The Passion of Mary-Margaret (Paperback)

~ Lisa Samson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Samson (Quaker Summer) mixes quirky with mysticism, seasons it with social justice, and the result is a page-turner with characters so fresh, funny and indelible the reader wants another 50 pages or so, please. Samson envisions a Jesus even an atheist would enjoy talking to, a Jesus whom the titular Mary-Margaret Fischer, a religious sister, talks to and gets direction from, as mystics quite naturally do. An even more compelling figure than Jesus, or at least someone with more lines and hence more characterization, is Mary-Margaret's childhood friend, Jude Keller, a ne'er-do-well with a soul needing saving encased in a body so good-looking it's hard for a body to resist. The required Christian progression to redemption is a natural in this story that slips between past and present—somewhat confusingly at first—and ranges from Maryland to Africa. The plot holds a few surprises that make some of the final, far-flung episodes more narratively and theologically satisfying. Quirk works; this is a deeply engaging book deserving of a broad audience. (Mar.)
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Product Description

Mary-Margaret yearned to dedicate her life to the Lord. Jesus had another idea.

When Mary-Margaret Fischer met Jude Keller, the lighthouse keeper's son, she was studying at a convent school on a small island off Chesapeake Bay. Destined for a life as a religious sister, she nevertheless felt a pull toward Jude--gorgeous, rebellious, promiscuous Jude. But Jude, driven by demons no one really understood, disappeared into Baltimore's seamy red-light district. Mary-Margaret moved on with her life, preparing to serve God with her sisters as a teacher and artist.

Then Jude comes home--but now he's bitter, dissolute, and diseased. And Mary-Margaret receives a divine call that shakes her to the core, a call to give up her dreams for the troubled man who befriended her so long ago. For Jesus' sake, can she forsake the only life she ever wanted for a love that could literally cost her life?

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (March 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595542116
• ISBN-13: 978-1595542113
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #236,735 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Insightful Book, May 26, 2009

By	C. Gruver (TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

(What's this?)

I loved this book. More importantly, I have thought a lot about it -- what it means to be a spouse, a parent, a Christian, a citizen of the world; what it means to forgive and be forgiven; what it means to take risks -- and what qualifies as a risk.

It is not perfect. The first 50 pages were tough going -- the first-person narrative seemed to meander around, discussing everything but the plot of the novel. It is the author's way of letting the reader get to know Mary-Margaret before the reader knows her story; it works imperfectly.

After the slow start, the narrator (Mary-Margaret) starts dropping hints about what transpired in her very interesting life. As one reviewer noted, about everything imaginable happened to MM or to someone for whom she cared. This approach keeps the reader's interest, but it does feel a little manipulative.

At the core of the book is a love story between MM and Jesus. Yes, MM loves a flesh-and-blood man as well (and also has deep platonic relationships with many others), but Jesus is her passion. When I re-read my last sentence, I think to myself, "How can one make a relationship with God interesting to a reader -- who necessarily is outside the relationship?" Samson has accomplished this task by making MM very real and by making MM's Jesus very real to her. At the end of the day, all of the plot devices (loves, dangers, deaths, births, lies, diseases, frustrations -- yes, many are over-the-top) exist to 'flesh out' MM's relationship with Jesus.

As a Protestant, I have wondered why Catholic priests and nuns are not permitted to marry. My thought process was, "If a Protestant minister and his/her spouse can be effective in the same community that has a Catholic church, why cannot the Catholic priest also marry?" I now understand that my utiliterian approach to this issue completely missed the mark. This book opened my eyes to the level of commitment that a 'religious' person can have to God and the intensity that the relationship with God can be. For MM, at times, her love of Jesus was all-consuming. In fact, she had to step away a bit from the intensity of that relationship to care for her husband and child during that phase of her life, and that decision was painful -- and joyous -- for her.

My description of MM makes her sound holier-than-thou and rather boring. She is not boring! She is witty, creative, spirited, willful, and silly. She reminds me of no one -- and of everyone.

Samson's prose can be just right. At one point, MM writes, "I'm the most me I ever am around my son." The book is peppered with lines that speak deeply about MM's relationship with Jesus, her husband, her birth family, and her best friend.

I recommend this book to any Christian who enjoys novels about ideas and relationships.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique Perspective and Unusual Tale of Redemption, May 21, 2009

By	TheProf (Somewhere in AL, USA) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

Many books are written in the first person narrative however few are as folksy and tender as The Passion of Mary-Margaret. Mary-Margaret, a religious sister, pens the tale of her life as she is coming to the end of it. The story flashes back and forward several times as thoughts change and enter her mind. The thread feels very much like an elderly person's pattern of speech. It reminded me a little of Mark Twain's "Jim Baker's Blue Jay Yarn" where Jim told one story after another in what seemed like an endless supply of seemingly unconnected tales.

But in The Passion of Mary-Margaret, the theme is quite clear throughout. Mary-Margaret is an unusual character who knows at a very young age that she loves Jesus and will always serve as a religious sister. Jesus puts many broken people in her path and she consistently and lovingly introduces them to their Savior. Redemption and loving service are very strong throughout.

Unlike many stories of religion or religious orders, Mary-Margaret's story is unusual because her Jesus is very personal. She may go through the religious rites but her personal relationship with her God colors everything she does or touches. It is a very refreshing outlook and takes into account true life rather than just looking the other way when bad things happen.

The book's description was a little deceptive because her story revolves around her relationship with Jesus, not with Jude, the earthly love of her life. And I found this all the more entrancing. Jude's storyline supported this especially when she was asked to show him love that would ultimately change the course of her life.

The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 was that it moved slowly. The stops and starts of Mary-Margaret's narrative, however indicative of an elderly narrator, seemed excessive at times. For me, it broke the rhythm of the story and it took a lot of concentration to stay in the story. It is well written and deep and the stop/start narrative isn't conducive to the depth, in my opinion.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Life Of A Faithful Steward, April 13, 2009

By	C. Hutton "book maven" (East Coast, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

(What's this?)

Comtemporary Christian fiction is the genre that "The Passion Of Mary-Margaret" inhabits. The novel is the autobiography of Mary-Margaret as it weaves flashbacks with the present. It themes include drug addiction, AIDS, murder, lust, male prostitution, forgiveness and redemption. While told from a Catholic perspective, and set on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, one need not be either Catholic nor familiar with Maryland to enjoy this story. Mary-Margaret is a marvelous character of faith who copes with the cross that she must carry. The author mixes realism with faithfulness in the right portions to make this an unforgetable tale.