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I rated the book a little low because of the "cringe factor" and also because it was a bit slow at times. The details of the crucifixion are difficult to hear. Yeah, you guessed it, this book is very emotionally raw. You will feel her pain as she observes the crucifixion, and you will experience her deep regret that she didn't stay with her son till the very end, fearing for her own safety. She doesn't really like her son's friends (the disciples) and she doesn't believe he is the Son of God. This story presents the Mother Mary in a totally different light than usual and it may be offensive to some, but I found it interesting and refreshing. I'm not really sure why since that's not a genre I usually enjoy, but the fact that Meryl Streep is the narrator definitely had something to do with my decision. STORY (historical fiction) - I've listened to a couple of religion-oriented books lately. Meryl Streep reads a totally different perspective The "Testament" is brief, thought-provoking, and just about perfect in every way. I was very moved by Toibin's writing and Meryl Streep's interpretation. Some will of course be offended to see Mother Mary presented in this way, without the trappings of 2000+ years of religious teachings. All that, and yet the qualities of her strength and honesty shine through. She's an old woman now, weary and heartbroken still, sometimes questioning and untrusting, even angry. Meryl Streep's expressive, clear and powerful voice conveys what actually might be the thoughts and feelings of a mother in the circumstances in which Mary finds herself.
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This is an exceptional performance of an impressive monologue. Our religious images are too imposing: the serene, sorrowful, and eternally loving and patient virgin and Saint. But rarely has an author taken on the prospect of transforming the Holy Mother herself into a flesh and blood woman and mother. There have been a lot of literary interpretations of other women from the Bible Mary Magdalene, for example, has been reexamined and interpreted in many ways. … Tóibín's exquisite book rendered by Streep with all its detached, quiet, consoling humanity intact.” “Streep’s voice is familiar to generations of moviegoers, but its beauty as an instrument can be appreciated in this context as it often cannot be in films. “Streep has an impressive ability to crest the structurally intricate sentences Tóibín has fashioned, which sometimes have the flowing, rhythmic cadences of certain passages in the Bible itself,” Isherwood writes of her performance. Now Meryl Streep brings Tóibín's tour de force of imagination and language to unforgettable life with “simplicity, honesty, a clarity that draws us into the emotional landscape of the book through the beauty of the writing,” writes Charles Isherwood in the New York Times Book Review.
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This woman who we know from centuries of paintings and scripture as the docile, loving, silent, long-suffering, obedient, worshipful mother of Christ becomes a tragic heroine with the relentless eloquence of Electra or Medea or Antigone, in a portrait so vivid and convincing that our image of Mary will be forever transformed. She does not agree that her son is the Son of God nor that his death was "worth it" nor that the "group of misfits he gathered around him, men who could not look a woman in the eye," were holy disciples. They are her keepers, providing her with food and shelter and visiting her regularly. She has no interest in collaborating with the authors of the Gospel. In the ancient town of Ephesus, Mary lives alone, years after her son's crucifixion. Meryl Streep’s performance of Colm Tóibín's acclaimed portrait of Mary is hailed by the New York Times Book Review as “an ideal audiobook,” presenting the three-time Academy Award-winner in “yet another great role.” Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Colm Tóibín's The Testament of Mary presents Mary as a solitary older woman still seeking to understand the events that become the narrative of the New Testament and the foundation of Christianity. Audie Award Finalist, Solo Narration - Female, 2014Īudie Award Finalist, Literary Fiction, 2014