The Thorn Birds Audiobook By Colleen McCullough cover art

The Thorn Birds

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The Thorn Birds

By: Colleen McCullough
Narrated by: Greta Scacchi
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'Excellent' DAILY TELEGRAPH

'A true epic . . . this stunning tale has been called the Australian Gone With the Wind' DAILY MAIL

'One of the biggest-selling, most widely read books in the history of fiction' OBSERVER

In the rugged Australian Outback, three generations of Clearys live through joy and sadness, bitter defeat and magnificent triumph - driven by their dreams, sustained by remarkable strength of character and torn by dark passions, violence and a scandalous family legacy of forbidden love.

It is a poignant love story, a powerful epic of struggle and sacrifice, a celebration of individuality and spirit. Most of all, it is the story of the Clearys' only daughter, Meggie, who can never possess the man she so desperately adores - Ralph de Bricassart. Ralph will rise from parish priest to the inner circles of the Vatican . . . but his passion for Meggie will follow him all the days of his life.

A timeless epic romance - a battle between faith and the heart.©1977 Colleen McCullough (P)2007 Hachette Audio Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Sagas
All stars
Most relevant  
The narrator when she tried to portray the characters voices. Book seems to be edited.

Not great story telling

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This was a most enjoyable read. I wished it carried on longer, yet it ends perfectly.

A lovely story

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A wonderful storyline with great character development and a plot of twists and turns with a wonderful undertone of life and love. A romance of reality .... love it❤❤❤

Brilliant book

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

yes, but i'd turn their mind to the abridgement staff

What other book might you compare The Thorn Birds to and why?

As it was well noticed The thorn birds is an australian Gone With the Wind

How could the performance have been better?

less exaggerated pronounce

Was The Thorn Birds worth the listening time?

Yes, but the story is worth more listening time.

Abridged is like cut from alive body

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This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Maybe someone without any expectations. I had so many and looked forward to finally reading it and was surprised to find that it was quite boring. I know it's not allowed to say that about this great book but that is how I felt. I was surprisingly bored

What was most disappointing about Colleen McCullough’s story?

One expects so much from these modern classics. It is one of those rare books which has the ultimate humiliation of being surpassed by its film adaptaion. it. I watched it in the eighties when I was a child and was still only learning English but I could not get over it. I'm not a film person and I sleep through most movies. I recently slept through the Da Vinci Code movie but I'd stay awake until 3am reading the book. So I was really surprised when the book disappointed me so much. The story was just not as engaging as I had thought it wasd going to be. It turned out to be a very love ordinary story unlike what it is pitched as. There is nothing memorable about this book

What didn’t you like about Greta Scacchi’s performance?

Its not that it was particularly bad. It just wasn't memorable

What character would you cut from The Thorn Birds?

Thats just it. None of the characters were engaging enough for me to truly care about loving or hating them.

Any additional comments?

It just wasn't for me I guess. My expectations were too high and it disapointed me. I expected a book in stakes of Grapes of Wrath or The Picture of Dorian Gray but it falls far short and is just a book that I forgot as soon as I finished it.

Unrewarding

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