To be angry at Colleen McCullough's obituary

[drudgetrudy]

"Plain of feature and certainly overweight"-for a respected novelist and neuroscientist-Grrr!

Cancel that... I read the one you must have been referring - that said she had studied neuroscience. A coincidence that another link, Australian I think, also mentioned a practising female neuroscientist having been referred to in a similar manner.

No -she was a neuroscientist before she was successful as a novelist-she worked at Great Ormond St and also at Yale. (No wonder I failed to understand the middle part of your post.
If you had read the full obit you would have seen this.

Too many cross posts - in both meanings

I read the Australian article first, and only later did I read the obit you meant.

There was another female neuroscientist referred to - which makes more sense now - but having read them the way round I did, your OP made little sense to me. It does now

Okay-misunderstanding sorted!

Ohhhhh the delicious irony!

I am both fat and fucking hilarious. What have the two got to do with each other.

Yes! I am sat here pondering that too

The irony that is, not FuckOff being fat and hilarious - I don't know her to comment

oh but I really am

What sort of rag is the Australian which printed this obituary?

A Murdoch owned sleazepaper I think. Ugly of face and deprived of morals.

The - let's face it - honest description of McCullough as plain and fat didn't bother me so much. What annoyed me was the implication that she achieved what she did in life despite such a crippling disadvantages and the mention that she 'nevertheless' had no trouble attracting men. Why on earth did the obit writer think it necessary to highlight her ability to attract men in the very first paragraph? It's so demeaning relative to her impressive accomplishments in life.

She sounds like she had a good sense of humor about herself so she would probably find the entire controversy very entertaining but I think it's a sad reflection on how women still can be reduced to the sum of their physical attributes regardless of what they've achieved with their minds.

Just wanted to comment that the Thorn birds was my favourite novel as a teenager and I loved the mini series that was based on it. It is still one of my all time favourite books. May she R.I.P

I agree with what you say Hunger-although assessing someone as plain is subjective- IMO she had a pleasant, strong face. That isn't relevant though its the other points you highlight that are the real issue.

I can actually imagine her sitting back and laughing that awesome laugh she had over all of the controversy this has caused, then throwing a few witty and cutting remarks in about the journalist. As someone who had the privilege of knowing her, I can say that she was a truly amazing woman. Witty, generous of spirit and she had such an amazing intellect. she will be sorely missed.

Some of us recall following the Pitcairn Island rape trials where Ms McCullough claimed that the men convicted of the rapes of young girls should have been allowed to follow their customs to have sex with young girls.
"It's Polynesian to break in your girls at 12", is a direct quote from her.
"These are indigenous customs and should not be touched", is another.
Just putting it out there.

There's a far better obit in the Telegraph.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11377442/Colleen-McCullough-writer-obituary.html

Yes I read the Times obituary yesterday.
www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/obituaries/article4338895.ece

Pitcairn is not a straight forward issue at all.

That's just how I was imagining her, Midnite, someone who would find this all very amusing. Good to hear from someone who knew her that that's exactly how she was!

Nomama Yes! I am sat here pondering that too You do realise I meant I thought it was enjoyably ironic you went off on a rant at the OP for not reading things properly and having a 'tissy fit' when you were actually doing exactly what you were berating the OP for!

Yes, despite having misread the OP I am not too thick to recognise the irony of my own actions.

You really did not need to come back and belabour the point... thus proving, yet again, that anyone can misread a post!

Nomama dont have a tissy fit

I realised after I hit Post that I had forgotten the smiley face!

Not tissied, just a bit mortified

:)

I just Googled that Norma. I'm faintly appalled at anyone describing child rape in such crass and offhand terms regardless of the "culture" behind it.