tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post8999696051775248505..comments2024-03-27T12:54:20.598-07:00Comments on The Misadventures Of Super Librarian: The Fetishization Of MeggieWendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12485867264936716806noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-31413852723060428502022-09-28T10:50:51.267-07:002022-09-28T10:50:51.267-07:00I grew up in an Irish Catholic family in the 1960’...I grew up in an Irish Catholic family in the 1960’s, the only girl among 4 brothers. So when I first encountered The Thorn Birds in 1977, I could relate to Maggie in so many ways. I also had a patriarchal father and distant mother. I suffered slaps with the ruler by my Catholic school nuns, who terrified me. I wanted to be accepted but often felt like an outsider in my family. Unlike Maggie, I never had an encourager or supporter like Father Ralph. Many comments read here find his reaction to the 9 year old Maggie creepy. I don’t see it that way. As I believe he says at one point, she is the child he could never have. As a child, he can love her, making a place for her in his heart. I believe his approach toward her is altruistic and pure. She fills a void in his life - a need to love and cherish another human being. And, he is attracted to beauty, which she has. He never encourages her to think of him in a romantic way. So my opinion of Father Ralph in his dealings with young Maggie remains positive. He offered her love, and encouragement at a formative time when no one else took notice of her. Of course, as the story progresses, his feelings change, but still, he resists the impulse to act on his newly awakened sexual attraction. In this case, his ambition keeps him from crossing the line. Though as a young woman, I found this frustrating. I wanted him to give it all up for her in the way of romantic novels with happy endings, but I believe the story was more complex and layered because it didn’t go that way. I basically, like Fiona, liked and respected Ralph. Maggie sometimes annoyed me because she didn’t take more of a stand with him until her outburst at Justine’s birth. But her passive woman’s nature is what kept Ralph coming back. He trusted that she would accept whatever life dolled out. This was a necessary character trait for their story to progress. When Maggie does lash out, Ralph is so taken aback and fearful of losing her love, he must pursue her. Had she stayed complacently loving him at the family ranch, the story would have fizzled out. . If he hadn’t pursued her, had just gone back to Rome and never saw her again, I don’t think any reader would have been satisfied. Of course, this would have been the ethical thing to do. But who wants ethics when you have waited so long for the relationship to.be consummated - lol.. I know I would have lost interest in the book had this been the case. It was their relationship that kept me reading - and still does, all these years later. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02566582326729941395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-20054284143503337542022-02-18T20:41:41.265-08:002022-02-18T20:41:41.265-08:00As a young teenager the story seemed very romantic...As a young teenager the story seemed very romantic at the time (early 1980s) but in 2022 the story comes across quite differently and the relationship creepy. Most of the other girls and their moms also found the story romantic and intriguing. People today argue over whether or not his feelings towards her at nine were romantic and inappropriate but I find it disturbing either way since he was a father figure to her while she was growing up. I don't really find the characters very likeable either for all of the same reasons that have already been mentioned. I did like Rachel Ward's performance in the mini-series though. During the 1970s and 1980s unhealthy and unrealistic views of love were being portrayed and reinforced in books, movies and on television. Abusive and inappropriate relationships were constantly normalized and romantized. Also during this same time frame one of the most popular love stories on television was a storyline on General Hospital involving a rape victim falling in love with her rapist. Fans would shout out to the actor who portrayed the rapist, "Please rape me too, Luke!". Looking back today while reading old stories or watching old movies with my teenaged daughter has been quite the eye opener and cringeworthy at times. mrskwonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12738707587203871053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-18301808231828632922021-10-09T06:52:17.696-07:002021-10-09T06:52:17.696-07:00I also read it decades ago and named my daughter M...I also read it decades ago and named my daughter Megan. Though my dad was Welsh and I liked the name. I,ve since read a book called Fairvale ladies book club set on a station too. Having travelled to Australia several times, I enjoy reading about its landscapes and lifestyles almost more than any storyline. With Covid, books may be the nearest we get to overseas travel. I agree story a bit icky..Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12884535966859172576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-78423273542812418572015-03-16T08:26:17.078-07:002015-03-16T08:26:17.078-07:00Keishon: Y'all are tempting me with the minise...Keishon: Y'all are tempting me with the miniseries! LOL And yeah, as much as I couldn't seem to get past the "ick moments" - I really loved the saga of the storytelling. I swept right along.....even as I wanted to throttle the characters!Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12485867264936716806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-56987051246001440292015-03-13T08:02:00.618-07:002015-03-13T08:02:00.618-07:00I watched the miniseries with my mom. I was in hig...I watched the miniseries with my mom. I was in high school and didn't get what the fuss was about. Then saw it again as an adult. There are some bonafide ick moments but still, it made for great drama. After all, it was a forbidden love affair. I've never read anything else by her. I do want to read her Roman series eventually. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-56605991296461518362015-03-08T19:53:43.074-07:002015-03-08T19:53:43.074-07:00Kristie: Oh Lord, yeah. Probably not a book that ...Kristie: Oh Lord, yeah. Probably not a book that would stand-up to a reread, especially as a hard core romance reader. We NEED our happy endings! And Ralph and Meggie are not only doomed, but frustrating to boot. You said it perfectly. That she had a "wasted life" pining for this guy who, because of power and ambition was not going to give up the priesthood for her. I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her for the entire book!Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12485867264936716806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-13876709810721971812015-03-08T19:50:51.262-07:002015-03-08T19:50:51.262-07:00Nikki: I listened to this on my work commute. I d...Nikki: I listened to this on my work commute. I did a lot of talking to the car stereo. "Why, why, why?!?!?!" "OMG cupcake! Seriously! Just forget about him already!" LOLWendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12485867264936716806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-90915514677994722512015-03-08T19:49:56.864-07:002015-03-08T19:49:56.864-07:00Jami: The book left me relieved about two facts in...Jami: The book left me relieved about two facts in my own life. 1) I'm glad I never had a bratty brother who tortured my baby dolls and 2) That I never went to Catholic school :) I really did enjoy the very early moments of the book, when the family is in New Zealand and well before Ralph enters into the picture. Then it slide right on downhill for me.<br /><br />LOL! Mama's Family meets Hawthorne meets The Thorn Birds.Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12485867264936716806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-70034058073299572442015-03-08T19:47:24.246-07:002015-03-08T19:47:24.246-07:00Hils: I hated Dane mostly because I felt the autho...Hils: I hated Dane mostly because I felt the author short-changed Justine's character - which irritated. But then the golden boy trope has always been one that annoys me. <br /><br />I talked to my sister this afternoon and she said how much HATED Fiona (Fee). I intensely disliked her as well - although I liked her scenes with Meggie where they discuss Dane's parentage. She came around a teeny-tiny bit for me there at the end. But just a teeny bit!Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12485867264936716806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-55496248480030012112015-03-08T19:44:21.883-07:002015-03-08T19:44:21.883-07:00Sonia: LOL! I walked away from this book only wa...Sonia: LOL! I walked away from this book only wanting more of Frank and the Muellers. I'll probably go to my grave spinning between stories for those three people :)Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12485867264936716806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-9101390657376263672015-03-08T19:43:22.335-07:002015-03-08T19:43:22.335-07:00Bri: Oh the saga aspects are really well done. I ...Bri: Oh the saga aspects are really well done. I loved all the Australia "stuff" and the big dramatic scene when a wild fire sweeps towards Drogheda? How could you not love that? I just so wish all the great history and saga bits had been populated by characters I didn't want to throttle ;)Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12485867264936716806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-80336905811589814442015-03-08T19:41:25.888-07:002015-03-08T19:41:25.888-07:00AL: That's it exactly! I would have been fine...AL: That's it exactly! I would have been fine with the age difference (truly!), but the fact that Ralph begins developing feelings of love for Meggie when she's NINE was too much for me. Ick, ick, ick!<br /><br />Ugh, and the whole, "I can't have him so I'm going to take a little piece of him with me forever by having his baby" thing was enough to make me spit nails. I've seen that nonsense in more modern romances and it never fails to infuriate me no end. Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12485867264936716806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-87629452150127016342015-03-08T19:39:41.089-07:002015-03-08T19:39:41.089-07:00Bona and Marguerite: LOL! That's me. Trampli...Bona and Marguerite: LOL! That's me. Trampling all over romantic teenage memories :) My sister was telling me she read this during a less-than-memorable summer when she was working at a plastics factory. She read this and The Stand by Stephen King in the same summer! Anyway, she was 19 and said she got so swept up in the soap opera of it all that she didn't notice any "creepy parts." LOLWendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12485867264936716806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-57589300889736044092015-03-08T19:37:44.092-07:002015-03-08T19:37:44.092-07:00Phyl: Crap. Bryan Brown is Luke?! Damn. I might...Phyl: Crap. Bryan Brown is Luke?! Damn. I might have to watch the miniseries.Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12485867264936716806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-75867797439255891582015-03-07T19:47:25.016-08:002015-03-07T19:47:25.016-08:00Grr keeps freezing on me but I continue, as Bona t...Grr keeps freezing on me but I continue, as Bona thought. I was almost glad when Ralph died as I'd never forgiven him, though I still cried that he did. I was angry at Meggie for a wasted life it seemed, longing for a man who both called her and rejected her at the same time. Justine was prickly as they come.<br />And (laughing) also went on to read Harold Robbins and read then watch Shogun. I honestly don't think I could read The Thorn Birds today without wanting to tear it all up and throwing it on a burning fire but it did have a huge impact on me back in the day.Kristie (J)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15743921647882733738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-11844406100079579012015-03-07T19:40:27.866-08:002015-03-07T19:40:27.866-08:00LOL!! Some of these comments are exactly what I t...LOL!! Some of these comments are exactly what I thought too. I was in my early 20's when I read the book and it was one of the early romances I read. Ralph was supposed to be the hero and give it all up for Meggie, the priesthood AND the money. And though I finished the book and watched the miniseries (mostly for Richard ChamberlainKristie (J)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15743921647882733738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-15420013409885223692015-03-07T18:45:34.250-08:002015-03-07T18:45:34.250-08:00Great review, Wendy, and pretty much how I felt ab...Great review, Wendy, and pretty much how I felt about it. I think I subconsciously blocked out some of the plot because...well, just ugh. And I never read anything else by her. It was just too much for me.Nikkihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04889835236361582323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-39844259531408343042015-03-07T11:05:08.820-08:002015-03-07T11:05:08.820-08:00Never read the book because mom forced me to watch...Never read the book because mom forced me to watch the miniseries as a kid. All I can remember from that is when Meggie's getting her hands slapped with a ruler and Ralph intervenes. <br /><br />Far as I'm concerned the only good thing to come out of The Thorn Birds was that episode of Mama's Family where Mama decides to go back to school and is the only one in her english class to read The Scarlet Letter because once she was told what the plot was she was all "It's like The Thorn Birds!" JamiSingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12756726189949304645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-5363858592926394352015-03-07T08:04:56.770-08:002015-03-07T08:04:56.770-08:00I love this!
I read this book when it was releas...I love this! <br /><br />I read this book when it was released. It was one of those books that was mailed to me automatically by the "book club" I was subscribed to. <br /><br />I was young, but even then I recognized that Ralph was a scumbag! (I saw it as your reason #2, never #1). Meggie got on my nerves and I couldn't stand her. He was icky and she was an idiot, in my book anyway. I hated Meggie's mother! But, I never hated Dane because he was doomed. <br /><br />It was tough, tough liking the characters in this book. But, I loved McCullough's writing, and her descriptions of Australia. And, although I never picked up another book by the author, I never forgot the book either, and became entranced with other books set Down Under. <br /><br />I watched the mini-series and hated it just as much as the book. LOL! <br />Hilciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17765831808358693421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-81828269014485126412015-03-07T04:24:25.107-08:002015-03-07T04:24:25.107-08:00Like you I liked the writing and some scenes. But ...Like you I liked the writing and some scenes. But I've read it not such a long time ago and I saw it as a kind of exaggerated saga. I mean, I didn't take anything too seriously. I was annoyed with many of the author's choices as well.<br />In the end it was a relief to see so many people die because this meant I wouldn't have to worry about them in my time dedicated to "what-might-have-happened-to-those-poor-beloved-characters-i-wich-were-real-so-I-could-meet-them" in my head, you know?<br />Great review! ;)S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12010038911071421007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-55400529451589901172015-03-06T06:17:41.383-08:002015-03-06T06:17:41.383-08:00Like Bona and Marguerite, I was younger when I fir...Like Bona and Marguerite, I was younger when I first saw the mini-series (although it was ABC re-ran it during the late 90s), so some of the stuff I look at now and say, oh no, i was swept away by because I was in my late teens. Added to the fact that my mom LOVED it and Richard Chamberlain and I watched it with her, my opinion was sqewked.<br /><br />I read the book a few years later when I found in languishing in our basement. I actually liked the book better than the mini-series, because I thought it was more well rounded because it was more than Meggie and Ralph's story. Nevertheless, I was still an early twenties, and didn't really analyze what I was reading. I wanted to be entertained and it was this sweeping romantic story with lots of history and descriptions (I'm a history teacher - i really like that stuff ;)), so it pulled me in. Plus, there was sex in it. That was newer in my reading tastes. ;)<br /><br />I remember liking it overall, but definitely noticing the tragedy and that some was more unrealistic. But mostly, I think I read it with suspended disbelief and the knowledge that I had like the mini-series so much. Brihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17790342815419380314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-61092305630676874052015-03-06T01:37:18.129-08:002015-03-06T01:37:18.129-08:00Ditto to all that. I read it when I was also readi...Ditto to all that. I read it when I was also reading (hangs head in shame) Harold Robbins, and I was so blown away with the romance and the ambiance I didn't really notice anything else. But my toes were curling reading Wendy's review, it's amazing what hindsight and age does. I think I read another priest-love book at about the same time by Wendy Perriam - maybe The Stillness, the Dancing? All I remember about that one was an episode with a Mars bar on a train!<br /><br />Thank you Wendy, I've been looking forward to this review, and it was every bit as fab as I hoped. Dare I ask if you're going to watch the mini-series now?Marguerite Kayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06886711566567879237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-20491547997565525192015-03-05T16:27:58.655-08:002015-03-05T16:27:58.655-08:00I'm Catholic, and we went to mass every freaki...I'm Catholic, and we went to mass every freaking Sunday and holy day, so the fact that the male protagonist was a PRIEST always bothered me. And baggage...well, let's say that my baggage is a bit more up close and personal than yours and leave it there, so while the relationship between an adult Meggie and a much older Ralph is not a deal breaker for me (my mother's father was 22 years older than my grandmother, and they married when she was very young), I can't get over the pedophile vibe. <br /><br />Then there's the lying--everybody lies to everybody else and each one of them justify their lying as the best thing to do for the other.<br /><br />On top of that, no one, as you well said, is likable. They are truly self centered. Ralph with his ambition within the church. Meggie determined to have Ralph--or the closest facsimile she can find. Mary, convinced she owns everyone around her. And so on and so forth.<br /><br />Between that and the whole, "let's kill off everyone tragically" gimmick, I honestly never understood the appeal.<br /><br />Mind you, all the rants are from watching the miniseries not reading the actual book. I saw the miniseries, dubbed in Spanish, about a year after it was broadcast here in the US, and after that I just couldn't get into the book. Each time I tried I gave up after a few chapters.aztecladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14857872357667370906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-74129322546608849632015-03-05T12:53:41.245-08:002015-03-05T12:53:41.245-08:00OMG, I guess that my opinion would be the same as ...OMG, I guess that my opinion would be <i>the same as yours</i>, if I had read this book in 2015. <br />The thing is that I read it when I was a teenager. Back in the 1980s. And I just loved it! In those times things like the pink dress of Meggie or the passionate embraces in the beach, were in my impressionable teenage mind for months. Remember, it was the time of Old Skool romance novels. <br />And, of course -Richard Chamberlain. He was so handsome. There's a funny anecdote about the scene with him naked and Barbara Stanwyck that for the first time in her career she forgot her lines.<br />So after reading the book and watching this TV series, kept reading and watching anything with Richard Chamberlain. Shogun & James Clavell was the next thing.<br />Anyway, I have to recognize that my favourite McCullough's books are those set in Ancient Rome. Amazing historical novels, some of the best in the genre. But very different from everything else I've read from her.Bona Caballerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08999745390738959715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350052669699480502.post-87250338914338012402015-03-05T12:21:00.316-08:002015-03-05T12:21:00.316-08:00I read this around the same time the Snowy River m...I read this around the same time the Snowy River movies came out. I was obsessed with all things Down Under. I remember being horrified by parts of it, yet I could not put it down. As good as the writing was, I couldn't bring myself to ready anything else by McCullough after that. <br /><br />I did watch the mini series, which was worth it just to see Bryan Brown. As an aside, it's very cool that he and Rachel Ward met on the set, married, and are still married.Phylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14665665401551658932noreply@blogger.com