Top 60 Books of the Decade: No. 59

As part olf this series, I plan to offer some comments about where I acquired the book and how I read it, if it's appropriate. For example, we have No. 59, Mary, Called Magdalene by Margaret George. I bought this book, after reading an intriguing review, at the Doubleday bookstore in a mall in downtown Sacramento. When we were living in Reno, I'd often drive over the mountain to see a play at the B Street Theatre or hear a performance by Chanticleer (or, on really great occasions, both). I enjoy carrying a book around with me when I walk around a city, so I can sit in read at a park, on a bench or in a restaurant (if I'm alone). I didn't have a book with me, so I picked this up with the intent of reading it, then donating it to the church library, which I did.

This is a very moving novel, written from the viewpoint of Mary Magdalene. George starts out with the assumption that this Mary is not the reformed prostitute but rather a wealthy woman who lives for years with a serious demon infestation until she meets Jesus and gets rid of it. George infuses the narrative with a host of details about the town Mary comes from, the pilgrimage to Jerusalsem and her travels with Jesus and the disciples, even offering explanations for the differences in the Gospels. But what's best about the novel is that George doesn't flinch from the fact that, while Mary loves Jesus, Jesus loves her as another disciple, and that following Christ has severe consequences. It's a fine, engrossing novel.