Tuesday, May 08, 2007

The Thorn Birds, Eleanor Rigby

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
Well, I do love a family saga. I had heard about it from my mom. I decided it was about time to read it. I also picked it up because it was nicely priced. Most paperbacks here are priced between the equivalent of 8-11 dollars, and because the book is so long I figured it was worth it. On a side note: I still have issues in buying books. I like to buy them when I travel, or when it is a book I love, but I love using the library.

So, as I said, I love a family saga. That love probably started somewhere in middle school. I remember reading a Sweet Valley High family saga that started in the 19th century. I don't know why, but they get to me. While there were some parts of The Thorn Birds that seemed slow (mostly the descriptions of Australia and the working environment), I enjoyed the character development and the plot. Even at times when I thought I know what was going to happen, it turned out quite differently, and I enjoyed that. The story seemed quite real instead of a fantasy land. The characters fit into their environment and their lives and decisions seemed well written for the people that they were. I might try to find the mini-series this became just to see it in film form.

Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland
I have admired Coupland for a while now. I feel in love with a couple of his books, most importantly Girlfriend in a Coma, which I even used as part of a college project. Coupland is a modern writer who understands and conveys a lot of the emotions and frustrations of his generation and of our current times. Coupland's stories usually mix those frustrations and fears with a sense of redemption at the end, and this story was quite a bit the same.

Having said that, I still enjoyed the story. Coupland writes his characters and plots well. He is able to put into writing what I think many people feel but are not able to express. However, I felt like this story had been written before by Coupland. I'll have to read more of his newer stuff to see if he is doing anything different.