Singing in the thorn bushes. The Thorn Birds: A Tragic Love Story The Thorn Birds by Colin McCullough

"The Thorn Birds." Love for all times

“There is a legend about a bird that sings only once in its entire life, but is more beautiful than anyone else in the world. One day she leaves her nest and flies to look for a thorn bush and will not rest until she finds it. Among the thorny branches she begins to sing a song and throws herself on the longest, sharpest thorn. And, rising above the unspeakable torment, he sings so, dying, that both the lark and the nightingale would envy this jubilant song. The only, incomparable song, and it comes at the cost of life. But the whole world stands still, listening, and God himself smiles in heaven. For all the best is bought only at the price of great suffering... At least that’s what the legend says. »

( From the book)

The Thorn Birds is a 1977 bestselling novel by Australian author Colleen McCullough.

Colleen McCulloughColleen McCullough

Colleen McCullough was born on June 1, 1937 in Wellington, New South Wales, to James and Laura McCullough. Colleen's mother was from New Zealand, and her ancestors included representatives of the Maori people, the indigenous population of New Zealand. The McCullough family moved frequently, eventually settling in Sydney. Colleen read and drew a lot and even wrote poetry. Influenced by her parents, Colleen chose medicine as a career. future profession. She studied at the University of Sydney, where she majored in neuropsychology. After graduating from university, she worked at the Royal North Shore Hospital. In 1963, Colleen McCullough moved to London.

From 1967 to 1976, McCullough was engaged in research and teaching activities in the department of neurobiology at Yale Medical School at Yale University. It was during this period that she also first turned to literary activity and wrote her first novels, Tim and The Thorn Birds, and eventually decided to devote herself entirely to literary work. Since the late 1970s she has lived on Norfolk Island.

In 1974, Colleen McCullough’s debut novel “Tim” was published, and three years later the famous “The Thorn Birds” was published - the book became an international bestseller, was translated into more than 20 languages and brought recognition and fame to the author.

McCullough died on January 29, 2015 at the age of 77 in a hospital on Norfolk Island (an island in the Pacific Ocean between Australia and New Zealand).

His only one who is not destined to be around. Such is the fate of Maggie Cleary, selflessly in love with the spiritual father of her family, the priest Ralph de Bricassart. Maggie is like the bird from the old Celtic legend, who spends her entire life searching for a thorn bush in order to die from its thorns, singing her last voluptuous song.

She is ready to bear love all her life as a happy gift and cruel torment for the sake of those few moments when she can be with her beloved. Ralph also loves the girl, but the monastic robe and vow before God are more important to him than earthly love. And yet, having experienced many troubles, losing loved ones, going through adversity, Maggie remains true to her love.

The story begins in 1915 and spans half a century. The book is divided into seven parts, each of which reveals the character of one of the main characters. The plot centers on the life of the Cleary family, who have made their way from the New Zealand poor to the managers of one of the largest Australian estates, Drogheda.

Part 1. 1915-1917 Maggie

The book begins with the birthday of the youngest daughter, Maggie, who turns four. The life of a large family is described, the hard daily work of the mother of the family, Fiona, the difficulties of teaching children in a Catholic school under the command of stern nuns, the dissatisfaction of the eldest son Frank with poverty and the monotony of life. One day, Padrik Cleary (Paddy) receives a letter from his sister Mary Carson, the wealthy owner of the vast Australian estate of Drogheda. She invites him to the position of senior shepherd, and the whole family moves from New Zealand to Australia.

Part 2. 1918-1928 Ralph

In Australia, the Cleary family is met by the young parish priest Ralph de Bricassart. Ten-year-old Maggie, the only daughter in the family, attracts his attention with her beauty and shyness. As she gets older, Maggie falls in love with him, but they are not destined to be together, since Ralph, like any Catholic priest, took a vow of chastity (celibacy). Nevertheless, they spend a lot of time together, ride horses, talk. Mary Carson, the widow of the “steel king” Michael Carson, is unrequitedly in love with Ralph and watches his relationship with Maggie with poorly concealed hatred.

Feeling that Ralph is close to abandoning his rank for the sake of the matured Maggie, Mary sets a trap for Ralph at the cost of her life: after the death of Mary Carson, her huge inheritance goes to the church, provided that the latter appreciates its humble minister Ralph de Bricassart, who becomes the sole manager of the Carson estate, and the Cleary family receives the right to live in Drogheda as managers. Now, when the possibility of a church career opens up before Ralph again, he refuses to connect his life with Maggie and leaves Drogheda. Maggie misses him. Ralph also thinks about her, but is overcome by the desire to return to Drogheda.

Part 3. 1929-1932 Paddy

During a huge fire, Maggie's father Paddy and brother Stuart die. By pure chance, on the day their bodies are transported to the estate, Ralph arrives in Drogheda. Maggie, who has temporarily forgotten her longing for her family, manages to get a kiss from him, but immediately after the funeral, Ralph leaves again. Maggie gives him a rose - the only one that survived the fire, and Ralph hides it in his pocket breviary.

Part 4. 1933-1938 Luke

Maggie continues to miss Ralph. Meanwhile, a new worker appears at the estate, Luke O'Neill, who begins to care for Maggie. Outwardly, he looks like Ralph, and Maggie first accepts his invitations to dances and then marries him. After the wedding, it turns out that Luke found himself a job as a cane cutter, and Maggie got a job as a maid in the couple's house. Maggie dreams of a child and her own home, but Luke prefers to work and save money, promising her a full-fledged family life in a couple of years.

They do not see each other for months, but Maggie, using cunning, gives birth to his daughter Justina. After a difficult birth, she is ill for a long time and the owners of the house where she serves as a maid give her a trip to Matlock Island. After her departure, Luke arrives and the hostess offers to visit Maggie, but Luke refuses and leaves. After this, Ralph arrives, and he is also advised to go to Maggie, posing as Luke. Ralph hesitates, but goes to Maggie. Unable to resist their attraction to each other, they spend a few days as husband and wife, after which Ralph returns to Rome to pursue his career and become a cardinal. Maggie leaves Luke and returns to Drogheda, carrying Ralph's child under her heart.

Part 5. 1938-1953 Fia

Meanwhile, the Second World War begins in Europe world war. Maggie's two brothers go to the front. Ralph, already a cardinal, has difficulty reconciling himself with the Vatican's flexibility in relation to the Mussolini regime. In Drogheda, Maggie gives birth to a son, Dan, a copy of Ralph, but no one doubts that his father is Luke, since the men are very similar. Only Maggie's mother, Fiona (Fia), guesses. In a conversation with Maggie, it turns out that in her youth Fiona was also passionately in love with an influential man who could not marry her. She had a son with him, Frank, and her father gave Padrick Cleary money to marry her. Both Fiona and Maggie loved a man who could not reciprocate their feelings: Fiona's lover was concerned about his career, Ralph was devoted to the church. Maggie laughs and says that she was smarter and made sure that Dan had a name and no one would doubt his legitimate origin. Ralph arrives in Drogheda, meets Dan, but does not realize that this is his son. Maggie doesn't tell him anything.

Part 6. 1954-1965 Dan

Maggie's children, having matured, choose their professions. Justina is going to become an actress and leaves for London. Dan wants to become a priest. Maggie is furious: she hoped that Dan would have children, and so she would “steal” Ralph from the church. But Dan stands firm, and she sends him to Rome, to Ralph. Dan is undergoing seminary training and ordination. After the ceremony, he leaves for Crete to rest and drowns while saving two women. Maggie comes to Ralph to ask for help in negotiations with the Greek authorities and reveals to him that Dan is his son. Ralph helps her move Dan to Drogheda, performs the last rites on him and dies after the funeral, admitting to himself that he had sacrificed too much for the sake of his ambitions.

Part 7. 1965-1969 Justina

After Dan's death, Justina finds no place for herself and seeks peace in work. She is either trying to return to Drogheda, or trying to improve relations with her friend, the German Lion Hartheim. Lyon loves Justina and wants to marry her, but she is afraid of becoming attached to him and becoming vulnerable to pain and anxiety. She ends up marrying him. Maggie in Drogheda receives a telegram from her announcing her marriage. The estate has no future - her brothers did not marry and are childless, Dan died, and Justina does not want to hear about children.

Adapted from Colleen McCullough's bestselling novel, it tells the epic story of the Cleary family's journey from New Zealand to a ranch in Australia. The story revolves around the forbidden love of Maggie Cleary and the ambitious Catholic priest Ralph de Bricassart.

Richard Chamberlain - Father Ralph de Bricassart

Rachel Ward as Magenn "Maggie" Cleary

Gene Simmons - Fiona "Fia" Cleary

I'm happy that I have my "Thorn Birds", this saga is about love and the human family on earth, and, you know, my dear people, but I have long been indifferent to the fact that many men are not able to love themselves, but are able to appreciate how they are loved!

A brilliant book without exaggeration, simply a masterpiece, and an equally beautiful, memorable film about beautiful love! "The Thorn Birds"!

When I first read Colleen McCullough's book, it made a very strong and deep impression on me. The book simply shocked me. I re-read it after a while. This is one of those books about which they say: “read to the gills.” The Thorn Birds has become one of my favorite books about the power of love.

About the love of a woman for a man. To the child. To the family as a whole. To your home and land. About a man who is not worthy of this love, chasing a ghostly career, only to realize in the end how fickle his goal is, how joyless and lonely his long empty life path is. But she is nearby, his life, and joy, and happiness, his beloved woman, his Maggie, and their son, the only thing for which people should live on earth.

But in the fabulous American cinema, the bookish, prudent careerist Ralph finds soul, destiny and character, humanity and wisdom, and attractiveness. And the artist’s play really seriously impresses you, you believe him, trust him (!), and you have come to terms with the fact that such a wonderful girl in all respects as Maggie is in love with this saint (in the worst sense of the word) and you accept both of them: the game these artists in a duet, in a film couple, this charming and intelligent handsome Richard Chamberlain and this red-haired beauty Rachel Ward, simply magnificent, very convincing, believable, you believe in these wonderful, beloved artists, you hope with them and love and lose, they tear you apart your soul to pieces, and no matter how many times you watch this classic film, you cry and can’t (or don’t want to?) do anything with yourself, you like to think, and feel, and cry at the movies! - accompanied by the most beautiful music by Henry Mancini and magnificent footage of nature - oh, yes, the Americans know how to make fairy-tale films! And you are in high spirits before each new episode, and even in life you succeed in everything you do! "Singing in the thorn bushes!"...

... But the story itself about the formation of Australia as such, about three generations of the large Cleary family, remains “beyond” the script, “behind” the film. It remains on the pages of the magnificent and brilliant book of the Australian writer Colleen McCullough, who knows how to tell a story in ordinary, simple human words. ordinary people, which in terms of the intensity of passions and the dramatic nature of events spanning the entire 20th century is in no way inferior to Shakespeare’s plays!..

In the film itself, I would like to especially note the excellent performances of the older generation of artists: the actresses playing the roles of Mary Carston and Fiona Cleary are simply brilliant, and they were chosen for the roles very accurately! But reading the book itself is still much more interesting than watching a film, the script of which is very “shortened” compared to the book. As an independent work, yes, you can watch it endlessly, and it’s very pleasant: it’s a very beautiful romantic movie about love!

How great is the story of how a person falls into the illusion of good intentions. The story is about how a daughter, who promised not to do this, repeats her mother’s path. The story is that this can be fixed, and it is never too late to do so. The story is about how a mother never wants her daughter to suffer her own bitter fate. A story about love that people carry throughout their lives. A story about what seemingly good intentions lead to. The story is about how often a person refuses to hear the voice of the heart, mistaking it for weakness or annoying misunderstanding. A story about love, acceptance, support, choice and acceptance of the choice of a loved one. The story is that life gives chances, and a person decides to take advantage of them or not. The story is that children do not belong to their parents. The story is that everything ultimately belongs to God.

And in any of the two versions - either a book or a film - the saga of love comes to the fore: about a bird that, having flown out of the nest, flies to look for a thorn bush, and sings all its life with a thorn in its chest, for all the best is in this life is bought at the price of great suffering - a saga about sinful and holy love, which must be forgotten and buried in your heart, but for which you breathe and live, and for which they write novels and make Hollywood fairy-tale films, which alone takes place. A woman's love for a man. To the child. To the family. To the house. To your country. To the ground. Love that a man chasing a ghostly career does not deserve. But love is worth living this life for...

Quotes

The ancient Greeks believed that reckless love was a sin before the gods. And remember: if you love someone so recklessly, the gods become jealous and will certainly destroy the loved one in the prime of life. This is a lesson for all of us, Maggie. To love beyond measure is blasphemy.

... she unbearably wants a living feeling, excitement that would blow over her like a hot and strong wind. And I don’t really want to trudge along the same rut all my life; I want change, fullness of life, love. Yes, love, and husband, and children.

Not a single woman in the world can defeat God. After all, he is a man.

Probably, the demon of destruction lives in us; we always want to stir up the fire. It only hastens the end. But what a beautiful ending!

There are men in whose lives women have no place.

The people on this land are persistent and enduring - it does not allow them to be different: the faint-hearted, who do not have fierce, unyielding perseverance, will not last long in the Great Northwest.

I will never forget you, until my death I will not forget you. And I will live for a long, very long time, this will be my punishment.

In some ways, she, this little girl, was already so mature, and so much a woman, that she felt a sharp, irresistible joy: she was needed!

Maggie is the mirror in which I am destined to see that I am an ordinary mortal.

There is a legend about a bird that sings only once in its entire life, but is more beautiful than anyone else in the world. One day she leaves her nest and flies to look for a thorn bush and will not rest until she finds it. Among the thorny branches she begins to sing a song and throws herself on the longest, sharpest thorn. And, rising above the unspeakable torment, he sings so, dying, that both the lark and the nightingale would envy this jubilant song. The only, incomparable song, and it comes at the cost of life. But the whole world stands still, listening, and God himself smiles in heaven. For all the best is bought at the price of great suffering... At least that's what the legend says.

The bird with the thorn in its breast obeys the immutable law of nature; She herself does not know what kind of force makes her throw herself at the tip and die singing. At that moment when the thorn pierces her heart, she does not think about her imminent death, she simply sings, sings until her voice runs out and her breath stops. But we, when we throw ourselves on thorns, we know. We understand. And still - chest on thorns. It will always be like this

Just try to love a person - and he kills you. Just feel that you can’t live without someone, and he kills you.

He was wrong. Time passed, but the pain did not subside. On the contrary, it tormented even more, turning into cold, ugly torture. Before, loneliness was faceless, and he never thought that even one person entering his life could bring him healing. Now loneliness had a name: Maggie, Maggie, Maggie...

Don't be upset, baby. The Lord God treated you very generously—he didn’t give you brains. Believe me, it’s much more convenient without them.

I am writing to you, Maggie, to tear up the letter again so that it never reaches you in Drogheda...
If only you knew, my dear, how hard it is for me now, how I try to hold on without letting it show,
What oppresses my soul, burning it from the inside... I cry out to the Almighty: God! I pray, keep,
That flower, my sweet, scarlet, wild rose. Let no tears dare touch her tender cheeks.
Give her strength. May she still be able to forget me. And may I still love madly as before
And pray for happiness, and dream about her at night... So many different things have sometimes happened to us in life.
Only You helped, allowing us to forget sorrows. We always received your advice in difficult times or moments.
May your angel give her happiness and comfort her in difficult times. What am I saying, you are with her like that...oh, how sinful I am...
You are omnipotent, O God, you have given strength more than once. Calm me down in this difficult hour of doubt. Remove these thoughts, fill my emptiness... I again touch the holy cross with my lips. And I try to imagine all the pain of your, God, suffering.. .Perhaps there are no weaker and more vulnerable creatures in the world than we humans, especially those who love. These thoughts about her, apparently, will still destroy me... How I once loved those days of your adolescence, But Mary was right and also her prophecy. And at that hour when Drogheda became legally mine. I, my Maggie, shamefully and basely betrayed you.

Covers a half-century period that begins in 1915. Each of the seven parts of the book deals with the character of one of the main characters. The book tells the story of the Cleary family, who rose from poverty in New Zealand to owning one of the largest estates in Drogheda in Australia.

The first part begins with the birth of the youngest daughter Maggie, who reached the age of four. When describing the period from 1915 to 1917. author of The Thorn Birds ( summary) describes the life and everyday life of a large family. Fiona, the mother of the family, works every day for the good of the family; under the guidance of strict nuns, the children study in a Catholic school with the ensuing difficulties; the eldest son is dissatisfied; Frank is dissatisfied with the monotony of life and poverty. But then one day a letter arrives from the sister of the father of the family, Padrik Cleary (Paddy), Mary Carson, who owns the vast Australian estate of Drogheda. She offers her brother the position of head shearer. Soon the whole family moves from New Zealand to Australia.

(1918-1928) Upon arrival in Australia, the Cleary family was met by a young priest, Ralph de Bricassart. Ten-year-old Maggie immediately attracted Ralph's attention with her shyness and beauty. Having matured a little, Maggie falls in love with Ralph, but because of his vow of chastity as a Catholic priest, Ralph cannot be with her. Although they spend a lot of time together: talking, riding horses, which caused some hostility on the part of the widow Mary Carson, who is also in love with the young priest. Ralph is Mary's heir. Having received the rank of bishop, Ralph leaves Drogheda. Although both young people yearn for each other.

(1929-1932) Big fire took the lives of Maggie's father Padrick and brother Stuart. As their bodies are being transported, Ralph arrives in Drogheda that day, but leaves again after the funeral. From Maggie he receives a gift of a rose that survived the fire.

(1933-1938) Luke O'Neill, a new worker who began to look after Maggie, appears at the estate. Soon Maggie marries him, and Luke looked like Ralph. After the wedding, Luke got a job as a cane cutter, and Maggie got a job as a maid in the house of one married couple. Maggie wants to have a child with Luke, but he is in no hurry to do so. But still, using her feminine charms, Maggie gives birth to a daughter, Justina. After a difficult birth, she falls ill and the owners of the house where she served as a maid allow her to go to Matlock Island. Even after arriving, Luke did not want to see his wife and went back to work. Then Ralph arrives. After hesitating, he goes to Maggie. They spend several days together. But soon Ralph returns to Rome again to continue his career. Maggie leaves Luke and returns to Drogheda pregnant with Ralph's baby.

(1938-1953) Maggie gives birth to a son in Drogheda, whom she names Dan, who resembles Ralph. But those around him think that this is Luke's son. Only Fiona, Maggie's mother, guessed. When talking with Maggie, it turned out that Fiona in her youth was crazy about one influential man, from whom she had a son, Frank, and who could not marry her. She then married Padrick Cleary. The lovers of both women cared about their careers. Soon Ralph arrives in Drogheda and meets Dan, unaware that this is his son. Maggie also remained silent. When World War II began in Europe, Maggie's brothers went to the front. Already being a cardinal, Ralph came to terms with the fact that the Vatican supported the Mussolini regime.

(1954-1965) Having matured, Maggie’s children began to choose professions for themselves. Justina leaves for London, planning to become an actress. Dan wants to devote himself to the church, no matter how Maggie resists it. But still he sends Dan to Ralph in Rome. After completing the ritual, he leaves for Crete and while rescuing two women, he drowns. After Maggie arrives, Ralph learns that Dan is his son and helps move his son to Drogheda.

(1965-1969) Justina copes with Dan's death, but finds solace in her work. She hesitates between returning to Drogheda and establishing a relationship with her German friend Lion Hartheim. Lyon wants to marry Justin. Still, she marries him. She notifies Maggie, who is in Drogheda, of her marriage by telegram. There are no more children in their family. And Justina doesn't want to have them either.

American writer Colleen McCullough's second novel, The Thorn Birds, became a bestseller. Even though it was published in the second half of the 20th century, it still attracts the interest of new readers. The novel was filmed and translated into many languages. A person at any age can find something useful for themselves in this work and draw conclusions.

Maggie Cleary is the only girl in their large family. The mother does not know what a woman’s happiness is, she is busy with housework, she does not have enough time for tenderness with her children. The girl's father is forced to constantly work hard, and in addition, he treats all women with contempt. This concerns not only his wife, who has long come to terms with this, but also the innocent girl. After all, she will not be able to become a good worker and help support their large family. Maggie suffers greatly from a lack of love from her parents and feels useless to anyone.

One day, their father’s sister invites them to move in with her, where she gives them work. Maggie meets a priest, for whom she experiences her first and strongest feelings. Time passes, and he also understands that she causes deep emotions in him, he thinks about giving up the priesthood. With their love, they aroused the wrath of Aunt Maggie; it turns out that she has been infatuated with him for a long time. The heroes have to make difficult choices. How will the girl’s life turn out next? And how will her upbringing affect her attitude towards children? Will she repeat the fate of her parents in marriage?

"The Thorn Birds" - story of three generations lasting 50 years. The author touches on the topics of family relationships, wealth and poverty, life values, large families and attitudes towards step-children. The novel describes a string of events happening to colorful characters, which will make the reader plunge into the depth of human relationships and worry about the characters with all their souls.

On our website you can download the book “The Thorn Birds” by Colleen McCullough for free and without registration in fb2, rtf, epub, pdf, txt format, read the book online or buy the book in the online store.

The story begins in 1915 and spans half a century. The plot centers on the life of the Cleary family, who have made their way from the New Zealand poor to the managers of one of the largest Australian estates, Drogheda.

Part 1. 1915–1917 Maggie

It's the birthday of my youngest daughter, Maggie, who is turning four. The life of a large family is described, the hard daily work of the mother of the family, Fiona, the difficulties of teaching children in a Catholic school under the command of stern nuns, the dissatisfaction of the eldest son Frank with poverty and the monotony of life.

One day, Padrik Cleary (Paddy) receives a letter from his sister Mary Carson, the wealthy owner of the vast Australian estate of Drogheda. She invites him to the position of senior shepherd, and the whole family moves from New Zealand to Australia.

Part 2. 1918–1928 Ralph

Mary Carson, the widow of the “steel king” Michael Carson, is unrequitedly in love with Ralph and watches his relationship with Maggie with poorly concealed hatred. Feeling that Ralph is close to abandoning his rank for the sake of the matured Maggie, Mary sets a trap for Ralph at the cost of her life: after the death of Mary Carson, her huge inheritance goes to the church, provided that the latter appreciates its humble minister Ralph de Bricassart. He becomes the sole administrator of the Carson estate, and the Cleary family receives the right to live in Drogheda as administrators.

Now, when the possibility of a church career opens up before Ralph again, he refuses to join his life with Maggie and leaves Drogheda. Maggie misses him. Ralph also thinks about her, but overcomes the desire to return to Drogheda.

Part 3. 1929–1932 Paddy

Part 4. 1933–1938 Luke

After the wedding, it turns out that Luke found himself a job as a cane cutter, and Maggie got a job as a maid in the couple's house. Maggie dreams of a child and her own home, but Luke prefers to work and save money, promising her a full-fledged family life in a couple of years. They do not see each other for months, but Maggie, using cunning, gives birth to his daughter Justina.

After a difficult birth, Maggie is ill for a long time, and the owners of the house where she serves as a maid give her a trip to Matlock Island. After her departure, Luke arrives and the owner offers to visit Maggie, but Luke refuses and leaves. After this, Ralph arrives, and he is also advised to go to Maggie, posing as Luke. Ralph hesitates, but goes to Maggie.

Unable to resist their attraction to each other, they spend a few days as husband and wife, after which Ralph returns to Rome to pursue his career and become a cardinal. Maggie leaves Luke and returns to Drogheda, carrying Ralph's child under her heart.

Part 5. 1938–1953 Fia

Meanwhile, World War II begins in Europe. Maggie's twin brothers go to the front. Ralph, already a cardinal, has difficulty reconciling himself with the Vatican's flexibility in relation to the Mussolini regime. In Drogheda, Maggie gives birth to a son, Dan, a copy of Ralph, but no one doubts that his father is Luke, since the men are very similar. Only Maggie's mother, Fiona (Fia), guesses.

In a conversation with Maggie, it turns out that in her youth Fiona was also passionately in love with an influential man who could not marry her. She had a son with him, Frank, and her father gave Padrick Cleary money to marry her. Both Fiona and Maggie loved a man who could not reciprocate their feelings: Fiona's lover cared about his career, Ralph was devoted to the church. Maggie laughs and says that she was smarter and made sure that Dan had a name and no one would doubt his legitimate origins.

Ralph arrives in Drogheda, meets Dan, but does not realize that this is his son. Maggie doesn't tell him anything.

Part 6. 1954–1965 Dan

Dan is undergoing seminary training and ordination. After the ceremony, he leaves for Crete to rest and drowns while saving two women. Maggie comes to Ralph to ask for help in negotiations with the Greek authorities and reveals to him that Dan is his son. Ralph helps her move Dan to Drogheda, performs the last rites on him and dies after the funeral, admitting to himself that he had sacrificed too much for the sake of his ambitions.

Part 7. 1965–1969 Justina

After Dan's death, Justina finds no place for herself and seeks peace in work. She either tries to return to Drogheda, or strives to improve relations with her friend, the German Lion Hartheim. Lyon loves Justina and wants to marry her, but she is afraid of becoming attached to him and becoming vulnerable to pain and anxiety. She ends up marrying him. Maggie in Drogheda receives a telegram from her announcing her marriage.

The estate has no future - her brothers did not marry and are childless, Dan died, and Justina does not want to hear about children.

If the female characters - Fiona, Justina and especially Maggie - are felt as alive, in their carnal reality and originality, then Ralph de Bricassart is written in a purely romantic vein. There is even a stamp of obvious idealization on him: a man of rare beauty, highly educated, charming, a born diplomat, not just a spiritual mentor to his flock, but also able to be a simple shepherd, a sheepdog, despite his refined manners, a jack of all trades, the object of Mary Carson’s unfulfilled desires , as, indeed, other women, firmly remaining faithful to the Catholic principles of celibacy for clergy, he, submitting to ascetic dogma, seems to have firmly suppressed human passions and attractions in himself.

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Meeting Maggie transforms him. Even then, he notices in her that subtle charm of femininity that will make up the essence of her nature. This is exactly how it will remain in the memory of readers. This friendship between a priest and a teenage girl is touching in its own way, a friendship that develops into affection, then into love, still vague and unconscious for Maggie. Throughout her life she will carry this feeling to her first and only chosen one, and that crumpled rose that accidentally survived the fire, which she gives to Ralph, will become the key to the strength of her love, a multi-valued symbol.

There's probably a little in this one sad story two “monogamous people” have a touch of sentimentality and even literature. To some readers it may seem far from real life. But let’s take into account the genre features of this novel. Is it permissible to measure the romantic thickening of colors by the standards of everyday verisimilitude? It seems that the love of Maggie and Ralph has its own deep truth, expressing all the strength and tragedy of this feeling in its highest manifestations.

Switching to last parts The novel focuses on Dan and Justina - those who represent the third generation, the writer turns to new ideological and moral conflicts. Maggie's children are already violating the family's devotion to the land. Dan, a wonderful and pure young man, will follow in his father’s footsteps, become a Catholic priest, and join the Jesuit order. His tragic death will be a fatal blow for Ralph as well.

Of course, there is a certain idealization in the depiction of Dan, like his father. And yet the writer’s attitude towards Catholicism is not without a critical element. Affirming the eternal value of everything, original, living, natural, the novelist

The very logic of the events she recreated reveals the inhumanity of the Catholic dogma of celibacy of the clergy, which is a challenge to human nature itself. This problem has been readily discussed in literature since the Renaissance: in the short stories of Boccaccio, for example, the sophisticated tricks of monks, whose carnal lusts rebel against the prohibitions imposed on them by the rank, were wittily played out. In the novel, serving the Catholic God actually means renouncing life; it turns into the deepest life drama for Ralph and Maggie. The writer will put into the mouth of her heroine words of bitter reproach to the Almighty, who took her beloved away from her. And to Ralph himself, in the face of Maggie’s earthly beauty, God will sometimes seem like “a colossus with feet of clay.” Ralph's pride and ambition, his devotion to the dignity will ultimately reveal all their ephemerality against the backdrop of real earthly love - perhaps the most beautiful thing he has known in life. The novel's historicism is also evident in the depiction of various generations of the Cleary family. Maggie's daughter Justina, who became an actress, left her home and lives in Europe, is another interestingly conceived female character. She bears the Cleary family traits, is proud, independent, independent, and at the same time she is a person of a different time, her range of interests and ideals are wider than those of her slightly “provincial” parents, and her moral standards are different, free. Next to her, the figure of her beloved Hartheim seems, however, pale, the very story of their relationship is somewhat far-fetched; in describing it, the writer, it seems, is straying into the cliches of a “secular” novel, recreating the “beautiful life” of people not burdened with material worries.

In general, when depicting her characters, Colleen McCullough avoids halftones; she gravitates toward bold, sharp lines, piercing and catchy colors. Ralph de Bricassart is not only generous and brilliantly educated, he is also a phenomenon of rare physical perfection. This is how, for example, Mary Carson sees Ralph: “...tall, impeccably built, a thin aristocratic face, amazing harmony and completeness in his whole appearance - God does not bestow all his creations so generously. From his wavy black curls and stunning blue eyes to his small, graceful hands and feet, he is truly perfection.” Before us are the tried and tested attributes of a romantic portrait. The appearance of a number of other characters - Fiona, Maggie, almost all members of the Cleary clan - is distinguished by the same expressiveness and originality.

The bright and surprising triumphs in the novel over the mundane, prosaic, everyday. Fiona's lover, Frank's father, is not just famous person, but a statesman after whom the streets in his homeland are named. Justina not only becomes an actress, she shines in the Shakespearean repertoire - in the roles of Ophelia and Desdemona. Mary Carson is the richest woman in Australia. Ralph de Bricassart, who began his journey in the Australian outback, is making a dizzying career. His ancient noble family dates back more than one and a half thousand years, his distant ancestor was a baron under William the Conqueror, and everyone before Bricassara, true Catholics, staunchly defended the faith. Ralph comes to Maggie on Matlock Island, deserted and fabulously beautiful.

Even the very departure of the heroes from life, as a rule, is illuminated in a particularly tragic light. Dan, who inherited from Ralph not only physical but also moral qualities, dies at sea while saving two women; Paddy dies in flames forest fire; Stuart is killed by a wild boar; Ralph takes his last breath in Maggie's arms.

The romantic tendency of the novel makes itself felt in the peculiar atmosphere of chastity diffused in it, in the emphasis on the motives of loneliness and celibacy. This is the result of widowhood (Fiona and Mary Carson), an unsuccessful family life (Maggie), many years in prison (Frank), divorce (Lyon Hartheim), and membership in the Catholic clergy (Ralph de Bricassart and Dan). In some cases, this trait, for example among Maggie’s brothers Bob, Jack and Hugh, who remained unmarried, seems psychologically unreliable, although Fiona speaks of the coldness inherent in all representatives of the Cleary family. In general, the behavior of the heroes in love, their inexperience has a noticeable touch of “Victorianism”, “gentility”, it seems to be a return to the classic English novels of the last century, so revered by Australians. The favorite books of the Cleary family - both children and parents - were romantic adventure works aimed at adolescence, where a kiss, not to mention any risqué descriptions, was a rarity.

True, against the background of this chaste atmosphere of the novel, several intimate scenes stand out, quite naturalistic. Of course, they play a significant role in outlining the psychological appearance of the heroes and characterize the moral concepts of different generations of Cleary. For example, Maggie's wedding night, described in detail, allows her to discover in Luke a rude person who is deeply alien to her. It is possible that the “model” for the writer was the corresponding scene from Maupassant’s novel “La Vie,” so important for the characterization of Julien de Lamar. The meeting of Maggie and Ralph on Matlock Island, on the contrary, is cleared of physiological details: it appears as the high apotheosis of true love. Justina, a completely modern girl “without prejudices”, during a date with Arthur Lestrange, wants to learn the “technique” of love. And yet, in this scene, as well as in the description of Maggie’s first wedding night, there are clearly “excessive” details in which the writer pays tribute to “fashionable” samples.

However, it is not these episodes that determine the overall atmosphere of the work. Colin McCullough's heroes are conscientious people, experiencing conflicts of passion and duty, pride; love for them is a persistent, serious feeling. It seems that time has no power over their souls. For years they keep their secrets and endure loneliness.

But the main thing about them is that they follow their nature, their inner essence, they go their own way. Both the title of the novel and the old Celtic legend in the epigraph about a bird throwing itself on sharp thorns and singing an amazingly beautiful song before its death are reminiscent of this deep idea of the work: “Everything best is bought only at the price of great suffering.” The image of this bird as a leitmotif also appears in the text of the book: the final lines of the novel return us to it.

Frank, Luke, Dan, and Justina go their own way. They are not able to give up their convictions or change their character. Maggie and Ralph can’t do anything about the feeling that gripped them; it brings them both great pain and great happiness...

The originality of the novel lies in the fact that the writer’s concentration on the moral and psychological conflicts experienced by her characters is combined in the novel with a wide panorama of reality, with the scale of geographical and historical horizons. This clearly shows the realistic tendency of the work. Particularly interesting from an educational point of view are the Australian parts of the novel, specific descriptions of specifically national forms of everyday life, fairs, dance evenings, life on a farm, in a monastery school, the Silida festival in Queensland, and so on. At the same time, no matter how separated Drogheda may be from " big world", the imperious wind of history reaches her, it carries away the heroes of the novel, determines their destinies. The action moves from New Zealand to Australia, from New South Wales to Queensland, from Sydney to London, Bonn and Rome, Athens, North Africa, and the Pacific Islands. The novelist has a high sense of history. And this is the most important sign of modern realistic art.

The Cleary family is a model of national history. This idea is emphasized by the very composition of the novel, which is divided into parts named after the characters and placed within a strictly defined chronological framework. By tracing the genealogy of some of his subjects, McCullough provides important insights into Australian history and economics. History is not only the background against which the fates of the heroes play out. As the plot develops and approaches modernity, its breath is felt more and more clearly in the novel. Recalling the events of the First World War, the novelist, through the mouth of Padrick Cleary, an Irishman who remembers the oppression of his homeland, condemns the self-interest of English colonialism, as well as the jingoistic propaganda of which Frank almost fell victim. The novel mentions attempts by the official press to glorify the Gallipoli operation, which from a military point of view was an adventure inspired by the then Secretary of the Navy Churchill. Australian and New Zealand soldiers paid for this inglorious action with thousands of lives.

The famous Australian socialist poet Henry Lawson once wrote about Australia:

Those who said that there is no need and poverty here,

Apparently they had their own reason for coming up with this lie.

With his novel, Colin McCullough also challenges the myth of a happy, ever-prosperous Australia, this almost “promised land”. The characterization of the severe economic crisis of the 1930s, which affected the whole country and was very noticeable in Drogheda, is expressive. This crisis, long and painful, leaves a heavy mark on the souls of people: thousands of vagabond laborers, “swagmen,” wander along the roads of the country, they often feed on the alms of wealthy farmers, subsist on small day labor, others find their end by dying on the road...

The events of the Second World War, which involve the heroes of the book, are also covered in the novel. Cleary's two sons, Patrick and James, twins and inseparable friends, find themselves in the ranks of the Ninth Australian Division fighting the Nazis in North Africa. First, it was blocked in besieged Tobruk, then transferred to El Alamein, where in the fall of 1942, under the command of Field Marshal Montgomery, it took part in the famous battle that led to the defeat of Rommel’s corps and the beginning of the liberation of North Africa.

Probably, the battle scenes of the novel will seem naive and not convincing enough to the Soviet reader. In general, the theme of war and its influence on the fate of the heroes in the novel does not sound as vivid as we would like, which, however, has its own explanations. Although Australia contributed to the defeat of German and especially Japanese fascism, the war did not leave such a tragic mark on the life of its people, and the sacrifices it suffered cannot be compared with what befell Soviet Union, his army and civilians.

However, the anti-fascist orientation of the novel is obvious. Resorting to historical fiction, the writer introduces several important scenes concerning Bricassart's activities in the Vatican during the war. Ralph de Bricassart represents those forces within the Catholic Church that were in opposition to Nazism and its misanthropic doctrines. It was in Ralph’s mouth that the writer put a sharp and insightful debunking of the pro-German position of Pope Pius XII. Rejecting the thesis of the “infallibility” of the Pope, Ralph states: “His judgment is biased. All his efforts are aimed at fighting communism. Germany for him is the most reliable enemy of communism, the only obstacle to the advancement of communism to the West, and he wants Hitler to remain firmly in power in Germany, just as he is quite happy with Mussolini as the ruler of Italy.”

In this seemingly private episode, the writer touches on a pressing political issue, in solidarity with the West German playwright Rolf Hochhuth, who in his famous play “The Viceroy” accused Pope Pius XII of criminally refusing to raise his voice against mass repression carried out by the Nazis.

Together with de Bricassart, the internal opposition to Nazism is represented by Lyon Hartheim, who, while still a young man, a Wehrmacht soldier, met with the cardinal in the dramatic days of July 1943 in the Vatican. True, about his character political activity the novel speaks rather dullly; one can, however, conclude that Lion Hartheim is an opponent of the “extremes” of Nazi ideology, an adherent of a broad bourgeois-democratic platform. Of course, there were many Catholics in the ranks of anti-fascists in Italy, France, and Germany. However, and this will be noted by the Soviet reader of the book, the decisive role in the European Resistance was played by the active, heroic struggle of the left forces, primarily the communists. Unfortunately, their activities are beyond the writer’s sight.

The realism of the novel, as already noted, is manifested in unforgettable brightness, accurately and detailed pictures of nature and landscapes. And here the art of Colleen McCullough grows out of a national tradition that has deep historical roots.

Since the last century, the poeticization of the “bush” - the virgin Australian bush - has entered the literature. Like the American pioneers who mastered the "frontier", the Australian pioneers made their way through the "bush"; there their character was tempered, perseverance and hard work were formed. Life in the “bush” required self-restraint, accustomed to loneliness, it was opposed to existence in the city, which was associated with effeminacy, even sinfulness. Nature, glorified in many works of Australian poetry and prose, on the contrary, seemed to cleanse the souls of people, making it possible to see human nature itself in its integrity, free from everything superficial.

The images of nature that are constantly present in McCullough's novel, especially in the Australian part, are not just a picturesque backdrop against which events unfold. Forest thickets, pastures, sheep pastures, reeds taller than a man, thickets of bushes - all these are real conditions of existence for the Cleary family, firmly tied to the land. McCullough's heroes seem to be close to the eternal fundamental principles of life. And that’s probably why they are so straightforward and integral.

Some of the most memorable scenes in the novel include the landscapes around Drogheda, this unique reserve of Australian flora and fauna. It seems that the writer takes us to the legendary Eden, where it is completely modern people“coexist” in rare harmony with pristine nature, not subject to the destructive effects of technological progress.

This is how a unique philosophy of life arises in the novel, a kind of revived Rousseauism - as a form of confrontation between the individual and the dehumanizing “machine” civilization. The poeticization of nature, of course, constitutes the romantic element of the work, which gives it an exciting novelty against the background of modern literature with its urbanism and impregnation with material-technical realities and accessories of “mass” society.

If McCullough's poeticization of nature and peculiar Rousseauism testify to the romantic tendencies of her novel, then the realistic element appears with particular clarity in the depiction of labor. This theme has always played a prominent role in the realistic literature of Australia from the 19th century to the present day, as exemplified by the work of the already mentioned Patrick White. Mastering enormous material, generations of pioneers had to inhabit gigantic uninhabited spaces, cut down forests, sow fields, build, and herd gigantic flocks of sheep. They were pioneers who braved the elements: lumberjacks and herders, sugarcane cutters and fishermen, gold miners and fruit pickers, with their labor they created the wealth of Australia. All this largely determined the very structure and character of literature, prose and poetry, as well as folklore, in which the theme of nature merges with the theme of labor. Australian poetry, for example, is generally distinguished by reality and concreteness, its lyrical hero is not inclined to meditation, does not have his head in the clouds, he is as close as possible to earthly concerns. The same heroes shown in real life labor practice, we meet in the stories and novels of G. Lawson, W. Palmer, K.-S. Pritchard, A. Marshall. At the same time, work is associated not just with prosaic earnings: its high ethical value has been revealed. That's why not only traditional themes literature - love, travel, grief and joy, but even such seemingly everyday “matters” as bread baking are exalted and poeticized. Nancy Keesing writes in her poem "Bread":

The oldest food

I cook skillfully.

She takes in life

Warms like a body.

Her tight flesh

I get in the way with my fists

And the dough is made with yeast

It swells under your hands.

The concept of “man” is warmed by symbolism - Grain, leaven, bread And fruit somewhere under the heart.

Probably, these words could be repeated by McCullough’s heroine Fiona, who calmly, with her inherent dignity and pride, bears the difficult burden of being a mother and housewife in a huge house.

The main business that the men in the Cleary family are engaged in is sheep farming. The writer includes in her narrative “layers” of special information relating to raising sheep, shearing them, caring for them, herding, and meat production. All this is given in vivid, fascinating detail in its own way and represents an undoubted cognitive interest. The reader learns how much hard work goes into obtaining that famous wool for which Australia is famous. Haircut time is especially difficult. And although many seemingly special technological details are introduced into the text of the novel, these pages are read with unflagging interest. Meanwhile, the history of literature also knows many examples of so-called “industrial novels”, for example by Pierre Amp, schematic and colorless, in which a person dissolves in dense descriptions of machine-technical texture.

Does this mean that the main thing in people’s lives - their work - is not amenable to artistic and aesthetic development? Of course not. And first of all, because in significant, significant works of art, the image of the labor process does not exist on its own, as a kind of foreign body, but is organically associated with the depiction of human individuality, with its socio-psychological characteristics. That's why generations of readers watch with unceasing attention as Robinson Crusoe works on a potter's wheel, makes a boat, tames domestic ANIMALS, and builds a hut!

Colleen McCullough's characters love their work. They give themselves to him with some kind of greed and self-forgetfulness. Frank works enthusiastically in the forge. Little Maggie watches in awe as he cuts down huge eucalyptus trees. Her brothers, who live in Drogheda, are so attached to the land, to their cause, that they sacrificed for it family life. A masterful description of cane cutting in Queensland.

And if this work causes physical fatigue, then it is rewarded with joy and satisfaction. McCullough poetizes the work of people in the lap of nature, not associated with large machine, conveyor production; after all, under the conditions of capitalism, the individuality of the worker is leveled, dehumanized, loses its human essence and turns into a kind of impersonal appendage of a ruthlessly functioning “system”.

“The Thorn Birds” is a multifaceted work; it confirms the well-known truth that the work of a serious writer is nourished by the life-giving juices of reality. Colin McCullough is most original where he artistically testifies to the nature, labor, and way of life of his homeland, and introduces characters bearing nationally specific traits. On the contrary, moving to the European stage, it somehow loses its inherent freshness...

That is why perhaps the most important image, dominating everything, is the image of Drogheda. It carries the lyrical theme of the novel, the theme of “home”, “origins”, “roots”. The main characters of the work are associated with Drogheda. Its endless expanses are the embodiment of the homeland, native land, the most precious beginnings for a person. Here heroes are born, live, die, and find their final peace in a quiet cemetery. Even the parched, drought-torn land of Drogheda is full of “indescribable charm” for the Cleary brothers; the sight of sheep serves as a consolation, and the smell of late roses in the garden seems like “heavenly bliss.” Not without a sense of elegiac sadness, the finale speaks of Drogheda, the last of the largest landholdings in New South Wales; along with it, the old patriarchal Australia, the world of spontaneous, artless and deep feelings, should become a thing of the past...

The history of foreign literature, and especially American literature, knows many examples of “writers of one book”: the author, who happily debuted with his first work, which absorbed all his life experience, is subjected to the most difficult test - success, fame - and in the future often cannot maintain himself at the level of the first of your achievement.

Her novel “Indiscreet Hobby” (1981), based on American material, was unsuccessful. McCullough then co-authored a cookery book with Jean Easthope. In 1985, her novel “Creed for the Third Millennium” was published - an undoubtedly interesting work, in which the writer tries her hand at a new utopian genre. The novel takes place in the 21st century, main character- provincial psychiatrist Joshua Christian, a man of great spiritual generosity, filled with a sense of compassion for his compatriots, decides to cure the “millennium neurosis”, the fear of what is threatening as a result of overpopulation of the planet and exhaustion natural resources"Ice Age" Under the influence of his follower Judith Kerriol, a businesswoman, energetic and ambitious, Christian writes a book that is a huge success. With it, he strives to help overcome neurosis, to instill in people faith in themselves, their strength, and self-esteem. Standing at the head of a mass procession heading to Washington, he deliberately nails himself to the cross, wanting to serve the moral renewal of society at the cost of self-sacrifice. Although the writer here was unable to avoid the poster-symbolic convention of images, this novel is animated by humanistic ideas. There is no doubt, however, that after The Thorn Birds McCullough is in a difficult creative search for new themes and new artistic approaches. Let's hope that Colin McCullough will build on the success of The Thorn Birds in his new writings.