Summary: "Singing in the thorns". Description of parts

This is a novel about the history of several generations of one family. As in all such works, it contains both drama, comedy, and elements of a love story. For those who want to know more, we present a brief summary. "Singing in the thorns" consists of seven parts, each of which focuses on one hero, viewing events, through the prism of his feelings and emotions.

A family

The narration in the novel begins in 1915, and covers more than half a century. During this time, the main characters - the Cleary family - go through a long and difficult journey from the unarmed New Zealand poor to the owners of the huge estates in Australia. To emphasize the changes in the main characters, the writer divided into several parts the text of the book "Singing in the thorns". The summary of each of them is a characteristic of not only the characters, but also the length of time in which they live.

First part

In the first chapter, we get acquainted with the smallest member of the Cleary family - Maggie, who appears before the readers of a four-year-old baby. The narrative of this part covers the interval from 1915 to 1917, and shows the life of a large family of New Zealand. The mother of the family of Fiona is constantly at work, her children, for the most part, are brought up by nuns in rigor and humility. Of course, because of this state of affairs, problems often arise. The elder son rebels against such a life and makes the situation even more difficult. However, a letter from my aunt radically changes their lives. The whole family moved to Australia, to the estate of Drogheda. This ends the first part of the novel McCullough "Singing in the thorns." The brief content allows the reader to understand how poor Cleary was, what position they occupied in society, and why they agreed without hesitation to move.

Part Two (1918-1928)

A new character appears on the stage - Ralph de Brikassar, who immediately pays attention to Maggie and they answer him the same. But because of the rules of the Catholic Church, the priest Ralph can not bind himself by marriage. To avoid the temptation, he leaves for Europe, as soon as he receives the order of the Bishop. This is told in this part of the novel by Colin McCullough "Singing in the thorns". The summary reflects the main problem of all subsequent sections: forbidden relations.

Part Three (1929-1932)

In the estate there is a big fire that takes the lives of the head of the family and one of the sons. This sad event draws the remaining relatives together. To support Maggie in her grief, Ralph returns to Australia. But right after the funeral, he leaves without attracting attention.

Part Four (1933-1938)

In the process of rebuilding a house, many workers come to Droheda. One of them, Luke O'Neill, starts courting the younger daughter of the Cleary family, and she reciprocates and marries him. Soon the couple's daughter Justin is born, but the father does not want to see her. Luke gets a job as a reed chopper and is away from home for a long time. Appearing at the right time, Ralph resumes her relationship with Maggie, despite her marriage. They spend some time together, but then the church's affairs call him back to Rome. Lonely and pregnant, the girl returns to Drogheda.

Part Five (1938-1953)

The events of World War II affect the characters of the novel "Singing in the Thorns". The summary of this part tells us that Maggie had a son, whom she named Dan. After a while, Cardinal Ralph returns to Droheda without suspecting that he has a child. At this time Maggie's brothers are taken to the front, and they will not return home.

Part Six (1954-1965 gg.)

The children grew up and went their own way. Justin's daughter went to London to become an actress, and Dan decides to relate his life to the church. Maggie resists this, but ultimately surrenders and releases her son to Rome. Unfortunately, right after the ritual, the young man dies in an attempt to save two women from the water. Ralph finds out about his son too late. He decides to return the body of the guy to his homeland.

Part Seven (1965-1969)

Justin is struggling with the death of his brother and goes to work with his head. After a while she marries, which she tells her mother in her letter. In addition, she decides to never have children. And considering that all the other members of the family were killed, this is the end of the Cleary family. This concludes the novel "Singing in the thorns". The summary of the last part shows the reader how much the war changed the outlook on life of the younger generation, made them both more life-loving and independent.

After the book was published, it was filmed, but the author did not like the film version at all. She called her monstrous. "Singing in the thorns" is a novel, the summary of which can not be conveyed by several voluminous sentences. Each part requires a full analysis and analysis.