WWTBAM Bored

Author of The Thorn Birds has died at 77 in Australia.

Story.

I loved the Thorn Birds and read it a couple more times.

I also loved The Ladies of Missalonghi the first time I read it and still re-read it every couple of years, even if it is plagiarism. Tim is also a wonderful read, and I wish I hadn't seen the Candace Bergen treatment but just stuck with the Piper Laurie version. An Indecent Obsession has an unusual distinction for me; it's a one-time read because the ending is too sad.

Until today, this was the only photo I'd seen of her (that I remember, anyway) and how I like to think of her:



Maybe one of these days I'll get around to reading the historical novels.

Not exactly a great way to begin an obituary:

Vandal wrote:Not exactly a great way to begin an obituary:

That's what I'm full of..... wit and warmth!

I met her at a book signing and she was witty and down to earth. Wow about the obit. She had so much success that there was no need to describe her physical appearance.

Vandal wrote:Not exactly a great way to begin an obituary:

Rupert Murdock strikes again. (The Australian is his paper.)

And her picture portrays a lovely woman.

There's a trend on Twitter called #MyOzObituary where writers create the opening to an obituary for themselves or someone famous.

Like this:




Perpetually slapdash in appearance, nevertheless managed to marry twice. Science hobbyist. #MyOzObituary



"Thin of hair and thick of thigh. Strident. Per NYT, lacked ability to sleep way to top. Puzzlingly, also #1 NYT bestseller." #myozobituary

With a decent rack but meh around the face, she nevertheless managed to land a man! She also wrote books, we hear. #MyOzObituary

It's been a long, long time since I read Thorn Birds, but I have no doubt that the obituary writer intended those words to be a reminder, tribute to or affectionate parody of Colleen McCullough's own writing style -- rhythmic, a bit wordy or florid, with observations of details that many writers would be too polite, politically correct, or reticent to share. In Australia, where a far higher percentage of newspaper readers are familiar with her fiction, that would have been recognized quickly.

It may well be a parody of her style. I'll give you that. Its still very unkind to say in an obit. And, from her picture, not true in my opinion, but it wouldn't matter if it were. It still has no place in an obit.