The Book of Mary

Tanya Rogoschewsky is a librarian at Red Deer College in Red Deer,
Alberta.

The Book of Mary retells the story of possibly the most famous woman in
history: Mary of Nazareth, also know as the Mother of God and the Virgin
Mary. Except that she wasn’t (a virgin, that is), according this
appealing retelling of her life. Instead Mary is portrayed as your
standard rebellious teenager who is impregnated by her married
boyfriend. What’s a girl to do? Especially a girl who is betrothed to
someone else and living in a society that routinely stones adulterous
women. Mary comes up with the ingenious plan of passing off her
pregnancy as the miraculous intervention of God rather than the
unfortunate result of her indiscretions. The plan works, but it also
sets in motion a chain of events that ultimately lead to Jesus’
crucifixion.

The story, which is recounted through Mary’s diary entries, traces
her evolution from a careless teenager moaning about churning butter, to
a disgruntled young wife and mother, and finally to the woman who
successfully resists her patriarchal society in order to follow her own
aspirations. As a member of the Sisters of Eastern Star, she devotes
herself to healing and caring for those less fortunate than herself, and
she imparts these values to her son, Jesus.

Sobat is to be congratulated for taking the scattered stories of the
biblical Mary and weaving them together to produce this engaging story
of a remarkable woman.