Originaly reviewed for Edwards magazine Book Club
http://www.edwardsmagazine.ca/book_club_fiction_book_mary.html
The Immaculate Conception. What if it wasn’t so Immaculate? What if a 14 year old Mary just didn’t want to be stoned for being unwed and pregnant? In a desperate plea to remain alive and trick a nice older man into marrying her, Mary makes up the story of the angel visiting her. Joseph marries her and she has her “miracle” baby. But all of a sudden the story takes on a life of it’s own, resulting in a jealous King and eventually zealot followers.
This is the premise of Gail Sidonie Sobat wonderfully entertaining novel The Book of Mary. Written as diary entries we see Mary grow from a sexually promiscuous teen into a caring, loving Mother and Healer. As a non practicing Catholic who is fairly open minded, the basic idea of Mary as a normal woman and Jesus as a baby conceived in love wasn’t hard on my psyche, but someone more devote in their religious beliefs may have a hard time with the novel.
I really enjoyed this novel and the writing style that was used. The language was very modern and easy flowing and the characters were very believable and likeable. The idea of Mary as a Healer was also a nice touch. I also like the fact that even though Jesus was a normal human, his life still took pretty much the same path as various religions teach..
The only thing that I feel took away from the story was the chapter that was written completely in the form of letters Mary wrote to various family and friends. I found this part of the book a bit boring and had a hard time not skimming. I think the book would have been more effective and flowing if the whole thing was written as diary entries.
Over all I liked this book a lot and I know that it will be one that is lent out and reread over the years.
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