Bittersweet is the latest epic novel by the author of The Thorn Birds.
I’m liking
This was an entertaining and light read based on the lives of four sisters in small town Australia in the 1920s. The sisters are two sets of twins and are all very close, while being different and choosing different paths in life.
All the sisters are likable and engaging. The book opens with all four of them starting nursing training at the local hospital, studying for the newly established registered nursing qualification. One of the sisters had had her heart set on becoming a doctor, another wants to get married and become and mother and the other two fall somewhere in between. Naturally there is a cast of men who supplement their stories. Colleen McCullough writes strong and clear characters and while these four women are all basically the same age in the same setting they have distinctive and clear voices.
Things that made me go hmmmm
Unfortunately – this is not The Thorn Birds. It took me years to read The Thorn Birds, which I assumed would be dated and overshadowed by the hugely popular eighties mini-series. The Thorn Birds is still a good read and a strong example of a 20th Century epic character novel. It’s hard to put down. At 525 pages (hardly insurmountable), Bittersweet follows a strong opening with a wallowing middle, before coming right in the end.
The conclusion
Despite the slow middle section, this was an entertaining light read – an easy novel for consuming on the beach.
