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viktoriya's review
:( What happened?! I was really looking forward to reading another Colleen McCullough's book after falling in love with [b:The Thorn Birds|3412|The Thorn Birds|Colleen McCullough|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391416796s/3412.jpg|816449]
Though this book will be a great read: it's about early Australia, the convicts, England's criminal system, it's long...On the surface this book has everything I am looking for. Even the style of writing didn't bother me at all and I got used to it fast. However, all of the sudden, somewhere around page 300 I realized that I didn't care at all for Richard or for his other "friends". I didn't care what happened to them. I simply couldn't stand reading even another sentence :(
Though this book will be a great read: it's about early Australia, the convicts, England's criminal system, it's long...On the surface this book has everything I am looking for. Even the style of writing didn't bother me at all and I got used to it fast. However, all of the sudden, somewhere around page 300 I realized that I didn't care at all for Richard or for his other "friends". I didn't care what happened to them. I simply couldn't stand reading even another sentence :(
mamanrees's review
I managed to get about a third of the way through this book but just never got into it. After I realized it had been sitting on my bedside table for months, I decided to just abandon it for the time being.
tanyarobinson's review
4.0
It's interesting to me that some readers complained about McCullough's heavy focus on period detail, because for me that's what made this book so special. Anybody can write a fluffy little novel set in the past. McCullough writes history with fictionalized characters. I learned so much about the origins of Australia from this book, and recommended it to my father who is soon visiting the continent.
joneal233's review
1.0
I don't know the last time it took me this long to read a book this short. (It's 600 pages...which isn't really a "short" book.) However,the length of time it took me to this book would be for a novel in the 1500+ range and likely a literary classic. Many times I wanted to just give up, but I am too stubborn and it causes me more pain to not finish a book, than drag through a bad one. Ultimately for a topic that should have been interesting (founding of Australian colonies by English convicts) was just REALLY boring. I loved McCullough's Rome series, particularly the first novels. Maybe I have a higher tolerance for dry historical fiction set in the early Roman Empire era?
jannielund's review against another edition
5.0
This book is one of my best book friends. No matter how long it's been since we last saw each other, we always connect immediately. And I always come back to it after short term flings with other books. We have history, you see.
Colleen McCullough is a master of words and story telling. She makes the words come alive on the paper and brings me across the world alongside her characters.
Colleen McCullough is a master of words and story telling. She makes the words come alive on the paper and brings me across the world alongside her characters.
saa340's review
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
jenny_n's review
4.0
This has been the shelf for years and I finally got around to reading it. The story takes place in the late 1700s after the American Revolution, in Bristol, England, on a slaver/convict transport vessel, and eventually in Norfolk Island by way of Botany Bay, Australia. Colleen McCullough does amazing research to provide incredible details about life in whatever period she is writing, using language which is not too modern and describing things as they might be perceived by the character who knows nothing of what we know today. Not only does it help the reader to feel a part of the time and place, but this serves to feel that you're going deeper into that time period to understand the regular person's experience of those history stories that we superficially learn about in school.
In particular, by reading this novel, not only did I learn a bit more about the settlement of Australia by British convicts (the obvious history lesson here), but the state of the lives of the working class English really gave me an insight about American culture and its revolt against government taxation, which continues until this day. For example, the British pervasiveness of licensing every aspect of commerce in England was insane. Unlike in America, where licensing (more or less) serves the purpose of ensuring safety and compliance with social norms, in England it served only to raise revenue for the government. (Yes, I realize that regulation in America also provides a revenue stream, but I don't wish to have that argument here.)
As to the particulars of the story, Morgan is Richard Morgan, a real-life historical figure in Norfolk Island history (Norfolk Island is in the middle of the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, and a part of the Commonwealth of Australia). He was convicted of larceny in England and eventually sentenced to 7 years' transportation to Botany Bay. The story tells the epic of his life and how his steady character, work eithic, insight, and luck allowed him to make a new life for himself on Norfolk Island.
The author lives in Norfolk Island, and as a result I'm sure her basic familiarity with the story of the island and Richard Morgan is more than most folks have, particularly non-Australians. I don't know much about it, so I can't attest to how much liberty has been taken with the history. Having read this, I do want to read more about Australian history, in general, realizing that I really know very little about it beyond the basic concept that it was settled primarily by convicts who were resettled there.
If I had one complaint about the story it would be that Richard Morgan dosen't seem to have any fatal flaws. Granted, things happened which led to the conviction (right or wrong) which were certainly influenced by his character, but ultimately things seemed to have worked out better for him as a result. This story certainly glorifies him. I suppose that is the liberty of historical fiction.
Aside from the somewhat greater appreciation of the circustances leading to the American Revolution and Australian settlement that I now I have, I also really liked the handling of the character of Stephan Donovan (fictionalized, although there was a Stephen Donovan, Midshipman, in the First Fleet). In Morgan's Run, he is an openly gay "Miss Molly" who is Morgan's best friend. All very interestingly written.
In particular, by reading this novel, not only did I learn a bit more about the settlement of Australia by British convicts (the obvious history lesson here), but the state of the lives of the working class English really gave me an insight about American culture and its revolt against government taxation, which continues until this day. For example, the British pervasiveness of licensing every aspect of commerce in England was insane. Unlike in America, where licensing (more or less) serves the purpose of ensuring safety and compliance with social norms, in England it served only to raise revenue for the government. (Yes, I realize that regulation in America also provides a revenue stream, but I don't wish to have that argument here.)
As to the particulars of the story, Morgan is Richard Morgan, a real-life historical figure in Norfolk Island history (Norfolk Island is in the middle of the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, and a part of the Commonwealth of Australia). He was convicted of larceny in England and eventually sentenced to 7 years' transportation to Botany Bay. The story tells the epic of his life and how his steady character, work eithic, insight, and luck allowed him to make a new life for himself on Norfolk Island.
The author lives in Norfolk Island, and as a result I'm sure her basic familiarity with the story of the island and Richard Morgan is more than most folks have, particularly non-Australians. I don't know much about it, so I can't attest to how much liberty has been taken with the history. Having read this, I do want to read more about Australian history, in general, realizing that I really know very little about it beyond the basic concept that it was settled primarily by convicts who were resettled there.
If I had one complaint about the story it would be that Richard Morgan dosen't seem to have any fatal flaws. Granted, things happened which led to the conviction (right or wrong) which were certainly influenced by his character, but ultimately things seemed to have worked out better for him as a result. This story certainly glorifies him. I suppose that is the liberty of historical fiction.
Aside from the somewhat greater appreciation of the circustances leading to the American Revolution and Australian settlement that I now I have, I also really liked the handling of the character of Stephan Donovan (fictionalized, although there was a Stephen Donovan, Midshipman, in the First Fleet). In Morgan's Run, he is an openly gay "Miss Molly" who is Morgan's best friend. All very interestingly written.
ryner's review
4.0
In 1787, bound in chains aboard one of the first ships loaded with unwanted rabble, Richard Morgan set sail from England along with several hundred other convicts, bound for the wild and unknown continent of Australia. The journey by sea lasts more than eight months. When finally they arrive and begin to organize an experimental settlement on Australia's southeast coast, realization dawns that the food, tools and other supplies sent by the government are both insufficient and inferior. It's unclear whether this fledgling colony will survive even a year.
This fictionalized tale of the very real historical figure Morgan is engaging from beginning to end, from his normal, humble life prior to running afoul of the law, to the time spend incarcerated in England, to the long, tedious voyage itself, to earning the respect of the overseers and attempting to forge a new life for himself through hard work. McCullough has an amazing talent for description, and I disagree with reviewers who maintain that the book deserved heavier editing — these readers clearly have not read her Masters of Rome series, as she is the Queen of Verbose! I found it engrossing and not at all boring, reveling in the level of meticulous detail. Richard's only real flaw is that he is portrayed as having none. His seeming perfection and uncanny luck, the only exception being the temporary lapse in judgment that got him into this mess, before long begins to seem unrealistic to the discerning eye. Incredibly, he has a talent for just about everything he attempts, and everyone who meets him almost immediately loves and respects him. Because I was thoroughly enjoying the book, I was able to suspend my disbelief despite how unrealistic it seemed. It was fun to "travel along" throughout the book, using provided maps as well as seeking out modern-day maps and encyclopedic data. I was disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that the Mount Pitt bird (providence petrel) became extinct on Norfolk Island as a direct result of overhunting on the part of these early settlers, though populations continue to nest today on neighboring islands.
This fictionalized tale of the very real historical figure Morgan is engaging from beginning to end, from his normal, humble life prior to running afoul of the law, to the time spend incarcerated in England, to the long, tedious voyage itself, to earning the respect of the overseers and attempting to forge a new life for himself through hard work. McCullough has an amazing talent for description, and I disagree with reviewers who maintain that the book deserved heavier editing — these readers clearly have not read her Masters of Rome series, as she is the Queen of Verbose! I found it engrossing and not at all boring, reveling in the level of meticulous detail. Richard's only real flaw is that he is portrayed as having none. His seeming perfection and uncanny luck, the only exception being the temporary lapse in judgment that got him into this mess, before long begins to seem unrealistic to the discerning eye. Incredibly, he has a talent for just about everything he attempts, and everyone who meets him almost immediately loves and respects him. Because I was thoroughly enjoying the book, I was able to suspend my disbelief despite how unrealistic it seemed. It was fun to "travel along" throughout the book, using provided maps as well as seeking out modern-day maps and encyclopedic data. I was disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that the Mount Pitt bird (providence petrel) became extinct on Norfolk Island as a direct result of overhunting on the part of these early settlers, though populations continue to nest today on neighboring islands.
lmrajt's review against another edition
4.0
I like sweeping historical fiction. Charmingly written. 'Nuff said.