Perhaps in the past the chair was in daily use somewhere, but it came through this door during a time when I needed desperately to remember some years when I knew love. “There is one chair in this room in which no one has ever sat. Through Mary’s eyes we see some of the events that were proclaimed as miracles, we experience the horror and brutality of execution by crucifixion. Mary takes a fairly sceptical view of the things her son and his friends have been saying, she worries at the effect his words will have on those in power.
Mary is a mother wanting her son to come home, to not put himself against the ruling factions who saw him as a political figure, and therefore a threat to themselves. Alarmed at the men who surrounded him, anxious about their influence over him, wondering at the things he was saying. She’s an angry, grieving mother, looking back at the time when she began to lose her son. Maybe for the first time Mary is a real woman, no longer just the benignly smiling face of a thousand religious images, Tóibín, has fleshed her out – a woman living in fear, confused and wondering at what her son was becoming. She describes a time of fear and suspicion – a time when Rome ruled the world. How she had to flee in fear of her own life. Here Mary gives us her account of her son’s life, and death. “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” – We know Jesus of Nazareth lived, he is an historical fact – further than that is a matter of faith – and not a subject I want to debate here – I consider faith a deeply personal thing, which while I may not share it, I do respect it. Instead he presents us with a sensitive and credible story of how it might have been for this woman caught up in extraordinary events. However Tóibín doesn’t actually come down on any particular side, he isn’t saying Jesus was the son of God, and he isn’t saying it’s all a fairy-tale. I think that your response to this beautifully written little novel will depend quite a lot on your religious standpoint. The Mary of the title is of course Mary the mother of Jesus. The author thinks that he was in fact, conditioned to driving to the tune of the rattle and roar of other vehicles beside, behind, and ahead.Taking a look at an ancient story from an entirely new angle Colm Tóibín, presents us with a novella that will undoubtedly split opinion.
#The testament of mary book club questions driver#
And in the car with the air-conditioner on and the windows closed, the driver felt constricted, encapsulated and tongue-tied, and drove without spirit. He had a habit of gesticulating at erring pedestrians and addressing them volubly in passing. Whenever the air-conditioner was on, the windows were to be closed which inhibited his driver, whose habit was to show right or left turn by thrusting his arm out, who, when the glass was raised, constantly hit it with his fist. The air conditioner in the author's car, which was supposed to make one's journey comfortable, was switch on, during the ten years for a total period of thirty minutes, i.e., less than three minutes in a year. But the author never understood the purpose of most of the buttons, switches, and gadgets. Anybody would be ecstatic to see its easy steering maneuverability, concealed air-conditioner, and Taperecorder- digital alarm with a calculator.
#The testament of mary book club questions full#
However, he happened to own an 'imported car, which is flashy and full of sophistication.
He is satisfied if he is provided a seat and four-wheels that can roll. He is not interested in the facilities or luxuries that a car can provide.
The author R.K Narayan says that he is impervious to the fine values in a car.
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