I came to "Mary Called Magdalene" searching for something as spiritually fulfilling and female-oriented as "The Red Tent", and was sadly disappointed. We need more women's perspectives from and about the Bible, but this one just didn't ring true!

It's an "okay" read (I did *finish* it, anyway), but the story is slow and the characters (especially Magdalene herself!) are flat. I've researched Magdalene extensively, and find her to be a fascinating and much-maligned historical character, with a strong spirit that has lasted even through all of the mud-slinging. (The "prostitute" nonsense seems to have been started long after her death, by churchmen who were annoyed by her position as "favored apostle," more than anything else.)

I was hoping to find an insightful (maybe even feminist) reading of the historical Magdalene, and instead received a rather bland and culturally-appropriate version of a (rather boring) Biblical housewife. If you're looking for a powerful historical novel on Biblical characters, I highly recommend Anita Dymant's "The Red Tent," or for younger readers, Madeleine L'Engle's "Many Waters." Leave poor Mary Magdelene in peace-- this book doesn't do her justice.

Several reviewers have noted the novel's unsophisticated prose, flat characters and perfunctory account of Christ's ministry and Passion. While I agree, the sheer volume of detail does give the reader a clear sense of everyday life in Judea, and the unsustainable separation between a Jewish religious leadership immersed in the form of worship and the Jewish people, who could find no spiritual nourishment in the cold, arcane legality of Jewish tradition. Although George claims to follow the Episcopal and Catholic tradition (whatever that means), her theology certainly doesn't reflect it. At best, she dances around the concept of Christ's divinity and the True Presence, and goes out of her way to reject the notion of an apostolic church. While such views are obviously widespread, I found it very curious indeed that she would make Jesus dependent on Mary: there are a few points in the narrative where Jesus says he must know her visions in order to proceed on his holy mission. Well, for revisionist Christianity, I'd suggest "The Last Temptation of Christ" by Kazantakis-it's far more coherent and provocative. For a taste of the life and times of Jesus, "Mary" is ok, but don't expect much more.

"Mary, Called Magdalene" is an amazing novel about the life of Mary Magdalene. It starts out when Mary is seven. She and her family go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Mary, her couisins and friend Keziah meet Jesus (who is thirteen at the time)and his family from Nazareth.

The story picks up later when Mary is ready to be married. She ends up marrying Joel, a young man who works for her father. Mary, however, becomes possessed with demons from an ivory idol that she found years ago. The family tries all they can to exorcise the demons but nothing works.

Eventually, Mary goes to a rabbi who tells her to fast in the desert. She does this but eventually becomes so exhausted that she has to find her way back to civilization, still possessed with demons. She stops and sees John the Baptist preaching by the River Jordan. She meets Jesus for the second time here and he gets rid of the demons.

Mary becomes one of his closest disciples and follows him until his death and resurrection. Then she goes on preaching to people until she dies.

There is a lot of intrigue and even some romance in this book. It is gem in my opinion. Apart from being a great read it also gives some insight into what the Jewish and Christian were like. It's interesting to see how the early Christian rituals presented in this book are so similar to those of today. You should definitely read this book no matter what religion you are. It's wonderful and well worth reading it.