by Colm Tóibín
First published 2014
Years after her son's crucifixion, Mary dwells in solitude in ancient Ephesus. The Gospel writers who care for her seek her testimony, but she refuses their conversations. She denies that Jesus was the Son of God and questions whether his death on the cross held any meaning. Mary judges herself without mercy for fleeing from the crucifixion before her son died, though she extends equally harsh judgment to others around her. The woman Scripture and centuries of art have portrayed as submissive, loving, quiet, suffering, obedient, and respectful emerges instead as a tragic heroine with the untamed eloquence of Electra, Medea, or Antigone. Through Tóibín's imagination and masterful language, this portrait becomes so vivid and convincing that our understanding of Mary transforms completely. The mother of Christ speaks with a voice that challenges everything we thought we knew about her story.
Genres: christian-fiction, historical-fiction, biographical-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: Ephesus
Period: Ancient
150 pages · Hardcover · Dom Wydawniczy PWN