The Testament of Mary

By: Colm Toibin

Narrated by: Meryl Streep

Length: 3 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Solo Narration - Female, 2014

Audie Award Finalist, Literary Fiction, 2014

Meryl Streep’s performance of Colm Tóibín's acclaimed portrait of Mary is hailed by the New York Times Book Review as “an ideal audiobook,” presenting the three-time Academy Award-winner in “yet another great role.” Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Colm Tóibín's The Testament of Mary presents Mary as a solitary older woman still seeking to understand the events that become the narrative of the New Testament and the foundation of Christianity. In the ancient town of Ephesus, Mary lives alone, years after her son's crucifixion. She has no interest in collaborating with the authors of the Gospel. They are her keepers, providing her with food and shelter and visiting her regularly. She does not agree that her son is the Son of God; nor that his death was "worth it"; nor that the "group of misfits he gathered around him, men who could not look a woman in the eye," were holy disciples. This woman who we know from centuries of paintings and scripture as the docile, loving, silent, long-suffering, obedient, worshipful mother of Christ becomes a tragic heroine with the relentless eloquence of Electra or Medea or Antigone, in a portrait so vivid and convincing that our image of Mary will be forever transformed.

Now Meryl Streep brings Tóibín's tour de force of imagination and language to unforgettable life with “simplicity, honesty, [and] a clarity that draws us into the emotional landscape of the book through the beauty of the writing,” writes Charles Isherwood in the New York Times Book Review. “Streep has an impressive ability to crest the structurally intricate sentences Tóibín has fashioned, which sometimes have the flowing, rhythmic cadences of certain passages in the Bible itself,” Isherwood writes of her performance. “Streep’s voice is familiar to generations of moviegoers, but its beauty as an instrument can be appreciated in this context as it often cannot be in films. … Tóibín's exquisite book [is] rendered by Streep with all its detached, quiet, consoling humanity intact.”

©2012 Colm Toibin (P)2013 Simon and Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

*"....beautiful and daring....Tóibín is at his lyrical best in The Testament of Mary....Originally performed as a one-woman show in Dublin, it takes its power from the surprises of its language, its almost shocking characterization, its austere refusal of consolation." (Mary Gordon, The New York Times Book Review)

" The Testament of Mary is sort of an ideal audiobook…. Streep's voice is familiar to generations of moviegoers, but its beauty as an instrument can be appreciated in this context as it often cannot be in films…. The result: simplicity, honesty, a clarity that draws us into the emotional landscape of the book through the beauty of the writing…. [O]ften there is a simmering intensity, as of overwhelming feeling held just barely in check. And there is, again, the sheer beauty of the voice, which has a cello-like resonance, slightly dark-timbered…. Streep rises to the heights of the most harrowing passages in the book with a stealth that takes you by surprise, so fluidly does she connect the subtle changes in feeling that overtake Mary as she tells of her confusion at what is happening, her fear when she hears that her son's death has been ordained, her horror at bearing witness to it." (Charles Isherwood, The New York Times Book Review)

Spectacular!

Like watching a performance in your mind. Riveted simultaneously by the story and the telling of it. Brilliant!

Meryl Streep should do more audiobooks!

Meryl Streep is the female equivalent of Morgan Freeman. It might have been too good, in fact, because instead of listening to the story, I was thinking about how good her voice is.

Too droll!

I was expecting a lot that I did not get in this book. I wanted to feel a connection to Mary and to feel emotions for her or to feel I had shared her emotions. Instead the the story was very dry and didn’t convey a person I had any feeling for. It was a struggle to finish the book. I kept waiting for it to get better and it never did. Don’t waste your credit.

Fragmented and unremarkable

despite a well-read performance by Meryl Streep, the book itself was uninteresting. It didn't catch my attention or keep my attention. Mary's thoughts were rarely thoughtful, just didn't enjoy it.

Hope Mary wasn't that bitter.

A well read story and really made Mary come to life. I really hope she was not that damaged and bitter over the whole experience of her life. She seemed annoyed by the apostles hanging around and felt alone and damaged.
No one knows much about Mary's later life. That's what makes this so compelling. I like to think her boundless faith would have provided her with a more peaceful later life.

Extraordinary book and narration

Colm Toibin is a master and Meryl Streep an artist beyond compare. I couldn’t stop listening… utterly compelling

Stunning Consideration of Historical Mythology

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This story and its brilliant narration is the raison d'etre for audible books. I have been listening to books, good, better, and worse for 6 months. Some have been enjoyable and thoughtful experiences: an informative historical fiction, a lyrical work of classic literature, or a moving biography that unveils a wounded soul . Others selections have been quite engaging -- a story that slings a wicked twist or a history that opens my mind to previously unknown event. But this story brings the very best of all these qualities to our ears. Colm Toibin's imaginal exploration of the memories of Mary, mother of Jesus, is nothing short of amazing. We experience the doubts and fears of the mother of a young man who is individuating into a new and dangerous future. Mary's confusion amid the chaos of the political upheaval and her disgust and rage against her "keepers" who are the shapers of history is palpable. Meryl Streep amazes as she delivers ordinary observations contained within extraordinary situations and hard and brutal truths perceived as any human soul might attempt to make meaning of circumstances out of her control. I highly recommend this audio book to one and all.

Who was your favorite character and why?

This story is Mary's and she is the lens through which we view (and hear) the story of Jesus.

Which scene was your favorite?

The wedding at Cano brings the naïve Mary into the fray where she witnesses the dynamic change in her son and the societal response to his new spiritual movement all the while beginning to glimpse the deadly danger it evokes.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

For me this occurred when Mary is witness to the crucifixion of her son, Jesus. Although she is in agony for his pain and hopes for some kind of magical intervention that will save him, she honestly admits fear about her own safety. Earlier she told us of the trauma of having seen a crucifixion and now we share her worst nightmare without vain glory or heroics. Only that damned caged eagle being fed live rabbits, people selling wares and grilling food, her son on the cross, and the primal instinct for personal survival.

Any additional comments?

Buy this book!

Perfect narration for a flawless story

Meryl Streep has almost ruined me now for other audio books. No one can compare. She gave this incredible story an incredibly beautiful narration.
This Mary is not a believer, she is a mother. Her reactions to the events of her son's life are a mother's. I am a believer but not easily put off by books that other Christians might find difficult. Both my tastes in fiction and non-fiction allow a wide variety of views and I'm thrilled that I happened upon this one. I will undoubtedly read more from this author. If Audible can manage it please get Ms. Streep back for even more. She really is incomparable.

hauntingly beautiful.

Story of Jesus ' persecution and death told by his mother. in an honest, mortal way (she did not claim to be the daughter of God). Beautifully narrated. it does not matter your religious beliefs. Five stars

Riveting!

Definitely a different point of view, and gives you something to think about. The story was plausible within its own outlines, and Merle Streep made a wonderful narrator.