Customer Reviews

Mary of Nazareth: A Novel

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a very imaginative story about Mary, the mother of Jesus. The book helped me to grasp the desperation the Jews felt living under their local (Jewish) ruler,Herod, and how arbitrary & cruel life was for the Jewish nation under him. I can more readily understand how much they hoped for the foretold Messiah. I would have liked to see the list of researched materials the author used.

I gave this a low rating, however, because Marek Halter pulled a fast one at the end of the book. He added a realistic postscript which explains that an old Polish woman allegedly gave Halter, when he visited Warsaw, an ancient text supposedly written by Mary. In it, Mary testifies that Joseph of Arimathea gave Jesus a drug that only made him seem dead, for 3 days. And that Jesus walked away through a fault in the tomb. Then Halter provides another postscript which implies that the old Poilish woman's son, naturally named Jesus, died at Auschwitz, so we are left with the impression that it was all a misunderstanding on the author's part, or on our part, or on a bogus translation's part. Whatever.

I am quite upset with Mr. Halter because he broke trust with us, his readers. He brought us into the life of Mary, into a world he created,
then jerks us around with a denial of Jesus as the son of God because the central core of Christianity is Jesus's resurrection; not that Jesus performed miracles, not that Mary was a virgin, etc., but that Jesus rose from the dead. He is laughing at us via these bogus postscripts. No thank you, I will not entertain to read your books again!

while the book is basically fiction it helped me to reject the portrayal of Mary as read in Mary of Nazareth; it made me appreciate and uphold the beliefs I have held of Mary throughout my life...

The imaginative account of Mary's everyday life as a Jew during a turburlent period of history drew me in and I could dispel disbelief in Mary's highly unlikely adventures with other biblical people, but as the story continued and became increasingly strange, I began to lose interest. But what really turned me off to this book was the absurdly unbelievable ending with the writer's finding of "The Gospel of Mary" in which she reveals that as her son was dying on the cross, the Roman executioner shoved a sponge saturated with a narcotic into his mouth (believing it was vinegar).

He appeared to die, but no, he had just been doped! His body was placed in the tomb which conveniently had a hidden entranceway in the back through which Mary entered and waited for him to wake up. She and a few of his followers stayed with him for 3 days after which he said it was time for him to go. NO DEATH, NO RESSURECTION. Jesus had just been doped and I had been duped.

Yes, it's just a novel, but when readers consider this book, they need to know that although it appears to be biblically based, it just uses Bible people as a takeoff point for what many will consider heresy and others will consider just plain weird.

I was disappointed and frustrated by this book. In the end, I am not sure what story the author is trying to tell.

On the positive side, the story is well written and compelling, and keeps you engaged to the end of the book.

But I was left wondering, who is the Mary he is telling the story of? Is it Mary the Mother of Jesus? Some version of Mary with the character of a modern-day Jewish mother? or the Mary he met in Poland, who had rescued Jews from the Holocaust.

In historical terms, the story is contrived. The author brings together disparate actors from the gospels in a way that it lacks credibility. The story is clearly set up to demonstrate the possibility that Jesus survived the crucification, First, Mary rescues her father from the cross and then heals a boy with a spear wound. This is an unnecessary assault of Christian beliefs, when considering that the story focuses on Mary's preparation for the birth of Jesus. At the same time, the author goes to extraordinary lengths to preserve Mary's perpetual virginity (a belief that is hotly debated amongst Christians).

The so-called Gospel of Mary appended to the book is clearly made up and lacks any resonance with other writings of the time. Mostly notably it is written in the first person, which would have been considered a supremely arrogant form of speech in first century Palestine. It is disappointing that the author didn't use the real Gospel of Mary, which provides some wonderful support for aspects of the character he developed.

The view of Palestine seems out of sync with the Gospels. The Romans, and the tax collectors are just too oppressive. There is no hint of the uneasy accommodations that come through the Gospel accounts. Meanwhile, the Jewish society seems a little too perfect. And it wasn't until some weeks after reading, it then occurred to me what was missing - the lepers. The ubiquitous outcasts of the ancient world are simply absent.

Which led me to the conclusion that while this is an interesting work of fiction, the historical presentation is poor and the author misses an important opportunity to tell a story that Jews, Christians and Muslims could all identify with.

Bear River Spirit: The thematic of the games includes: Motion pictures, actors, music, writers, Internet, American Presidents, computers...etc. This book gives a look at a completely different Mary the mother of Jesus than Christians are used to. I loved the book for this very reason. The novel shows Mary as an intelligent well educated woman with a rebellious and stubborn nature. I adore this Mary. The farout connection to Barrabbus kept the story interesting, because what novel could you sell today touting a strong, intelligent, and rebellious woman? The extreme fiction of this Barrabbus connection will keep the Zealot Christians from screaming foul. Another point I liked about this novel is the intelligent Mary being trained in medicines and herbs. It goes into depth subliminally on how she would raise her son. The above two reasons give us a very unusual ending and just how the son of God - son of Mary could resurrect from the dead. I truly loved the ending, Marek.

I really enjoyed this novel.I found it very interesting how he wrote about the romans and how they were when then had run of the land and how bad they treated the people during those days how cruel they were. It was very sad how they percussed the people for there own fun and games and how the people lived with the political in those days and like us how we deal with our own governmnet and the problem that arise. I enjoyed how he protrayed mary as a young girl full of fire and not letting nothing get in her way. the story and the plot was excellent but I was not happy with the ending part and how he ended the story. Coming from a jewish person I could see why he wrote it and a lot of jewish people think this is what happened,or one theory anyway. But due to the fact that a lot of non jewish people would read it they will not agree with what he said.I am one of those people who do not agree with what he said. I think he should of thought about the ending a little bit more. I have read many of his novels but this one was the pits.

MARY OF NAZARETH.

This Mary is NOT the
Mary that Christians
know.

This Mary is a figment
of Halters imagination.

The ending made numerous
readers livid and made them
feel betrayed.

He can not write of our Mary
and her son Jesus..when he
does not believe in Jesus.

He is a Jewish story teller
and .. this is just a story.

It is OK.

His MARY is good and strong
..that is all that matters
really.

I have read many of Halters
works and enjoyed them alot.
This is not a favorite.

bette b prater okc ok 60 ish
& retired

I have to admit that I enjoyed this book for about the first 2/3 of the story. I liked Mary portrayed as a strong woman, ahead of her time so to speak. I also admired that she never faltered in her belief that God would send the people a king who could unite them and save them from the tyranny of the government. The book began to fail from the point that Mary becomes pregnant to the end of the story. And the Gospel of Mary is pure blasphemy as far as I'm concerned. I realize that Marek's account of Mary's Gospel is based on theory, but it's told so convincingly as truth that it crossed the line for me.

What truly disturbs me is that people reading this who do not know any other tellings of Mary and Jesus may take this to be more truth than fiction. What truly annoyed me is that I do not have a lot of time to read, and when I take the time to read something like this book, I feel my time has been wasted!

In his latest novelization of Biblical figures, author Marek Halter explores the life of the mother of Jesus, in Mary of Nazareth. He crafts a stunning portrayal that, while unlike the traditional views of the Biblical Mary, is endearing and fascinating.

In a land oppressed by King Herod the Great and his Roman supporters, Miriam as she is known throughout the novel, is a daring child, equally devoted to her family as she is to seeking justice for her people. When King Herod's mercenaries descend on Nazareth looking for some rebels who destroyed a storehouse, Miriam encounters the enigmatic young thief Barabbas hiding in her father's house. She thwarts the soldiers' efforts to find him but by morning, the young man has disappeared. Years later, when Miriam's father, the carpenter Joachim is captured, she boldly seeks Barabbas' help to save her father from his ordeal on the cross. In a daring rescue attempt, Barabbas and his motley band save Joachim from the heavily guarded fortress of Tarichea. They flee under the cover of night. But a seed of rebellion takes root in the heart of the men, and her continued association with Barabbas threatens her future. For Miriam's safety, she separates from her parents and lives in Magdala for a time, where she studies. When rebellion against Herod leads to a tragic loss, Miriam despairs but finds strength in her studies and her hopes for the future. At home again in Nazareth and reunited with her family, Miriam embraces an unexpected destiny as the mother of Messiah.

Miriam is at times, willful then obedient, passionate and yet patient. The author skillfully weaves the history of the period, the Biblical accounts of the life of Christ's mother and his research into an enthralling characterization. This book is a must read, with engaging characters and great attention to historical detail. I highly recommend Mary of Nazareth.

Halter's imaginings create a portrait of Mary unlike any in recent works. She is a strong and passionate woman living in a male dominated world. She is an active participant in her world not content to sit idly by. Halter did a great job of laying the seeds of her story which after centuries of re-telling will grow into the Mary story told today.