Mary Magdalene is and has always been somewhat of an enigma. Whether or not that is to any fault of her own, or rather the historians who sought to personify her still remains unclear. Trust me, I know. I spent a lengthy period of time on Wikipedia before writing this review.
This book jumped out at me for a plethora of different reasons. Because Mary Magdalene was such an enigmatic character, several different author’s have tried to make sense of what we know. Each interpretation is vastly different from the other interpretation. Being that Diana Wallis Taylor is a recent discovery of mine, I was eager to read her perspective on the story.
After reading Lydia: Woman of Phillippi, I had some pretty high expectations. I really enjoyed her writing and her ability to fit so much information about such a large amount of time, into such a small (but good-sized) novel. Mary Magdalene did not disappoint.
The themes of betrayal, how one lie can cause another lie and so on, and forgiveness were so powerful. I found myself pondering the ideas for days after “the end.” The redemption of the characters by the end, was so strong and moving. There were even parts at which I could not help but cry over. This is an emotional journey, and as such, is a prime example of what character development should be in a novel.
As far as my list of favorite Biblical fiction authors goes, Taylor is definitely climbing to the top! I can’t wait to read more of her work, and continue to be inspired.
If you would like to hear more of my thoughts on Mary Magdalene, then be sure to check out my YouTube video, where I posted a FULL, spoiler-free discussion about the book.
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this review! As a reminder I’ve got PLENTY more coming up this month that you won’t want to miss. To stay in touch, join my mailing list, and check out all of my social media links!
Until next time,