Colleen Margaretta McCullough was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being The Thorn Birds and Tim. Justine- As unfair as I felt she was 'emotionally' loved by her mother- Meggie...she was my least favorite character in the book too. And... for no real reason - she didn't do anything wrong --( I did like her relationship with her brother) -- but I was too interested in other characters, more. Justine breaks off all communications with Rainer and falls into a depressed, hum-drum existence. Eventually, they renew their acquaintance on strictly platonic terms, until Rainer visits Drogheda alone to urge Meggie to help him pursue Justine's hand in marriage. Justine, now the sole surviving grandchild of Fee and Paddy Cleary, finally accepts her true feelings for Rainer, and they marry. Fun Fact: BTW I thought I saw Luke O’Neill down Cairns main street the other day, I was determined to confront him but, you see - I have this dodgy knee and I’m still a little particular about social distancing, so I vehemently muttered something rude under my breath as I walked past him. He got the message alright!!!! I don’t think Ralph sexually abused Meggie when she was a child; nor is he implying this. However, it’s impossible for me to hear this line without creepy double entendres. Meggie replies, “You can have me now!” — clearly taking the sexual interpretation. Whether he was attracted to her all along or developed sexual feelings for someone he previously loved in a fatherly way, he’s using her childhood trust and bond with him to cross a big ethical barrier. Relationships like Ralph and Meggie’s raise the question of grooming and predatory motives.

Epic: There are so many reasons why this book should be classified as an 'epic' - the historical scope, the family dynasty, the geographical breadth and the tragedy. Books like these rely on readers to view coincidences and adults’ manipulation of children as the romantic workings of fate. The Thorn Birds’ appeal also works best if readers or viewers idealize Catholic clergy. Today, many people would find the central romance unthinkable, horrifying, or dangerous — but for different reasons now than in the 1970s and ’80s. The novel and miniseries focus on Ralph’s vow of celibacy as a priest, romanticizing Ralph and Meggie’s relationship as taboo and tragic. To quote the show’s tagline: “Love. Unattainable. Forbidden. Forever.” Nowadays, public knowledge of sex abuse cases, particularly in the Catholic Church, and of the impact of grooming makes many readers, like me, resist such an idealized interpretation. The Thorn Birds www.wisdomlib.org (4 May 2011). "A Parable of a Sower [Saying 9]". www.wisdomlib.org . Retrieved 16 December 2017.Luddie and Anne Mueller – Meggie's employers during her marriage to Luke, they become lifelong friends. Father Ralph de Bricassart – Meggie's true love, he is a handsome, ambitious Irish Catholic priest. The First Man in Rome (1990) ♦ The Grass Crown (1991) ♦ Fortune's Favorites (1993) ♦ Caesar's Women (1996) ♦ Caesar (1997) ♦ The October Horse (2002) ♦ Antony and Cleopatra (2007).

Raised by her mother in Wellington and then Sydney, McCullough began writing stories at age 5. She flourished at Catholic schools and earned a physiology degree from the University of New South Wales in 1963. Planning become a doctor, she found that she had a violent allergy to hospital soap and turned instead to neurophysiology – the study of the nervous system's functions. She found jobs first in London and then at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself and die singing. At the very instant the thorn enters there is no awareness of the dying to come; it simply sings and sings until there is not the life left to utter another note. But we, put the thorns in our breasts, we know. We understand. And still, we do it. Still, we do it Themes: There were so many amazing and heartbreaking themes in this book; love, religion, ambition, sacrifice, weakness, humanity etc. They blended together to gracefully and enhanced the epicness of the story.

Customer reviews

Raised by her mother in Wellington and then Sydney, McCullough began writing stories at age 5. She flourished at Catholic schools and earned a physiology degree from the University of New South Wales in 1963. Planning become a doctor, she found that she had a violent allergy to hospital soap and turned instead to neurophysiology – the study of the nervous system’s functions. She found jobs first in London and then at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The dialogue felt stilted and overly formal, even for the time period in which the book took place. The story didn't feel at all real to me. Despite the religious aspects of the book (Ralph is a freaking priest for God's sake) it didn't make me think about religion or spirituality or Catholicism in any meaningful way. Now that I’m a grown up, I think I would have ditched ol’ Father de Bricassart and made much sexytimes with Luke O’Neill instead : )