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Mary, Called Magdalene
Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute, a female divinity figure, a church leader, or all of those? Biblical references to her are tantalizingly brief, but we do know that she was the first person to whom the risen Christ appeared-and the one commissioned to tell others the good news, earning her the ancient honorific, "Apostle to the Apostles." Today, Mary continues to...more
Paperback, 630 pages
Published
May 27th 2003
by Penguin (Non-Classics)
(first published June 10th 2002)
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While this is a fascinating book in terms of the historical details of daily life in the first century, I have to disagree with the review in Publisher's Weekly which states that it "imagines nothing seriously objectionable to even the most devout Christians." That isn't true if one counts Catholics as "devout Christians".
First of all, the book's portrayal of Mary, the Mother of Jesus is problematic for Catholics. It portrays her as joining Jesus' siblings (an...more
First of all, the book's portrayal of Mary, the Mother of Jesus is problematic for Catholics. It portrays her as joining Jesus' siblings (an...more
So I'm not a religious person, and I wasn't all that exited about reading this book, except that I've loved everything else I've read by Margaret George. I know just enough about the Bible to be dangerous and look dangerously stupid...but I was not a fan of this book.
I read it for The Next Best Book Club challenge, and I was glad that I finally read it, because I felt like every time I saw it at the bookstore or the library all 600+ pages were staring at me and judging: "you...more
I read it for The Next Best Book Club challenge, and I was glad that I finally read it, because I felt like every time I saw it at the bookstore or the library all 600+ pages were staring at me and judging: "you...more
I truly was disappointed by this book. Fans of the Red Tent will be let down if they decide to read this. First of all, the book is just too dense and the writing is too dry. I know it's dangerous to have too many expectations, but I thought this book was going to bring forward some new twist, a new take on Mary Magdalene's life, and all it did was basically tell the same story from her viewpoint. And a bad job of that, too. The reason I won't give this book one star is because there were s...more
I really enjoyed this book - I had it on my bookshelf at home for several years, lonely and untouched. It was on the "to read" list and somehow never made it higher. I had just finished Red Tent and needed something for the train ride - the library was closed - I found this on my shelf. It starts a bit slow, following Mary as a child, and then gets pretty gripping as she becomes possessed by multiple demons. Once she becomes a disciple, I was impressed at how well the author brought t...more
Well this was certainly an interesting perspective on who Mary Magdalene was... a lot of literary license was taken in developing her background, considering she is only mentioned a small handful of times in the actual Bible... the author did her research well though, and did not jump on the "Mary was Jesus' wife" bandwagon, though the entire 2nd half of the book, which was focused on Jesus' ministry, from start to finish, was portrayed so eloquently, and it actually helped me understa...more
An excellent novel, mostly fiction because so little historical data exists about the title character, that traces the life of Mary Magdalene, how she became one of Christ's disciples, how integral a part of his movement she was, as evidenced by the fact that she was the first one he showed himself to upon his resurrection, and her life after his crucifixion. Importantly, it leaves out the rubbish about her being a prostitute, an allegation for which there is no historical basis. Margaret George...more
I fully expected to love this book, even though I hadn't previously read anything by this author, because biblical fiction is one of my favorite genres. I did thoroughly enjoy the beginning of the book, which dealt with MM's life prior to meeting Jesus, which I felt was imaginative and believable. The parts about Mary's demon posession were especially moving. However, I never really liked George's Jesus. While MM and the other disciples were enthralled by Jesus, I, as the reader, kept wonder...more
"He still hadn't answered her question, so she asked it again. 'But why do they date us?'
Silvanus inclined his head toward his brother. 'Because we hate them, and make it so obvious.'"
"'A woman. A man. God created both. And he wished both in his Kingdom...It is time people become aware that there is no difference, in God's eyes, between them.'"
"...'I do not think God is to be found by withdrawing from the world, or in studying every syll...more
Silvanus inclined his head toward his brother. 'Because we hate them, and make it so obvious.'"
"'A woman. A man. God created both. And he wished both in his Kingdom...It is time people become aware that there is no difference, in God's eyes, between them.'"
"...'I do not think God is to be found by withdrawing from the world, or in studying every syll...more
I finished this book yesterday and I found that most of the book is very close to scripture and, unfortunately, nothing there to expand on in an interesting way that would draw us closer to Mary of Magdala.
The story begins with Mary as a child. She finds an idol on her way to Jerusalem and from there she is slowly possessed by demons. Her life growing up is not very interesting at all and only becomes more so when she finally has to leave her husband and go into the desert to battle her de...more
The story begins with Mary as a child. She finds an idol on her way to Jerusalem and from there she is slowly possessed by demons. Her life growing up is not very interesting at all and only becomes more so when she finally has to leave her husband and go into the desert to battle her de...more
Mary, Called Magdalene chronicles the life of Mary Magdalene. She's only mentioned about a couple times in the Bible, but that doesn't stop fiction writers from writing numerous books about her. Though this book was a whopping 656 pages long (677 on my Nook), I managed to finish it in a couple of weeks.
I found this book to be a pretty good story of what might have happened. Way better than the Dan Brown Da Vinci Code, at least historically and Biblically. The characters are believabl...more
I found this book to be a pretty good story of what might have happened. Way better than the Dan Brown Da Vinci Code, at least historically and Biblically. The characters are believabl...more
This was an epic sized book but totally enjoyable, based on some fact and a lot fiction it depicted Mary's life from a little girl growing up in Magdela until her death as a church leader many years later. It discusses how she met Jesus who cured her of her demonic possession and how she became an apostle and a disciple following him to the end and then starting up churches in his name. The story we all know is there, Jesus healing the sick, preaching his word and his subsequent death .
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I finished (well, not quite) Mary Called Magdalene this past week (written in March, 2009). I very much enjoyed the first part of the novel which is Mary's back story as a daughter and wife in a town along the Sea of Galilee. I find it interesting to see how women in the past may have lived. The second part, the familiar Gospel story was pedestrian. I kept thinking about Jesus Christ Superstar and how often lyrics from its songs kept popping up. Something can be said for maintaining the story fr...more
Even though it is fiction (some say the Bible is too though) I feel it's a balanced portrayal of the main story of Jesus and Mary as a witness to it. At first it took a bit to get into and her being possessed was a little far out; however, that is one of the few statements in the Bible about Mary Magdalene. The scenario she endures and how her family reacted to her was a clever way of making it seem somewhat possible in how she decides to become a disciple. I enjoyed the interweaving of the Bibl...more
I decided this past Easter that I'd read something thematic and decided that this book, which had sat on my shelf for a while, was to be read. And I loved it. George paints Mary so brillantly! Starting as a curious child, to an introspective but confident young woman tortured by her demons up until she is saved by Jesus, whom in the story she meets as a child. I loved the way George creates the land, the politics, the religious barriers of the time, reading this is like stepping foot into that t...more
I think this novel (important for people to realize George isn't claiming this is all fact) provides some food for thought regarding the life of Mary Magdalene. In reading George's author's note, I do feel she did quite a bit of research when writing the novel and she made some assumptions that seem realistic when creating what Mary's life might have been like. George also created believable scenarios of Mary's family relationships, disciples coming to Jesus, and the relationships amongst the ...more
Because there is so little recorded in the Bible about women, I particularly loved this historical fiction narration of the life of Mary Magdalene. We do know from biblical record that Mary was the first person to whom the risen Christ appeared. From the first time I read that scriptural account, I wanted to know more about her. I realize that this story is speculation, but I respect Margaret George's careful, thoughtful, detailed research and writing. The story follows Mary from her girlhood on...more
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I have to say that this has been by far my least favourite Margaret George novel to date. I don't know whether it was due to the fact that there is so little actual information available about Mary, but I found the early part of the story (pre Jesus) too fictionalised, and the later part (post Jesus) rather rushed and skimmed over in many ways. Possibly too I didn't enjoy this as much because it relied so heavily on recounting the miracles performed by Jesus, and also possession by demons was ...more
This fictional account of the life of Mary Magdalene has it's good and bad points.
On the good side, it really helped Bible times come alive for me. What was it like to live when Jesus walked the earth, what were homes like, what types of jobs did people have, and what was life like for women (not too pleasant). It made the places of the Bible more real to me, making it easier for me to picture the Bible stories. I really appreciated how the author did so much historical research t...more
On the good side, it really helped Bible times come alive for me. What was it like to live when Jesus walked the earth, what were homes like, what types of jobs did people have, and what was life like for women (not too pleasant). It made the places of the Bible more real to me, making it easier for me to picture the Bible stories. I really appreciated how the author did so much historical research t...more
I found this book to be quite a fascinating look at a woman mentioned several times in the New Testament. I appreciate George's portrayal of her simply as a normal, Jewish woman living in Galilee, who was attracted to Jesus's ministry when he cast seven demons out of her. What I found a bit fascinating was the theory that George presents in her book that Jesus wasn't exactly aware of his mission until it was revealed to him bit by bit. It made me all the more human to me as I read the book, t...more
Slow to start. Respect the research M. George covered for this book. Left me with many more questions than I had from the start, which is a good thing. One of my marks of a good read is that it leaves me wanting more. Would have loved to have maps as part of the book to follow along their routes. Disappointed with some aspects, but perhaps what disappoints me is what makes it seem like a realistic version of how it all happened. I have lived with an idealistic version for many years. You develop...more
This was an enjoyable read from the perspective of understanding life in the first century. The author does a good job of bringing life to that era, Mary Magdaline and the apostles.
Although the book generally stayed pretty close to scripture, the parts based on scripture seemed flat. It is a big task taking on writing about Jesus in historical fiction and I didn't always like the author's interpretation of Him. There were also several areas where I felt the author strayed away from s...more
Although the book generally stayed pretty close to scripture, the parts based on scripture seemed flat. It is a big task taking on writing about Jesus in historical fiction and I didn't always like the author's interpretation of Him. There were also several areas where I felt the author strayed away from s...more
I loved this book. I know this was a novel, but I felt the historical aspect was very thorough which made all parts of the story very believable. I also loved the way that Margaret George portrayed Mary in a very believable light based on historical possibilities. It's different than most of what I've read about Mary Magdelene and after reading the authors reasons for choosing certain positions and reading about all of the traveling & years of research she did in preparation for writing the ...more
Normally I am wary of reading Church fiction. I'm Catholic, and authors tend to like to mess around with our stuff. :) But I was appeased by a few things: the "a novel" on the front cover-meaning, this is fiction, people, we're not going to pass it off as fact (like, um, some other recent godawful novel involving Mary Magdalene that I could name), and two, the author's research is presented in the back, so you can see where she got some of her ideas. And Mary doesn't marry Jesus. :)
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This book was suggested to me when I was looking at The Da Vinci Code so I tracked it down in the local library and borrowed it.
Its a huge book (630 pages long) and I wasn't too sure just how I would enjoy it but I did.
It starts off taking about Mary of Magdala's early years, as a young girl of 7 ready to make a pilgrimage trip to Jerusalem.
Along the way, she finds a beautiful idol and against her better judgement she stashes it and keeps it.
It goe...more
Its a huge book (630 pages long) and I wasn't too sure just how I would enjoy it but I did.
It starts off taking about Mary of Magdala's early years, as a young girl of 7 ready to make a pilgrimage trip to Jerusalem.
Along the way, she finds a beautiful idol and against her better judgement she stashes it and keeps it.
It goe...more
I had a love/hate relationship with this book. On the one hand I loved it because it made the time period of history come alive, Jesus became a person to me (as opposed to a fantasy figure) and Mary and the other apostles did as well. I loved the descriptions of daily life, the dialogue and the history in plain English. Now for the hate part. The author got very repetitive and long winded. Every time that Jesus and his followers moved from town to town there were paragraphs and paragraphs descri...more
"Mary, Called Magdalene" is more than 600 pages, and manages to feel a lot longer. The plot takes forever to get going--Mary is possessed by seven demons, per the gospel account, and each one gets a bunch of pages to join the group. In this story, Mary is possessed because she picks up an idol as a child. It's a bit Indiana Jones.
On the whole, Margaret George's fictionalized account of Mary's life is...odd. I'm glad she got Mary away from being the prostitute or the sister of Laz...more
On the whole, Margaret George's fictionalized account of Mary's life is...odd. I'm glad she got Mary away from being the prostitute or the sister of Laz...more
JG (The Introverted Reader)
rated it
This is the story of Mary Magdalene's entire life, from childhood to her death. I enjoyed seeing this controversial historical figure in her own element, with no one sitting in judgment of who she was and her relationship to Jesus. The woman who emerged from these pages was initially very troubled. She was doing her best, but she was literally plagued by demons. She met Jesus when she had given up all hope. He gave her her life back, but her old life didn't want her back. Her family was as...more
I’ll admit that this review is going to be fairly biased because I absolutely adore Margaret George’s books ever since picking up a copy of Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles a few years ago. Mary Stuart is one of my favourite historical characters and Ms George captured her character perfectly. Afterwards, I went straight out and bought her first book The Autobiography of Henry VIII but was disappointed. In fact it is the only one of her books that I’ve never finished and I feel it is mainly ...more
Jeanette
rated it
Recommends it for:
no one really
Recommended to Jeanette by:
found it in my ma's garage
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Margaret George is a rolling stone who has lived in many places, beginning her traveling at the age of four when her father joined the U.S. diplomatic service and was posted to a consulate in Taiwan. The family traveled on a freighter named after Ulysses' son Telemachus that took thirty days to reach Taiwan, where they spent two years. Following that they lived in Tel Aviv (right after the 1948 wa...more
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