Bittersweet by Colleen McCullough – My Thoughts

Introduction: Bittersweet by Colleen McCullough

Bittersweet by Colleen McCullough was published in 2013. The author is best known for her novel, The Thorn Birds, which was adapted into a TV miniseries in 1983, starring Richard Chamberlain and Barbara Stanwyck. Bittersweet is her first romantic saga since The Thorn Birds. This book will captivate the reader to the end. The characters are realistic, and the story mimics real life – things do not always work out the way we want. The story takes place in New South Wales in the 1920s. The reader learns what life was like for women during that time period.

The Story: Bittersweet by Colleen McCullough

Imagine sitting in your living room, hosting a party of sorts, when you notice a large snake coming through a hole in the floor. What would you do? Would you slide your chair leg, bearing all your weight on the snake’s head? Would you grab something to chop off its head? Or would you scream bloody murder? What a magnificent story starter! You’ll have to read Bittersweet by Colleen McCullough to find out what happens to the snake.

The story is about four sisters – Edda, Grace, Tufts, and Kitty – two sets of twins by different mothers. Although each set of twin has a different mother, all four sisters are very close, looking out for each other. Reverend Thomas Latimer loses Adelaide, his first wife during childbirth. He marries the rectory housekeeper, Mrs Maude Scobie, a widow, shortly after. Within two years of having his two daughters, he has another set of twins. Maude is an unlikable woman, who only likes her daughter, Kitty, who is a great beauty.

Maude tells anyone who will listen how beautiful Kitty is. There is so much pressure on the young girl that she tries to destroy her face with a grater. Her sister, Edda, finds her before she is able to do much damage. In her late teens, Kitty tries to commit suicide, once again, Edda finds her. Though the four sisters are very close, they have very distinct personalities. To put things into perspective, to get to know each sister, Edda dreams of becoming a doctor, Grace wants to marry and have kids, Tufts never wants to marry, and Kitty wants to be taken seriously and to be known for something other than her beauty.

Maude Latimer is such an awful person that the Latimer sisters nickname her, Maude the Destroyer, which is quite telling of her character. To escape Maude, the four sisters decide to enter a cutting edge nursing program at Corunda Base Hospital. Things are very difficult for them at first. Matron Gertrude Newdigate, makes their lives unreasonably hard, but they decide to make a go of it.

The hardship they face at the hospital is more welcome than returning home to Maude the Destroyer. Their accommodation is unacceptable, until Dr Liam Finucan, the staff pathologist, fights on their behalf. He also takes them under his wings and mentor them. While working at Corunda Base, the women start coming into their own, and except for Grace, they are happy doing what they do. They find their niche in nursing.

Grace meets Bjorn (Bear) Olsen, and shortly after, they get married. It appears that dreams do come through. Bear is a top salesman for Perkins, a company that sells consumer products. You know that when I read books, I do not read them the typical way that other people do. I am always looking for the deeper meaning and hidden life lessons. Bear is making a lot of money, but Grace is spending it faster. Her sister, Edda, talks to her about it, but she doesn’t listen. During the Great Depression, Perkins goes bankrupt and Bear loses his job.

Kitty Meets Charles Henry Burdum, an Englishman, and investor from London. She doesn’t like Charles when she first meets him. Kitty is somewhat intrigued with the hospital administrator, but still not quite sure he is the right man for her. Her sisters encourage her to marry him, and that turns out to be a big mistake. Charles doesn’t want her to go out, even to spend time with her sisters. One good thing about Charles, is that he is very progressive when it comes to diversity. He is also a savvy businessman.

When Bear loses his job, Charles offers him a job in a different area where he would be using the same skills he used as a salesman. But Bear is inflexible, set in his way and refuses the offer. He is unable to find another sales job, and when the pressure gets to him, he commits suicide.

There is a major life lesson here for the reader today. We are living in a very dynamic environment where the speed of automation is increasing. More and more jobs are lost to robots, so it’s up to professionals to update skills, acquire new skills, and transfer skills to different niches. We have to constantly evolve our roles to remain relevant.

For years, Edda spends a lot of time riding with Jack Thurlow, who is Charles Burdun’s cousin. Their relationship changes into that of lovers. When Bear commits suicide, Jack offers to step in, to marry Grace, so that her two young sons have a father. Grace turns him down. Jack believes that embarrassed him by publicly declining the offer. His response to Grace's situation makes Edda realize that she and Jack are unlikely to get married.

Charles asks Edda to attend a charity dinner with him in Melbourne. She is traveling in Melbourne at the time, and Kitty is home in New South Wales. While at the charity dinner, Edda meets Sir Rawson Schiller, who is gay. He gets her into medical school, and in return, he requests that she marries him. Rawson gives Edda the one thing she has always wanted, and that’s to become a doctor. Rawson loves her in his own way, but she wishes that he loved her more.

Tufts gets what she also wants and never marries, though she has a close relationship with Dr Liam Finucam. She holds a senior position at Corunda Base, and will likely become the hospital administrator when Charles is elected into political office. Kitty leaves Charles and enters into a relationship with Jack, but she gets Edda’s permission first. Because of his position in the church, the Rector resigns his position when Kitty decides to live with Jack out of wedlock, while still married to Charles.

Conclusion: Bittersweet by Colleen McCullough

I enjoyed reading Bittersweet by Colleen McCullough because it gives me insights into what life was like in another time period, in another place. Now I have to make time to read The Thorn Birds.

 Bittersweet: A Novel The Thorn Birds Grass Crown (Masters of Rome) The First Man in Rome (In the Masters of Rome) Caesar's Women (Masters of Rome) Caesar (Masters of Rome) Antony and Cleopatra: A Novel (Masters of Rome) The Touch: A Novel Fortune's Favorites (Masters of Rome) The October Horse: A Novel of Caesar and Cleopatra The Ladies of Missalonghi The Song of Troy Angel Morgan's Run The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet: A Novel