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Readers' reviews
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"At last, a real flesh-and-blood Mary! Recent scholarship about Jesus, situating him in the social and political milieu of first-century Palestine, now comes to us about his mother. And far from robbing us of faith, this grounding of Mary's life as a brown-skinned, struggling peasant girl invites us deeper into the sheer paradoxical nature of faith."
Sister Helen Prejean, csj, author of Dead Man Walking |
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"Here is the Mary we've been searching for, the strong, courageous, wise woman we always knew had to exist.
Lesley Hazleton's riveting biography will resonate deeply with contemporary women worldwide. Powerful and empowering, inspired and inspiring, this is a book that will move you to tears."
Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth
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"By far the most exciting treatment of Mary I have ever encountered. Hazleton's historical and literary imagination are deeply grounded in thorough research into the conditions of life in ancient Galilee and Judea. Books on 'the historical Jesus'; pale by comparison.
"She summons her most powerful writing for treatment of the most sensitive issues: the impregnation of Mary, and her experience of her son's gruesome death by crucifixion. This 'flesh-and-blood biography' faces the most difficult issues of traditional Christian doctrine, and in so doing, brings the trauma and struggles of Mary to vivid and vital life."
Richard Horsley, professor of religion, University of Massachusetts, Boston
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"Drawing on a wide range of sources including the sometimes suppressed history of the feminine in ancient religions, Hazleton draws a convincing picture of Mary. Her engagingly written book also helps the reader understand something of the background of the long and rich history of Mariological devotion.
Both scholars and non-specialists are bound to enjoy this highly readable intellectual and spiritual treat."
Harvey Cox, professor of divinity, Harvard University |
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"With all the biographies of Jesus, we finally have a study of the most important person in his life: his mother, Mary. Lesley Hazleton gives us a rich, provocative, suggestive, and enormously insightful exploration of one of the most influential yet neglected women in world history."
Susannah Heschel, professor of Jewish studies, Dartmouth College. |
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"I read Mary like a house on fire. Truly, this work is a gem of intellectual courage, imaginative risk taking, penetrating scholarship, and spell-binding writing -- a beautiful evocation that makes those Catholic school plaster statues of Mary leap out of their alcoves and into spirited life. This is the Mary the church fathers don't want you to know. This is a flesh and blood Mary, the real woman behind the iconic image. Hazleton rediscovers Mary as a human being, and in so doing makes her divinity more personal, intimate, and real. Like Jesus, this Mary had the courage to be herself under every set of circumstances.
Lesley Hazleton's Mary is not the second Eve of the church fathers' -- the obedient virgin who redeems the first Eve's primal rebellion. This Mary is the Great Mother Goddess who is, "short, wiry, with dark olive skin and the trace of of a mustache on her upper lip." This Mary doesn't come with the good table manners and idealized looks of the Renaissance virgin. Hazleton delivers Mary from the hands of ecclesiastical partriarchy, and gives us a historical Mary whose divinity suffers not one whit."
George Walczak, American Film Institute
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"This is a phenomenal account of the real life of Jesus' mother, told from the historical perspective of the times. Readers of The Red Tent and The DaVinci Code, and readers excited about religious history, will find this book an important read."
Marge Grutzmacher, Passtimes Books, Sister Bay, WI |
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"Who was she? That elusive, light-skinned blonde icon in a long blue scarf, idealized on altars, in alcoves and adorning creches throughout the Christian culture? No. This deeply moving and powerful book will bring you the real Mary, a young Palestinian woman with the "flesh-and-blood" life issues of a teenage pegnancy and the murder of a son. It will bring you to tears, to revelations and to a human understanding of what has become a question of this decade. The opening, intervening and closing pages of this scholarly account of Mary, "Mother of God," carried me to tears. Lesley Hazleton's inspirational treatment of the life of Jesus' mother does not threaten the devout, only strengthens belief and understanding. A remarkable read for the history, the emotion, the theology. Besides, the writing is exquisite!"
Lynn Rosen, broadcaster, Bellingham WA |
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"In a time when we tend to be too literal in the interpretations of scriptures and have a very Manichean approach to contemporary problems, Hazleton's book is a breath of fresh air. Captivating, her biography of the 'historical' Mary brings life to a shadow, largely ignored by the, until very recently, male-ruled Christian 'aristocracy'. The power of a woman, a mother, is given back to a character who was the starting point of a tsunami shaping Europe and (alas) the rest of the world for centuries after her time.
The depth of Hazleton's research depicts a vivid and credible picture of a woman's life in Palestine two millennia ago. The book masterfully realizes the difficult balancing act of writing a credible and highly readable historical account without destroying the mystery of the legend.
Thank you so much Lesley..."
Olivier D'hose, software architect, Seattle WA |
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(c) Lesley Hazleton, 2004
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