{"product_id":"the-testament-of-mary-paperback","title":"The Testament of Mary","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Testament of Mary\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eby Colm Tóibín\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYears after the crucifixion, Mary lives alone in Ephesus with memory as her constant companion.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn Colm Tóibín’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Testament of Mary\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, the familiar figure of scripture is reimagined as an aging mother still trying to understand what happened to her son, what others have made of his death, and what remains when grief has outlived the moment that caused it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is not a devotional retelling.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTóibín gives Mary a voice that is private, wounded, skeptical, angry, and profoundly human. She resists the version of events being built around her. She questions those who followed her son. She judges herself for the choices she made during his final hours. And she refuses to surrender her own memories simply because others have begun shaping them into something larger.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe result is an intimate and deliberately provocative portrait of a mother living in the aftermath of extraordinary loss.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eShortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Testament of Mary\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is brief at just 96 pages, but emotionally dense. Tóibín draws from the language and imagery surrounding Mary while imagining the private grief that history and iconography so often leave silent.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFor readers drawn to literary reinterpretations, complicated women, grief, faith, doubt, and the distance between a person and the story later told about them.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Note from The Literary Garden\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is a work of fiction and presents an intentionally unconventional interpretation of Mary. It should not be read as a retelling of scripture or as representing any single religious tradition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWithin The Literary Garden, we paired \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Testament of Mary\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e with the Crown of Thorns, a plant whose small flowers emerge among formidable thorns. Together, they explore a quieter idea: that suffering does not always disappear, but life may still find a way to grow beside it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBook Details\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Colm Tóibín\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePages:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 96\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e February 4, 2014\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 8.5 × 5.5 × 0.4 in\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":68611346825497,"sku":"9781451692389","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1019\/9803\/5225\/files\/library-4FB9B629-99C1-49D4-8E45-C266BC351789-L0-001.png?v=1794352630","url":"https:\/\/thelovefern.com\/products\/the-testament-of-mary-paperback","provider":"The Love Fern","version":"1.0","type":"link"}