Mary

by Sholem Asch, Leo Steinberg (translator)

The Nazarene's success ('39) gave Asch a financial security he'd never known before, likely incensing critics further. As the situation in Europe worsened, his detractors more vitriolic, Asch & his wife, who had been living in France, retreated to Stamford, CT, at the urging of friends & family. There he began working on the life of Paul while writing short stories about the Jews' dire situation in Nazi-occupied Europe. In '43, he published The Apostle. Predictably, the Yiddish press lambasted it. This time, however, most mainstream critics were also lukewarm. (Paul is "so complex, mystical & Xian a matter that Asch misses him," Kazin concluded.) Nevertheless, his Xological series continued to rack up sales. The Apostle was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. Mary, which appeared in '49, was the least successful of the three. his longtime translator, Maurice Samuel—whose English versions Irving Howe preferred to the original—refused to take on the project. Certainly there was a degree of hubris in writing the Xological trilogy, egoism mixed with naiveté & poor timing. He must have believed his intentions would be clear no matter what, that his act of mediation between the two religions would somehow be understood & matter in such fraught times. The public became more receptive to such ideas after Geza Vermes published Jesus the Jew in '73.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Religion, Fiction, Jewish, Literature

442 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Polish-American writer Sholem Asch (also written Shalom Ash, Yiddish: שלום אַש, Polish: Szalom Asz) sought to reconcile Judaism and Christianity in his controversial novels, such as The Nazarene (1939).

Sholem Asch composed dramas and essays in the language.

Frajda Malka bore Asch and nine other children to Moszek Asz, a cattle-dealer and innkeeper. Asch received tradition and as a young man followed, obtained a more liberal education at Włocławek, and supported with letters for the illiterate townspeople. He moved to Warsaw and met and married Mathilde Shapiro, the daughter of Menahem Mendel Shapiro. The Haskalah or Hebrew enlightenment initially influenced Asch, but Isaac Leib Peretz convinced him to switch.

Plot of God of Vengeance , his drama of 1907 features a lesbian relationship in a brothel.

He traveled to Palestine in 1908 and to the United States in 1910.

His Kiddush ha-Shem in 1919 in the earliest historical modern literature concerns the anti-Semitic uprising of Khmelnytsky in mid-17th century Ukraine.

He sat out World War I in the United States and a naturalized as a citizen in 1920. He returned.


People celebrated a 12-volume set of his collected works, published in his own lifetime in the early 1920s.

When people performed God of Vengeance , the highly esteemed play, on Broadway in 1923, authorities arrested and successfully prosecuted the entire cast on obscenity charges despite the fact that people in Europe already translated it into German, Russian, Hebrew, Italian, Czech, and Norwegian.

Farn Mabul ( Before the Flood , translated as Three Cities ), his trilogy of 1929 to 1931, describes early 20th century life in Saint Petersburg, Warsaw, and Moscow.

In 1932, the republic awarded the decoration of Polonia Restituta, and the club of poets, essayists, and novelists (PEN) elected him honorary president.

He later moved to France and visited Palestine again in 1936. Dos Gezang fun Tol ( The Song of the Valley ) about the halutzim or Zionist pioneers in Palestine reflects his visit of 1936 to that region.

He set his Bayrn Opgrunt (1937), translated as The Precipice , in Germany during the hyperinflation of the 1920s.

He settled in the United States in 1938.

He, however, later offended sensibilities with The Apostle , and Mary , parts of his trilogy, which in 1939 to 1949 dealt with subjects of New Testament. The Forward , leading language newspaper of New York, dropped him and openly attacked him for promotion.

Asch spent most his last two years in Bat Yam near Tel Aviv, Israel but died in London. His house in Bat Yam now houses his namesake museum. Yale University holds the bulk of his library, which contains rare books and manuscripts, including some of his own works.

Reviews

[Casey Perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so moved by this telling of Mary’s story. Beautiful writing with insight into Jewish culture that adds nuance to the narrative. Reading it felt like a devotional practice. I simply loved it and will definitely be reading again!

[Carey Graziani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful story but at times a bit too long winded for me. I would get lost in the extremely detailed descriptions.

[Paul Quick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sholem Asch, the author Jewish by faith, has singlehandedly in writing this book has done more to reconcile Christians and Jews than most world leaders. I learned that Mary is a very strong person and without her Christ would not have been what he was. I learned how much like today there are so many naysayers which were roadblocks. Yet somehow Mary kept the faith and was key in helping her son realize his goals. Thought I knew every story about Mary and Joseph but Sholem surprised with additional ones i.e. some possibly from Jospehus account et al. I was especially enamoured by the manhandling of Jesus in the Nazarene Temple which led to an unexpected miracle. Also interesting was Ben Asch description of mary's sacrifice as being similiar to the stroy Abraham attempted sacrifice of Isaac. Excellent book for those of religios incline or historians.

[Bob Mendelsohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder if some of the translation work from the Yiddish might have tampered with the actual writing of Asch, but for whatever reason, the punch of the other book, The Apostle, which he wrote earlier, is missing in Mary. She still comes out significantly holy and this is a very good read in the light of Jewish rejection of the whole story. I think Asch had a great handle on the Gospels and helped the modern Jewish-Christian conversation to move ahead at a faster pace.

A very good read.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at the experiences of Mary (Meriam), written from a Jewish point of view. Goes deeply into what the youth and development of Jesus and his family of brothers and sister might have been like. Ends like all these Biblical biographies.

[Leilani C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting perspective of Mary and all the lives she touched

[Mat Rueter · Rating 4 out of 5]

What evil can they do me when He stands over me like a pillar of fire?!

[Shelley Alongi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really surprised that I did not write a review on this book when I finished it in September of last year. But, I see that I did write one for the Nazarene where I mention Mary because I thought that Mary was a better book then the Nazarene. The Nazarene just goes on forever it seems. Mary is much more coherent I guess would be a good word to say. Maybe I just read the Gospels a lot a lot so the Nazarene was repeat for me even though it was written from three perspectives and actually a very interesting concept. I am surprised that Mary was less successful than the Nazarene. I like this book because of the history and the thoughtful questions please just buy a child although in hindsight I guess we can have a child character who grows up to be someone amazing as Christ ask anything they want. It’s interesting that in other fictional accounts of Jesus that we see more placement on Tim Tatian rather than theology. It was interesting in Marie that she had such educated answers for her child when I don’t recall a woman being so educated in that time period. I don’t know everything but that’s just my perception. I read this book twice because I like to the development of the Christ character. I think it’s one of the best develop characters although it seems to be more based in theology that life without the elegy. That sounds kind of confusing doesn’t it? This book is a really good read. It is not as tedious as the Nazarene so that’s probably another reason why I am so surprised that it was the least successful of the three books mentioned in that detailed description on this site. The first time I read this book the ending seemed a little abrupt. Hey second read changes my opinion on that. It seems as if this was the perfect place to end this book the appearance of the resurrected Christ to everyone the first time. Since reading the book the first time I have done some more research on history of the time. And also have understood this book and could take it and it’s broad themes. The first time this Book was much more enjoyable the second time around. I still would highly recommend this book. It’s one of the better thought out fictional account. And I like it also because it deals more with Marie using apocryphal sources than the standard gospel stories. It will definitely start you want an interesting journey if you pick up this book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was no way to select "read" and "want to read", or I would have. I read this book twice in my childhood/adolescence and was quite captivated with it. Over the years, pieces of it that had especially impacted me would float to the surface of my consciousness, but for the most part I had forgotten about it. I was reminded of it today while perusing reviews for Anne Rice's Christ the Lord books. Over and over the idea of humanity revealed was stated as the most rewarding aspect of the Rice books, which is exactly the same reason I loved Mary.

Having grown up learning the Bible, I was open for a version of these "characters" lives that was more fleshed out and human. I thought the story was beautifully created. There were moments of well crafted storytelling that placed me in the minds and hearts of Mary and her family. I new the story of Mary and Joseph, and understood the possible (and probable) ramifications that Joseph faced when he chose to go forward with the marriage, even after Mary revealed she was "with child", but I had never considered what her parents must have been going through, or her sisters, or the other people around her as they faced what must have seemed, at first, like the mental, social, and moral deterioration of their little Mary.

Imagine if a happening in your life was presented on the news, in a short, few minute package that touches on the main points, and shares the most necessary events leading up to it for it to make sense.

What we read in the Bible, regarding Mary, is that news story. This book creates the entire story as seen in hindsight: how the pieces in ordinary people's lives fall together *just so* to make them a part of something extraordinary, when it's all said and done.

That all being said, I need to read it again. The story, the idea, and the motivation, I'm assuming won't be that different for me, but I'd like to view it now, some 20+ years later, and see what I think about the translation, and the writing, and whether or not it holds up to my memory.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read for sure in the realm of historical events in the life and times of Mary. I did not know this was the third in a series. Picking it up as a jumping off point for a study in Mary, seems to have been a good choice.
Again I found this to be a book most should read. A wonderful book on history.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, the third and last novel of Asch's Christological trilogy (the others being The Nazarene and The Apostle), is a fair attempt at conveying the life of a Jewish woman in the first century and rooting the early Jesus movement in a plausible historical context.