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The Thorn Birds

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The Thorn Birds

By: Colleen McCullough
Narrated by: Greta Scacchi
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About this listen

 '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
All stars
Most relevant
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

Not what I expected

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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.

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

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

great story teller

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Was nothing like the book. So much missing. Very disappointing and wondering how many other audible books skip so much of the original book.

Very disappointed

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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.

Disappointed

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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.

A bit of Australia

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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.

poor reading of a great book

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

Fabulous as always.

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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.

A great book to listen to

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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.

Not As I Remember

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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.