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mrsbooknerd's review against another edition
2.0
'The Thorn Birds' took me a month to read, which is a really long time in my bookish world. If I hadn't been enjoying elements of the novel, then I'd have stopped reading, but the characterisation was so well-developed that I felt that I owed it to the characters to keep going. It was the telling of the Cleary clan's story that was so difficult to stick with, a slow paced novel that spanned a lifetime, literally through the main character Meggie and metaphorically because this month has felt SO LONG. Yet, I am glad that I read the book and that I stuck with it.
The writing style was just too dense to really enjoy. The plot was slowed to a stop at various points throughout the novel, interrupted by long descriptive chunks of text, or the passing years summarised in lengthy pages of context, or huge monologues about the church and church politics. The parts of the novel that were dedicated to dialogue and actual plot points were enjoyable to read, and any of the above would have been acceptable in small doses, but that was not the case. A few sentences to describe the drought or the war would have been sufficient to set the scene, yet so much page time was dedicated to such elements and it achieved nothing.
The characterisation was the shining star in this book. The characters had so much depth and emotion, I lived their lives alongside them and that made me feel their exultations and pain throughout. Frank, Fee, Paddy, Meggie, Dane… they were so engaging and I genuinely wanted to see their lives improve and progress. It was all so tangible.
I didn't like Ralph at all as a 'hero' of the novel. I wouldn’t even class him even as a hero, or a romantic lead. He was so preachy, self-satisfied and selfish. I understand that his flaws and inability to walk away from Meggie made the novel, and it was good to see Ralph with a weakness, but it meant that I could never warm to him. Ralph was Meggie's life, any connection to him was gold to her, but Meggie was a plaything to Ralph, to be picked up when he wanted but dropped again in the moment that he found something more satisfying.
I also did not like Justine, and was rather annoyed that we finished the novel with her narration. Frank started the Cleary story and taught us about Meggie who then took over as narrator. The initial engagement through Frank warmed us to Meggie, so that when she took over she was known to us. Meggie taught us about Fee and Luke and Dane and Ralph, so their narratives flowed just as well, but Justine was just a by-product of their stories. So much in the shadow of Dane, Justine was only mentioned in conjuncture to her brother. Yet, she took over as the narrative voice, and she was almost like a parody. Every flaw or weakness exhibited by all the other characters seemed to all be in Justine. She was unlikable, immature and I felt that we lost so much of the final emotion of the book by passing the baton to her rather than sticking with Meggie.
Overall, I wish that the telling of the Cleary story had been as vibrant and progressive as the characters. Remove all of the slow-paced description and focus on the characters and their lives and you would have a really great story. I can see how a TV show was so popular because it probably was character driven and faster paced.
The writing style was just too dense to really enjoy. The plot was slowed to a stop at various points throughout the novel, interrupted by long descriptive chunks of text, or the passing years summarised in lengthy pages of context, or huge monologues about the church and church politics. The parts of the novel that were dedicated to dialogue and actual plot points were enjoyable to read, and any of the above would have been acceptable in small doses, but that was not the case. A few sentences to describe the drought or the war would have been sufficient to set the scene, yet so much page time was dedicated to such elements and it achieved nothing.
The characterisation was the shining star in this book. The characters had so much depth and emotion, I lived their lives alongside them and that made me feel their exultations and pain throughout. Frank, Fee, Paddy, Meggie, Dane… they were so engaging and I genuinely wanted to see their lives improve and progress. It was all so tangible.
I didn't like Ralph at all as a 'hero' of the novel. I wouldn’t even class him even as a hero, or a romantic lead. He was so preachy, self-satisfied and selfish. I understand that his flaws and inability to walk away from Meggie made the novel, and it was good to see Ralph with a weakness, but it meant that I could never warm to him. Ralph was Meggie's life, any connection to him was gold to her, but Meggie was a plaything to Ralph, to be picked up when he wanted but dropped again in the moment that he found something more satisfying.
I also did not like Justine, and was rather annoyed that we finished the novel with her narration. Frank started the Cleary story and taught us about Meggie who then took over as narrator. The initial engagement through Frank warmed us to Meggie, so that when she took over she was known to us. Meggie taught us about Fee and Luke and Dane and Ralph, so their narratives flowed just as well, but Justine was just a by-product of their stories. So much in the shadow of Dane, Justine was only mentioned in conjuncture to her brother. Yet, she took over as the narrative voice, and she was almost like a parody. Every flaw or weakness exhibited by all the other characters seemed to all be in Justine. She was unlikable, immature and I felt that we lost so much of the final emotion of the book by passing the baton to her rather than sticking with Meggie.
Overall, I wish that the telling of the Cleary story had been as vibrant and progressive as the characters. Remove all of the slow-paced description and focus on the characters and their lives and you would have a really great story. I can see how a TV show was so popular because it probably was character driven and faster paced.
sminismoni's review against another edition
3.0
The first third was brilliant: fabulous descriptions of Australia, deep character development, lots of feeling, emotional struggle. Then it was downhill from there. The pace became erratic, and previously whole characters (Meggie, Ralph, Fee) seemed to fade into transparency. The newer generation of Justine and Dane never seemed more than cardboard cut-outs, and the deep emotion and conflict of the earlier parts was gone, replaced by simplistic plot that limped home to its foreshadowed conclusion.
nfrog3's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing story of life and the twist and turns it takes.
michaelpdonley's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't want to love this book, because it was a made-for-TV movie back in the day. I thought it was going to be a "romance" novel, with no subtlety, only a central scandalous relationship. But it was an epic story of a family wrestling with loyalties, secrets, faith, the elements. Each character was carefully drawn with complexity, altogether believable. But in today's unveiling of sexual misconduct by clergy and the sweeping under the rug of indiscretions, the covering up of the central affair has a stinging truth to it.
maldamom's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
leia_lynn's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Pedophilia
ella77's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
echo3's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75