I'm not much of a reader of contemporary fiction, especially when that fiction is almost 700 pages long. Colleen McCullough's book The Thorn Birds became an international bestseller which in 1983 was turned into one of the most watched television mini-series of all times.
Not that it is any easier to watch the 465 minutes - that's 7-3/4 hours! - of the MINI(?)-series than to wade through the 700 pages of the book but the task is made more palatable by the stunning photography of the limitless horizons of the Australian outback and the haunting musical score by Henry Mancini.
Anyway, for those even less patient than myself, here's The Thorn Birds in ten minutes:
If you need to add still more drama to your life ...