Product Description

A phenomenal worldwide bestseller since 1977 THE THORN BIRDS is a robust, romantic saga of three generations. It begins in the early years of this century when Paddy Cleary moves his wife and seven children to Drogheda, an Australian sheep station, owned by his autocratic and childless older sister. For more than half a century we follow their fates, particularly those of Meggie, the only Cleary daughter, and the one man she truly loves, Ralph de Bricassart - stunningly handsome, ambitious, and a priest. As background to the Cleary family's lives there is the land itself: relentless in its demands, brilliant in its flowering. THE THORN BIRDS is a book that enfolds the reader in its capacious arms.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115621 in Books
• Published on: 1981-12-31
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 592 pages

Review
'One of those books which will be read as long as women love, and men care' - DAILY MIRROR 'excellent' - THE TIMES 'one of the biggest-selling and most widely read books in the history of fiction' - OBSERVER

THE TIMES
* 'excellent'

OBSERVER
* 'one of the biggestselling and most widely read books in the history of fiction'

Customer Reviews

Brilliant!!
I first read this book ten years ago, and since then I've reread it twice. The first time I read it, I thought it was the most amazing book ever. I cancelled everything just so I could sit and read undisturbed. I felt lost when I finished it. The second and third times I read it, I guess I recognized that the writing was a little wooden and melodramatic. But hey, who cares? It's still an experience to read it. I ususally hate big rambling sagas, but this is fantastic storytelling, and demands to be read quickly and compulsively. Incidentally, the last time I read it, i was actually living in Australia, and I found that it really captured the look and feel of the New South Wales bush. I'm sure my dog-eared edition will be read many more times - I only wish that I could read it for the first time again!

The best book I have ever read............
This is a stunning book with a gripping story.The central characters are Megan,and Father Ralph de Bricasart.Megan emigrates at the age of ten with her family to live on Aunt Marys sheep station in the outback.Father Ralph guides Megan through some of the traumas and disasters in her family and becomes a very close friend.Megan falls in love with the priest....but wicked and jealous Aunt Mary writes a will that gives Father Ralph a choice that he has to live with for the rest of his life.........
The Thorn Birds is a truly wonderfull and beautifully written story.It is written with great empathy for the central characters and spans through the years to end with Megans daughter Justine.It is a book that one cannot put down and a delightfull joy to read.....I recomend this book highly and have never found a story so compelling as The Thorn Birds since.......

Mostly great!
I read this book over a long university holiday and just really liked it. The characters, whilst rather stereotypical, where well thought out and generally realistic. At the beginning of the book I found Meggie an excellent character who I really felt for, but did find that she lost her intensity in later chapters. Luckily her daughter Justine filled her role in the readers affections to some degree, but was ultimately somewhat unlikeable. Despite this, the settings and scenarios are very well written, particularly descriptions of life on Drogheda. The story kept moving and there was rarely a dull moment. The only part I found slightly waring was the long conversations that took place in the Vatican. I would also have liked to hear more about Frank. He started off as a very interesting character, but there was a sense that maybe the author got bored of writing about him so shipped him off to 'prison'. He comes back later, but nothing is done with him which is a real shame. Those are my only critisms on a basically excellent book. If you like family sagas, then you will love this!