This short book is the story of Mary, Mother of Jesus, looking back from her old age. Early on she talks of going to the Temple where there was a statue of Artemis. This surprised me as I expected she would go to a Jewish Temple, or even a Roman one. Artemis is a Greek Goddess, the Roman equivalent would be Diana. Mary mentions Artemis radiating abidance, and at first I wondered whether this was a typo and abundance was meant. Abidance means waiting in expectation which is possible for Artemis, and for Mary.
The writing is timeless, in a way that could be present day, or 2,000 years ago. The language used is strong and deliberate. This book asks to be read aloud, the words to be slowly articulated and savoured. The preliminaries to the crucifixion reminded me of “Superstar”, overlaid with a mother’s emotions about her child. Mary’s reality is different to that of the rest of the world, and the story of her grief is poignant.
“He died to save the world, it seems,
and yet he lives within her dreams.”
Sounds wonderful. Love your new header photo.
LikeLike
Thanks, Gallivanta. Being on holiday i had some time to explore WordPress possibilities. This is a photo I took pre-earthquake, near my home. I might try to get a better one soon.
LikeLike