The Testament of Mary

De: Colm Toibin

Narrado por: Meryl Streep

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

Reseñas de la Crítica

*"....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)

Too much liberty taken on the story

Merrill Streep did a fantastic job and was extremely compelling throughout. However too much liberty was taken with the story and was uncomfortable for a Christian to read.

Interesting and thought provoking

Such an interesting take on a well known story. whether or not you're Christian, it's worth the listen.

Mary depicted as a human woman of her time

I dont know what the basis of this story was - the apocryphal testament of Mary, or what? It does succeed in humanizing her, eg, what would someone in her position have thought about the unexplainable happenings concerning her son’s crucifixion and subsequent resurrection. These were obviously things she neither expected nor understood in the moment.
Her reaction to her caretakers (John?) was realistic. She viewed them as interlopers and basically just men...who messed things up in her house. And though they tried to explain to her what had happened to her son and who her son actually was, in a theological sense, she could not grasp what they were saying. She loves him the way a mother loves a son, especially one who is lost to her, but loves and misses her dead husband and his place in her life even more.

Moving story of Mary, Mother of Jesus

This story was a very moving account of what Mary went through, thought, and felt during the adult life of her son and after his death. The story brought her to life in a very real and intelligent fashion. It was exactly what I would imagine a mother would feel watching her son go through the last days of his life. It was not sensationalized, just very, very real. Excellent book. Meryl Streep's performance was excellent. Her performance was very understated but powerful.

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.

Superb!

This book must be heard. Meryl Streep's voice is perfect. It is the only way to know this story.

beautifully written and performed.

If you could sum up The Testament of Mary in three words, what would they be?

Give me more please.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Testament of Mary?

When Mary is witnessing her son's crucifixion.

What about Meryl Streep’s performance did you like?

I felt I was listening to Mary

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Extraordinary book and narration

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

Amazing 😘 is there anything Meryl Streep can't do

This is an intense look at the events surrounding Jesus Christ's death. It is viewed purely by the heart of a loving mother. Meryl captures the intense feelings, tries to analyze how things got so out of hand. I have never read a book by this Author before but i certainly plan to do so.