The Testament of Mary by Colin Tóibín

 

Any time that you mess with the ideology of a major religion, you are basically asking for trouble, no matter how masterful a writer you are.
Colin Tóibín has never shied away from the subject of motherhood, and he is an author who takes on challenging characters with a fearsome energy.  So here he depicts the most famous mother of them all, the mother of Jesus.  Mary is depicted at the end of her life, being kept by the disciples who would like her to tell them what they want to hear, and while she is dependent on them for her keep, she cannot do their bidding.

This is a novella, and much of it is a reflection on Mary's life, her family, some of the things that she remembers fondly--these are not the acts of grace, not the miracles, not the things that brought attention to her son, and therefore herself, and precipitated the abrupt and violent ending to his life.  They are the things that are a simple part of every day life as a Jew.  She prepared for the Sabbath, she enjoyed cleaning her house, preparing food, ensuring that there was adequate water, and then following behind her beloved husband and the son that they raised together to the Temple.  It is the rhythm of their life as a family that she mourns, and she is not all that keen on being seen as the mother of the son of God. 

The most moving part of this book is her description of watching her son die and then seeing him in the afterlife appear before her.  Her heavy loss is palpable.  She has lost a son.  She is not moved by the role that he will play in the future of mankind.  She is reacting as his mother.  No matter what you think about Christianity, this is a beautifully written imaginary account of what the most famous woman of all time might have thought and done.