Theory The thorn birds was published in the spring of 1977 at the same time in New York, San Francisco, London, Sydney – Soon after, they were translated into seven languages, warmly welcomed and recommended by readers. Average rating. For several years, the most popular work in the West. This is a unique and valuable work in modern world literature.
Colleen McCulough is not a professional writer, almost no one knew the language before. When the novel “The thorn birds” brings honor to the author, McCulough is still just a normal medical staff. She was born in Australia, New South Wales, in the construction workers’ family from Ireland.
McCulough’s youth in Sydney, once attended the Catholic church school, from her childhood – she dreamed of becoming a doctor, but had no conditions to go through medical school.
She tried to do some jobs – journalism, library work, teaching and returning to medicine, and training in neuroscience. Later, she worked at the hospitals in Sydney, London, Birmingham, then to the US, working at a medical school at Yale University. In 1974 she wrote her first novel, with no echo.
The birds singing in the dust were prone to conceive for four years, and at the beginning of the summer of 1975, she began writing in a row for ten months. During that time, she was still busy with work in the hospital, only writing works at night and on Sundays.
The central character in the work is Meggie – the woman who tries to overcome her destiny, surpassing God to win love, win happiness. Her love story with Father Ralph is likened to the song of the best singing bird in the world, both of them have to trade their whole lives to get what they want. “Because all the best is only possible when you pay with great suffering.”
Loving a person who is not in the same class, his position has been miserable but loving someone with an oath of never marrying is even more painful. But Meggie does have resignation. She had resisted to forget this affair when she married a farm worker, even gave birth to a daughter but what she felt was not love.
Trying to get rid of this boring marriage, Meggie returned to Drogheda and fought for a love she should have had. Although Meggie did not win fate, what Meggie struggled to make readers admire. Somewhere in this modern age there were still many women like Meggie and, precisely, she easily captured the hearts of most female readers.