The Thorn Birds

Colleen McCullough

The Thorn Birds is a saga about the Cleary family, the Catholic church, and Australia from before 1920 through the late 1960's. It focuses on Meggie, the only girl of ten living children, but the story encompasses Paddy and Fiona Cleary, her parents, her oldest brother Frank, her aunt Mary Carson, and Father Ralph de Bricassart as well as other brothers, then spouse and children. In it Colleen McCullough also wrote a story of the Australian Outback and survival.

Paddy,immigrated from Ireland, Fiona, daughter of a New Zealand aristocrat, and the children live in New Zealand when the book begins. It's a hard life but Paddy and Fee work hard for the family. Paddy and Frank, the oldest son, argue all the time. At seventeen, Frank is not old enough to leave home without his parents' approval. Fee is disconnected from most of the family. Frank is her obvious favorite. As a girl, Meggie gets the least of her attention except for how the little girl can help with chores to make Fee's life somewhat easier.

Paddy's sister, Mary Carson, is a wealthy land owner in north western Australia. Her husband left her one of the largest ranches in the country. He, then she, also invested well and handled their money wisely. After going through numerous head stockmen, Mary contacts her brother after years of silence and offers him the position on Drogheda, the ranch. Since he and his family are her heirs, it makes sense that he should move there while she is still alive and run the ranch.

When the Clearys arrive, the local priest, Father Ralph, meets them. He is instantly taken with the family and sees how Meggie appears to be the odd person out. Then, when her beloved brother Frank leaves home, Ralph becomes Meggie's closest friend. The Clearys rarely leave Drogheda. Mary Carson is a tartan and miser, but treats the family fairly. She sends Meggie and her brother Stuart to private school for a year or two, but most of the children's education comes either from practical application or through correspondence courses. The boys all become stock men as they grow older.

Mary is intrigued and attracted to the young priest. But he appears to be devoted to his job and the Church. He laughs off her machinations and wiles trying to control him. She sees his affection for the Cleary family and especially Meggie. When she dies, she finally finds the best way to corrupt Father Ralph. He knows he shouldn't, yet he allows himself to be corrupted. He is able to justify that the Cleary family will not be hurt and the bequest can further his career in the way he had hoped for years. He then leaves for Sydney, then later Rome. He always comes back to visit at Drogheda and the Clearys.

Meggie's childish affection for Father Ralph becomes a crush. She rarely leaves Drogheda so meets few men outside of the ranch. As she gets older and Father Ralph is gone the local men start courting her. Meggie marries a man who looks like Father Ralph. Unfortunately, Luke doesn't act like the priest.

The first half of The Thorn Birds is as much about the Outback as it is about the characters involved. You get a feel for the open spaces, the loneliness, the rugged beauty, and the dangers of the region. There are vivid descriptions of sheep herding and shearing. It's easy to picture the grass withering during droughts, blazing during fires, and rushing back to life after the rains. The second half, while retaining some of the description, focuses more on the characters. To me, the minor characters are kept in enough to flesh out the novel, keeping it feeling real. Unfortunately, the novel gets rushed for the last quarter or so. After Meggie's children are born the rest of the story is glossed over more quickly. It has its poignant moments and still surprises but isn't as intricate as the first part.

If you've seen the movie cover, you know there is a torrid romance involved. It is part of the scandal of the book which made it so attractive and scandalous when this novel was first published in the 1970's. I read this with my book club and we discussed some of the reasons for its popularity. The sex scenes were graphic for main stream American fiction at the time. While the younger generation was "more sexually aware", this book was read by more people in their 30s and older where the sex scenes were usually alluded to and barely described in most books. Compared to what we can find in mainstream novels now, the scenes are tame. The Catholic Church is also attacked in this novel. Father Ralph is not the pious man that was and is expected of a priest. He is a human man who allows himself to be tempted.

The first time I read this book around 25 or 30 years ago I was pulled in and had to keep reading to find out what happened to Meggie and her family. On this re-read, I found Colleen McCullough's saga more fascinating in other ways. As I mentioned, some of the descriptions are excellent. I like the way the minor characters are woven throughout the novel to keep its realness. Meggie's character fades away as the novel comes to the last quarter or so. Her children take over, but are not as real as she is earlier in the book.

Ignore the inconsistencies and the historical inaccuracies. Enjoy The Thorn Birds despite its faults. It's worth it.

Notice:  Non-graphic violence, strong sexual content

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell