The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin

Toibin, Colm. The testament of Mary, Penguin books, Penguin books, London, 2013 (first published by Viking 2012), paperback, 104 pages

Rating: 4/10 

One exercise often conducted by the “Creative Writing” courses is to take a story and rewrite it with a changed POV (point of view). The perspective changes, and often we learn a new side of the story. In The Testament of Mary, Colm Toibin retells a Jesus Christ story from his mother’s point of view.

I am not a Christian. My exposure to biblical stories is mostly limited to the hundreds of paintings witnessed in the European museums. Frequent mention of the Booker nomination had revealed to me the subject matter of the book. Else, until the word ‘crucifixion’ appeared, I would have had no clue as to what this book was about. This raises an important question in ‘literary critical theory’. Shouldn’t a good book be self-standing rather than expecting the reader to know in detail the background story? Am I supposed to know the story of Jesus Christ (who by the way is never mentioned by his name in this book) and his mother before I could appreciate the book? It’s like a hypertext narrative, where by clicking the underlined words, you read the supporting stories external to the given book. (Mary is the narrator. And she is seen walking with Mary. And neither of them is Mary Magdalene I’ve read about. How confusing things can get for non-Christians).

Even in this small book of one hundred pages, I needed to read one third before it generated interest. From the time Lazarus is brought back to life, the book becomes readable. The language is fluent and modern.

It appears that Mary was very human, and judging by her thoughts, so was her son. She looks skeptically at the miracles attributed to her son. Her son, in contrast to the standard image I had in mind, is shown miserably carrying (rather than simply bearing) the heavy cross to which he is nailed.

However, Mary leaving her bleeding son, nails hammered through his wrists, in order to protect herself frustrated me. (It was my own safety I thought of, it was to protect myself. I was suddenly afraid, and more afraid now, sensing that the danger had edged towards me, than I had been all those hours- page 84). This was so incredible; it brought the narrative tumbling down. No mother, from whatever era, is likely to leave a son dying in enormous physical torment by making her own safety a priority. I lost sympathy for her character at this point. Her son is also shown to be completely ‘inhuman’ when he repeatedly says “what I have to do with thee?” (Page 47). Here is a mother pointing out to her son the dangers lying ahead, and the son ignores her and walks away from her while she is still talking to him. This is so unlike the Jesus I imagine.

You take biblical stories which may be fictional to start with. Then you fictionalize them further by distorting the characters, by making their behavior hard to believe. Not a sign of literary merit. Like anything to do with Sachin Tendulkar gets a half page coverage in Indian newspapers, anything written about key biblical figures can attract disproportionate interest. That’s what has happened with this book. It should not have been nominated for the Booker. Booker is given for the best original full length novel. The testament of Mary is a mere 30,000 word story, not even a novella. Rules are bent for religion. Booker Prize would get crucified if this book were to win it.

Verdict:

The good thing about the book is that it’s a two-hour read. If you like monologues and have been educated in schools run by Christian missionaries, the book may appeal to you. But borrow, rather than buy. And please don’t read it only because it’s shortlisted for Booker. It shouldn’t have been.

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