"She calls them misfits, only children, stammerers, men who could not look women in eye," Toibin says. From the first moment she saw Jesus preaching to his disciples, and heard a false note in his voice, she has had nothing but contempt for his devotees. It takes place many years after the Crucifixion when Mary is living in Ephesus, watched over by two of her son's followers. The Testament of Mary explores the space between those two images. "One pure, the way they wanted her to be, arising into heaven and the other impure, chaotic, cruel, strange, unforgettable." "I was absolutely struck by the difference between the two images," says Toibin. While on a trip to Venice, Toibin happened upon two very different works of art: Titian's Assumption of the Virgin, which depicts a red-robed Mary being taken up into heaven surrounded by angels and Tintoretto's The Crucifixion. But he found inspiration for his fictional account of Mary's life in Italy, not Ireland. Toibin grew up in Catholic Ireland at a time when devotion to the Virgin Mary was widespread. His novella, The Testament of Mary, raises questions about the life of Jesus' mother and the stories that laid the groundwork for the creation of a church. Now, Irish writer Colm Toibin does just that. But few writers have taken up her story or tried to create their own version of the events of her life. For centuries, artists have depicted her on everything from backyard statues of a rosy-cheeked innocent to paintings of magnificent Madonnas hanging in museums all over the world. The Virgin Mary is one of the most familiar icons of Christianity. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title The Testament Of Mary Author Colm Toibin
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