The Testament of Mary: A Novel

€œT³ib­n is at his lyrical best in this beautiful and daring work€ (The New York Times Book Review) that portrays 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€"shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize.

In the ancient town of Ephesus, Mary lives alone, years after her son€s crucifixion. She has no interest in collaborating with the authors of the Gospel, who are her keepers. She does not agree that her son is the Son of God; nor that his death was €œworth it€; nor that the €œgroup of misfits he gathered around him, men who could not look a woman in the eye,€ were holy disciples.

Mary judges herself ruthlessly (she did not stay at the foot of the cross until her son died€"she fled, to save herself), and her judgment of others is equally harsh. This woman whom 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. T³ib­n€s tour de force of imagination and language is a portrait so vivid and convincing that our image of Mary will be forever transformed.