Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Lori Reviews The Thorn Birds



Title: The Thorn Birds
Author:  Colleen McCullough
Published:  Avon, 1977
Where I Got It:  My mom gave me this book.

Summary from Goodreads:  Powered by the dreams and struggles of three generations, THE THORN BIRDS is the epic saga of a family rooted in the Australian sheep country. At the story's heart is the love of Meggie Cleary, who can never possess the man she desperately adores, and Ralph de Bricassart, who rises from parish priest to the inner circles of the Vatican...but whose passion for Meggie will follow him all the days of his life.

Why I Read It:  My mom and grandma loved this book when it came out.  A few years ago (4? 5?), my mom, who is totally not a reader, gave me a copy.  I picked it up a few times and set it aside.  One time I even read about 2/3 of it before stopping.  I just couldn't finish.  This year I signed up to participate in Roof Beam Reader's TBR Pile Challenge and wanted to finally finish--mostly because this book obviously meant enough to my mom for her to buy me a copy.

My thoughts:  I decided to tackle this book first for the TBR Pile Challenge because of my mom.  I wasn't getting any pressure from her, but I felt like I needed to finally read the novel.  I read the entire thing in six days.  It's not a particularly short book.  I just couldn't put it down.  Maybe it was a right book, right time kind of thing.  Who knows?

The book starts out on Meggie's fourth birthday.  She is the youngest of several children and the only girl.  Her family is fairly poor, so they tend to get practical gifts, like clothes and shoes.  Except this time Meggie's mom bought her a beautiful doll that Meggie had seen on her only trip into town.  Meggie absolutely treasured that doll.  The opening chapters do a wonderful job of setting up the family dynamic--the mother works all the time on the home, the father is lord and master, the eldest brother has a great anger in him.  It's a dynamic that is explored throughout the book.  We all have our reasons for doing what we do and acting the way we act--they're just not always apparent to the outside world until much later.  That's the case here.

The big plot is Meggie falling in love with a priest.  That's what this book is known for, right?  I loved the dynamic between the priest and Meggie!  He was about eighteen years older than her and first met her when she was a child.  So, in some ways he always thought of her in that light.  But she grew up and became a lovely woman and he was attracted to her.  He struggled with how to honor his vows and also honor with woman he loved. (I was raised Protestant, and converted to Catholicism, so I am used to pastors being able to marry; however, my eventual children will be raised Catholic and I am kind of curious to see how they react to this story...)  However, it's not the love that is the main point.  It's the pain caused by the love, by the things we want most in life, that is the point.

When she novel shifted focus to Justine and Dane, I very nearly lost interest.  Justine is really abrasive and I didn't like her.  A couple of things seemed to come out of left field.  But they eventually make sense.  Honestly, one of those things almost made me yell out when I was reading the novel at work (I work in a library frequented by graduate students, so we keep things very quiet...).  Then the last passage beautifully ties it all together and is the reason I give the book four stars:
Each of us has something within us which won't be denied, even if it makes us scream aloud to die. We are what we are, that's all. Like the old Celtic legend of the bird with the thorn in its breast, singing its heart out and dying. Because it has to, its self-knowledge can't affect or change the outcome, can it? Everyone singing his own little song, convinced it's the most wonderful song the world has ever heard. Don't you see? We create our own thorns, and never stop to count the cost. All we can do is suffer the pain, and tell ourselves it was well worth it.
Life is pain, but we endure.

It wasn't the best written novel in the world.  And that's fine.  I wasn't expecting it to be.  But the story!  Oh, the story definitely sweeps you along and sometimes you just can't breathe.

29 comments:

  1. I was obsessed with this book in high school, I love a good forbidden live story! I'm not a huge fan of Justine, but I did love her German and Dane's story bringer my heart. I've reread this several times, and I'm sure I will again in the future!

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    1. I'm so glad I wasn't the only one who was not a huge fan of Justine! I understand why she was the way she was (I don't think she wasn't really loved and treasured as a child, but was more of a reminder of disappointment), but she wasn't a fun character to read about as a result.

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  2. Oh, I should read this again! It's been YEARS. I don't really remember much about it, but I remember I really liked it. I think I thought it was a bit risque, way back then....

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  3. I've had this one in my TBR pile for about a year, it's on my list to get to this year!

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  4. I've always wanted to read it. The length always gave me pause but it doesn't sound so bad.

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    1. It's one of those that if you get into the story you'll fly through it.

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  5. THE THORN BIRDS is all about the story. This is one of my favorite books, a love story that rivals all love stories.

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    1. I'll always be partial to Gone With the Wind... :)

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  6. This book first came out in 1977..

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  7. Oh, my mom was obsessed with this story when the mini-series premiered in the '80s . . . which is why I'm a Meg myself! Since Meggie is my namesake, I was gifted a special copy of The Thorn Birds by my mom when I was in high school. I read it and enjoyed it, though I remember it being loooooong. Of course, I was 17; I'd probably approach and enjoy it differently as an adult. As a matter of fact, I think I should check it out . . .

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    1. I bought the mini-series to be able to watch it with my grandma while I'm staying with her in a couple of days.

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  8. I read this book multiple times as a teenager - oh the DRAMA was so addictive. I re-read it last year and still enjoyed it just as much (and I read it in like two days...).

    The writing indeed isn't fantastic, but it's so easy to overlook and just be addicted to the story.

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    1. I'm glad I'm not the only person who was willing and able to just enjoy it for what it is/was--an interesting story.

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  9. I loved this book so much! I think I read it around the same time as Gone with the Wind so I was all for epic sweeping love stories. It amazes me that this author who wrote this great love story also wrote the Masters of Rome series which has so much historical detail, it's insane. I enjoyed both but so completely different.

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    1. I found out that she wrote The Thorn Birds just to make enough money to be able to write her Masters of Rome series (which she had researched for about 10 years). Apparently, she does not particularly like this book all that much, but it was a means to an end for her.

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  10. My mom named me Megan because of this book. Obviously, she spelled it different and I'm glad she never followed through with her plan to call me Meggie. Because of that, I read it when I was in 8th grade and really enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure I've read it since then and I'd like to read it again as an adult. My grandmother had the miniseries and when she passed away, I kept it. It is definitely the type of story you get caught up in.

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  11. The mini-series came out when I was in 8th grade, I watched it before I.read the book, I loved the story. It's interesting. I have read it in almost every decade in my life, and each time I have a different understanding of a different character.

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  13. The mini-series came out when I was in 8th grade, I watched it before I.read the book, I loved the story. It's interesting. I have read it in almost every decade in my life, and each time I have a different understanding of a different character.

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  14. The mini-series came out when I was in 8th grade, I watched it before I.read the book, I loved the story. It's interesting. I have read it in almost every decade in my life, and each time I have a different understanding of a different character.

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  15. The mini-series came out when I was in 8th grade, I watched it before I.read the book, I loved the story. It's interesting. I have read it in almost every decade in my life, and each time I have a different understanding of a different character.

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  16. I read this book when I was young and I borrowed it from my grandma. I loved seeing it play out with the mini series. Yeah this was one of my first romance books. :)

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  17. I watched the TV mini-series before I read the book and immediately fell in love with it (and also with Richard Chamberlain as Father Ralph, SWOON). I don't remember if I loved the book as much as the mini-series. I'm thinking I probably did. I'll have to reread it soon and see.

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  18. The book was, to me, just ok, the mini-series made from it was quite good, usually like the book better, in this case the movie was better.

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  19. I watched the mini-series years ago and remember really enjoying it. I will have to think about reading this one.

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  20. Thanks for reminding me to read this!!! I've been wanting and meaning to read this - I do remember the miniseries, and my Mom loved the book! But seriously, that was one good looking priest!!

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  21. It is a great love story isn't it.

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  22. Thanks to you I've added a new book to my Goodreads wishlist. I actually hadn't heard of this at all beforehand, but it sounds so intriguing I'll have to pick it up eventually.

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  23. I read the book after the mini-series came out in the 80s. Actually, the year it came out, it aired on Easter weekend, so the Catholics were up in arms over it. I was Catholic at the time, so I remember it vividly.

    The mini-series was more enjoyable for me than the book, but I've read it a few times. Now, I skip a lot of the description and focus mainly on the dialogue. My mom, however, loved the book. I have her copy, but I also bought my own with Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward on the cover right after the mini-series aired.

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