The Thorn Birds

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I loved how it started out in New Zealand with an Irish immigrant family as the main characters. Then from New Zealand we move to Australia with the grumpy rich aunt and the greedy power hungry priest. McCullough covers three generations of Clearys from 1915-1969. If I knew these people in person I'd say they were ordinary and almost boring but the author does a great job of giving them such life and dignity and secrets that could tear them apart but actually bring them closer to one another.

Thorn Birds: A Book Review And Short Summary - HubPages The Thorn Birds: A Book Review And Short Summary - HubPages

I would give this all the stars in the sky if I could. This was simply the best book I've ever read..Lynch, Jason (16 June 2020). "How The Thorn Birds Soared as a Running Seth Meyers Joke". Adweek. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020 . Retrieved 12 September 2020. Twelve thousand miles of it, to the other side of the world. And whether they came home again or not, they would belong neither here, nor there, for they would have lived on two continents and sampled two different ways of life.” Charles Swaim of Drakesville, Iowa, who was the world champion sheep shearer at the time, was the consultant for the sheep shearing scenes in the series. It's not worth getting upset about, Mrs. Dominic. Down in the city they don't know how the other half lives, and they can afford the luxury of doting on their animals as if they were children. Out here it's different. You'll never see man, woman or child in need of help go ignored out here, yet in the city those same people who dote on their pets will completely ignore a cry of help from a human being. ” Paddy has a wealthy sister, Mary Carson, a widow who lives in New South Wales, Australia, on Drogheda, an enormous sheep station. One day, Paddy receives an offer from Mary of a job on her estate, so in 1921, the whole Cleary family moves from New Zealand to Australia.

Thorn Birds by Colleen Mccullough - AbeBooks The Thorn Birds by Colleen Mccullough - AbeBooks

Harriet Purcell lives with her parents and has a staunch Catholic boyfriend who refuses to give her anything more than a chaste kiss until they are married. She is fed up with him, indeed her first words (and those of the book) are 'How on earth can I get rid of David?' Pay attention to detail and take nothing for granted in this story, as nothing is for nothing! It is all at once amusing, worrying, absurd and poignant.

Characters: There were so many memorable characters in this book! Some that I really loved, like Meggie, Paddy and Frank. Some I had a hard time liking, such as Fee, Ralph and Justine. But all the same, I was invested in every single one and rooted for them (perhaps with the exception of Luke, the bastard). It tells the story of 21 year old Harriett Purcell who, after qualifying as an X-Ray technician and securing a good job position at a Sydney Hospital earning the "coveted" male wage rate...which is decidedly higher than the woman's wage rate at the time and very hard won...has decided to leave her overpopulated and inhibiting family home to share a house in Sydney's Kings Cross with a work colleague and an assortment of various other colorful characters who are the current tenants.