The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín

The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Everyone speaks in this book in the thoughtful, measured tones of the twenty-first century. There is an introspection, a psychological awareness that falls short of educated, distanced understanding but which nevertheless appears impossible in pre-Freudian terms. And then He speaks, and He speaks in the words of the Authorised Version, and Pilate speaks and he, too, utters the old words even if not in Latin. And that strangeness, more than anything else, that juxtaposition jolts the consciousness into action and the Marian testament takes on a meaning more profound than one can possibly imagine, assumes the status even of a Gospel - gospel truth. This is a mysterious book; more so for being a straightforwardly honest account by a mother of the murder of her son. ‘Woman, what have I to do with thee?’ asks Jesus, a Judas kiss of betrayal made of words. And at that moment, the world changed. Or did it?




View all my reviews