Coleen McCullough, The Thorn Birds
Together with Julia, I have decided to read the Thorn Birds at last. Ichhabe never seen the film version, but they know from hearsay.
It is more than a love story, but rather the representation of a family for generations. It begins with Fee and Paddy, the lead in New Zealand rather poor life. She was times rich, but got an illegitimate child (Frank, who later runs off and comes into the prison and returns home a broken man) with a high married politician and was subsequently failed by her family. Paddy she got many, many sons and one daughter, Meggy. Mary Carson was a relative of Paddy and took the whole family to Australia Drogheda to breed of sheep and shearing. It was an honest prosperous operation. Here, Meggy and Ralph de Bricassard meet for the first time: She is 10 and he is late 20s and priest. You maintain a cordial relationship and eventually they kiss then. Ralph inherits the whole station and then leaving Drogheda. Meggy can not forget him and then marries Luke O'Neill just because he looks like him. they pull away and he will cane cutters, while working as a maid must. She steals a child and get Justine to which they can not develop maternal feelings. She goes on holiday alone and decides to leave then there Luke. Suddenly Ralph is coming up and they spend the holiday together as lovers. From him she can get her son Dane. Ralph is a cardinal in the Vatican.
Dane and Justine Justine are inseparable-then an actress in London, where she fell in love with Rainer, who cultivates a friendship with Ralph, since he in the 2nd World War II had spoken to him. Dane decides to become a priest.
Meggy breaks that the heart: You know now that their family will die out Dane gives him he church, others do not women know Cleary Soon the station is more like a retirement home.. .
Dane travels to his ordination to Greece where he drowns. Justine is the blame, because it is not because traveled with Rainer. Meggy asked Ralph to help her the body of the man to lead Australia, and she tells him the secret of his son. Ralph died shortly afterwards in meggys poor (even if you hardly will notice that in the book .. * cough *).
Justine married at the end Rainer, but remains in London.
I do not know quite what to say. I think that some interesting story lines have simply been broken too quickly (as the twins in the war, Frank in prison, etc.). Moreover, the feelings of many characters remain one enfach a mystery . The author tried for the over to bring, but all do not like it can do above all. why has NO ONE had this whole men for each woman that makes sense imho ... no?
What excites much is that women come in the book do not work. It would have fit well into the 19th century. All the more shocking that the book was created in 1977! Women should not be born, that's the biggest mistake they make .. this is just a statement from the book. And Meggy is unloved by her mother just as she does not love her daughter, Justine. It is called Monster Dane, however, the son is so much better .... such a reading does hurt mist often.
For a love story in turn to some love scenes in it, even if this ironic twist that the child will be also priest, very tragic and the story really interesting.
