The Thorn Birds
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THE THORN BIRDS
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Traci
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rated it 5 stars
Oct 24, 2012 02:21PM
Best Series EVER!!!
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Read this over thirty years ago, and maybe ready to read again. It was great.
I read this about 30 years ago, like Debi, and really enjoyed it! It is sitting on my bookshelf here winking at me, maybe time to have another go!
Absolutely. Use to watch the mini series when I got home from college in the late eighties
Me too, I love the mini series theme song too
One of my all-time favorites! And you're right, the tv series was good, too!
This will be one of my favorites until I'm too old and befuddled to read anymore. The scene on the beach was sooooooo romantic.
I recently picked this favorite off the shelf and reread it to remind myself why I love getting lost in a story that I can see, hear, smell and touch. It will always be a favorite.
Loved this book - however Richard Chamberlain was not Ralph - bad choice!
I read this book many years ago and loved it then. I also watched the TV series which I enjoyed also.
Berna - LOL I adored Richard C. and was sooooo disappointed in later years to learn that he was not into women. Catherine - TV series? Here in the U.S.? How did I miss that?
I have loved this book since 8th grade. Lately though I wonder, did she waste her life on a man that was just not that into her? And did she take out her unhappiness on her children? Why do I hold this novel and other train-wreck romances so close to my heart as great love stories when perhaps they are not love stories at all, but cautionary tales? Then I think, it isn't the love, but the passion I crave from these novels. A quiet life of loving kindness doesn't make for a great story.
Also, I cannot go to a mass without feeling like a total pervert.
Jennifer, you raise some good points. Obviously, Meaghan "settled" for less than what she deserved. Ralph was definitely Mr. Unavailable. I subscribe to Natalie Liu's blog Baggage Reclaim - Meaghan would fit right in as the Fallback Girl. Of course, so would I. My debut novella is the story of my "love story." I loved him beyond reason - would I go through it again? Not a chance!
I am not big on romance and coming-of-age novels but I read one or two every once in awhile. If there's one romance and coming-of-age novel that really sticks out to me, that is the Thorn Birds. I came across it when I was just starting out in the univ, way back 2003, and since then, it has always been one of my favorites. I remember I was so drawn into it that I wouldn't stop reading until 2 or 3 am and finished it in just 3 days. It's a novel that can cross generations and places. Truly a classic!
Loved the book - and the mini-series! Still watch it every now and then!!
Thorn Birds was the best.My opinion only - too bad the rest of her writing / books do not measure up to the standard she set in Thorn Birds.
Tom
I love this book I named my daughter after the Meghann in the book. She however; wasn't thrilled when it came time to find key chains and such in her name due to the spelling.
One of my favorite books!
One of my favorites also! I loved the book with its expansiveness and character development and I loved the mini-series and watch it whenever its on.
I’ve always thought it was so successful, because it was extremely evocative the way it was written, and oh, forbidden love. It was easy to imagine every nuance of a scene, which in turn converted well into the mini series format.
This is one of my all time favourite books...I have read it many times.A true five star.
My favourite book too. I can't agree with Berna though - to me Richard Chamberlain was absolutely perfect in that role! Jennifer, to me the whole point was that he totally loved Meaghan but his love for God was just as strong, which is what made it so potent. I think he loved her with all his heart and soul. The Thorn Birds affected me more than any other book I have read!
This is at the very top of my list! It reaches over everything! I didn't see the miniseries until I read the book and I'm glad I waited. I read it when I was in my twenties, many years ago, and it is still with me! When I hear the theme song from the series, I melt.
Josephine wrote: "love it alot"It has been my favourite for many many years.Unfortunately someone borrowed it and never returned it.I hope they read this
Doreen
I simply love the history, the passion and the inner conflicts of the main characters.
I loved this book and I loved the mini series.I will always be a Gone With The Wind fan it is my number 1,but Thornbirds would be my 2nd favorite..
Speaking of GWTW, I would challenge Jennifer that "A quiet life of loving kindness doesn't make for a great story." How about Melanie??
Marilyn wrote: "Speaking of GWTW, I would challenge Jennifer that "A quiet life of loving kindness doesn't make for a great story." How about Melanie??"Respectfully Marilyn, I would say that while I love Melanie, she is a secondary character. Imagine GWTW without Scarlett and Rhett? She is a foil to Scarlett as the antihero.
I was discussing Thornbirds, GWTW, Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, Tess of Durberville etc. with my husband the other night. I have this running thesis about female protagonists I have been trying to flesh out. He pointed out that happily ever after is in Harlequins and children's princess fairy tales. I think he is right, it is so rare in real life to live a birth-to-death love story without breaking a few dishes. So in that regard, maybe Meggie and Ralph are better examples of love as it is, messy.
Also, the messy ones are what we consider classics. We discuss them for years after we read them. Although I would never admit to reading giant piles of Harlequins and historical romances as a teen, I bet if someone did, they would not be able to recall a single character or plot line out of hundreds.
Sorry, rambling! I find the whole topic of love, female protagonists and how they are portrayed in context and contrast fascinating.
I had a hard cover version of The Thorn Birds that I read so many times, it fell apart! When the mini-series hit TV, I had to work the night of the beach scene....almost called out!
This book was a bit tough to get into but i love it. I love the second half of the book moreso than the first. Not a story id normally find interesting but shes a fine writer and makes it engaging.
I love both the book and the mini-series LOL
Berna wrote: "Loved this book - however Richard Chamberlain was not Ralph - bad choice!"Agree.:)
ABSOLUTELY. Richard Chamberlain had the looks
Loved The Thorn Birds when I read it in high school. It's been over 30 years, I think it's time to pick it up again.
Kendra wrote: "Loved The Thorn Birds when I read it in high school. It's been over 30 years, I think it's time to pick it up again."You should definitively do it, it's amazing how our perception of the same novel can change along the years.
Really love this book. It is one that I read every year.
I enjoyed reading the book and the series..i watched the series long ago when i was a teenager and adored it but growing up made me understand more things about the novel.My perception changed along the years.When i was 16 or 17 years old this story made me dream and i thought that Ralph was the perfect man and priest..but now my perceptions changed..Ralph isn't a perfect man and he isn't a perfect priest neither. He is just a man who had a strong calling to God but was blinded by ambition,money and power..his ambition to become an perfect priest above all men made me hate him sometimes.It is so irritating! A priest that fell in love with a beautiful young lady or Meggie and repeats her that he loves God more and accepts her kisses when he comes back at Drogheda is an ass. Sorry! Meggie is more mature than him.And she is 17 years old when she realizes that she will love Ralph all her life.Sometimes i wondered if Ralph really loved Meggie to sacrifice her and hurt her feelings..is it true love?I am not sure.When you love someone you make a choice! And as regards me i think that Ralph never wanted to leave the church.He wanted to be an archbishop and visit Meggie from time to time and sleep with her ,no more..Meggie is very patient.. she deserved a happier life.She sacrificied herself for a priest who loved her when he wanted...who would wait for a man like Ralph nowadays?I prefer the miniseries however.Richard Chamberlain is very handsome.Some parts of the book are too long also like Jims and Patsy in the war and the beginning of the book..But the book is interesting and a good lesson not to repeat the same mistakes than others..Fee ruined her life and Meggie also ruined her life..it is a book about love,sadness,mistakes and the family secrets that can destroy a family..it helped me to understand the importance to talk and not hide any secret and the importance to love and we can understand that love isn't passion and that exclusive love is never a good thing..Little Meggie was very unhappy because of her mother and Jussy too.
As to the actors and actresses, Ralph wasn't good-looking, Dane didn't take after Ralph at all, Luke didn't look like Ralph at all either. However, little Meggie and grown up Meggie did resemble each other.
Yes little Meggie or Sidney Penny was simply irresistible..i always found this little actress very lovely ..i looked a bit like her when i was a little girl with the same innocent brown eyes and brown hair.She is so touching,so naïve..and grown up Meggie is very lovely too! And her eyes and hair are beautiful..but Luke is not bad in the series actually ,he has no resemblance with Ralph unlike the novel where Luke is supposed to look like Ralph..
Severina wrote: "i looked a bit like her when i was a little girl with the same innocent brown eyes and brown hair...."Wow, lovely you!
Thank you! It was when i was a kid..a little girl.;thanks!
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