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The Thorn Birds cover art

The Thorn Birds

By: Colleen McCullough
Narrated by: Greta Scacchi
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Publisher's Summary

'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

What listeners say about The Thorn Birds

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love the book not a fan.of the shorter narrated version.

I was excited to download this classic favourite but not happy that this audio version skips key paragraphs in the story. A new listener wouldn't notice. However, 3 hours in and I have noticed at least 3 key scenes missing, if not more.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

great story teller

love it, such a great story teller and I got lost in the narration which is amazing

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

I absolutely love the printed book, it is definitely my favorite book since I was a teenager, so I really looked forward to listening to it. But I was really disappointed that the audio version had left out at least 1/3 of the book, the listeners are missing out on so much! Why would you cut the story short?! The original narrative adds so much depths to the characters, to the storyline...and it's all missing in this audiobook!
The narrator wasn't great either, at times cringeworthy. Disappointed again.
I wish there was a full version, with a different narrator.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Mrs
  • 30-07-2015

A bit of Australia

A surprisingly captivating story which I really enjoyed as a new resident of Australia I enjoyed hearing about now familiar scenery, animals and culture and enjoyed it all the more for that.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous as always.

Colleen McColloch describes beautiful men, beautifully. A story over 3 generations and multiple countries. Mainly Australia.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

poor reading of a great book

I have read the thornbirds myself 3 times, so listening to an incomplete version was very disappointing if a book has been condensed then it should be clearly stated.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not what I expected

Found I longed for the connection between Meggie and Ralph. Couldn't feel it in the written word at all. Great did a wonderful job as narrator. Colleen's description of Drogheda was beautiful and it became a living entity for me. However, doesn't happen to me often but much preferred the mini series

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A great book to listen to

This was beautifully read but I wish I'd realised that the story was abridged as it missed so many details from my favorite story.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not As I Remember

Although I really enjoyed listening to The Thorn Birds I was disappointed that some parts of the book were left out…am wondering why this was the case.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!!

All around great book! Great story, great narration. Would seek out other books by both the author and the narrator.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.