present...in fact, it is a tale ABOUT...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Leanne Hunt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I absolutely delighted in this book. I had watched the mini series in my twenties but forgotten much of the story, except that it featured the love between a Catholic priest and an ordinary woman on a sheep station in Australia. Reading the original story in my late forties, it touched me deeply because my own life experience was now rich enough to appreciate some of the main themes - the passing of time, the enforced distance between loved ones, the disappointments that life inevitably brings a...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Bethanie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I rarely give 5-star ratings, but when I do it typically means I'd be willing to read the book again. This book definitely gets five stars.
If you're into the saga-esque books...without necessarily sloshing through miles of unnecessary detail and pointless description, this is definitely the book for you. There are so many threads to follow, so much detail to keep up with; but I haven't felt bogged down by it, like I'm drowning in all the information. It's very easy to follow, and, though it's pr...more

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Jan 27, 2009 Tanya rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What I learned? Hmmm... that I can read a novel that has 14,000 pages. LOL Just kidding. No it was a good book and I enjoyed it.

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Oct 09, 2007 x rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Every character says repeatedly (as in the real world) the forbidden love will be defeated by Gods but ultimately Magi won because the most beautiful song is singing by Torn Birds.

من حتی گاهی فکر می کنم گر چه در این کتاب مداوم تاکید می شد
که همیشه جنگ عشق ممنوعه با خواست خدایان جنگی مغلوبه است اما سر آخر حسِ می شد که مگی برنده است.چرا که زیباترین آوازها ،آواز پرنده خار است

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Lida aleagha به قول دکتر شریعتی ،دوست داشتن از عشق برتر است جون عشق آلوده به خودخواهی است ولی دوست داشتن یعنی بخشش که هیچ اصراری به این ندارد که حتما"به اون کسی که...more
Oct 10, 2007 01:10am

Dariaye daroon سلام
من کتابشو خوندم و فیلم را هم دیدم و خیلی لذت بردم در کنار عشق بحث اعتقاد به خداوند هم هست اما انگار در نهایت نویسنده خواسته حرف مگی رو ثابت کنه که...more
Oct 15, 2007 12:51pm

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About Colleen McCullough

Colleen McCullough AO (born 1 June 1937) is an internationally acclaimed Australian author. Colleen was born in Wellington in central west New South Wales to James and Laurie McCullough.

She grew up during World War II. In her first year of medical studies at the University of Sydney she suffered dermatitis from surgical soap and was told to abandon her dreams of becoming a medical doctor. Instead,...more

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Books by Colleen McCullough

The First Man in Rome (Masters of Rome, #1)

Fortune's Favorites (Masters of Rome, #3)

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Quotes from The Thorn Birds

“There is a legend about a bird which sings just once in its life, more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. From the moment it leaves the nest it searches for a thorn tree, and does not rest until it has found one. Then, singing among the savage branches, it impales itself upon the longest, sharpest spine. And, dying, it rises above its own agony to outcarol the lark and the nightingale. One superlative song, existence the price. But the whole world stills to listen, and God in His heaven smiles. For the best is only bought at the cost of great pain… Or so says the legend.” — 214 people liked it

“There are no ambitions noble enough to justify breaking someone's heart. ” — 99 people liked it

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