I Read Therefore I Am discussion

This is the thread for Colm Toibin's Booker shortlisted novella:The Testament of Mary
At the moment me and Ellie are going to be reading this one, if anyone else wants to readalong then please feel free to jump in!

This is only a small one - my copy is 104 pages so can probably fit it in quite soon. How about you Ellie?

Yes, given its length (or lack thereof, I reckon I can fit this in anytime, just let me know when you want to start (shucks, I may have to let Mason & Dixon lie for a while again.....)

Me too for this one, I'm intrigued by the description.

Ok you've all persuaded me - I'm in too.

Ok cool then! I will probably start once I'm done with Effi Briest which should be in early next week if that's ok with everyone?

Haven't started Effi yet but as this is so short I'll get a copy and read it first.

That's ok by me too.

Okey dokey then!

I'm about ready to start this - how about everyone else?

I'm OK to start - tomorrow (Tuesday 22nd)?

Haven't got a copy yet but will get it on kindle so ready for tomorrow

I'll catch up with you all on Wednesday :0)

Brilliant! I read the first few pages and it's won me over already. This was the one on the shortlist I was actually least looking forward to but going from the little bit I read yesterday I think I will really like it.
Have any of you ever read anything by Toibin before??

I've read one, I think it was called Brooklyn but I could be wrong. If I said it isn't here so presumably went to Barter Books you'll understand how impressed I was with it.

oh dear, that good? Well hopefully you will like this one better ;)

Read it this afternoon (day off work), I'll wait till everyone else has read it before commenting.

30% through this according to the kindle. I'm finding it a bit strange at present. I'll be interested in what everyone else thinks of it when we all have had a read.

Finished this now. Well! Not quite sure what to say. Just a shame I got it on the kindle - no trade in value at barter books. Will keep my more pertinent comments until everyone's read it!

Started this yesterday evening - still trying to get over the rabbits :-0 , will try again today.

Yeah the rabbits bit was pretty horrible!

The rabbits bit was awful and even worse totally irrelevant as far as I could see. What it was supposed to add to the story passed me by, I'm afraid

Just finished, is that all of us now?

No, I haven't had a chance yet!

Ok Ellie, we'll hold fire ;)
Hilary - I didn't think the rabbits were necessary either, there was enough horribleness in that bit without adding more!

I think that that little scene is going to stay with me forever :0(

What did we all think, then?

I was quite disappointed - I really liked the retelling of the raising of Lazarus (what would it be like to come back from the dead?) and the crowd scene with Pilate - but apart from that I found it a bit dull -I didn't really feel I got to know anything about Mary - not even what she thought about her son.

Not just me who was disappointed, then. I like the concept, casting Mary as an ordinary mother who sees her beloved son get mixed up with a bunch of misfits, doing some weird stuff and then dying horrifically at a young age; I like the way 'Mary' describes the miracles, as if she doesn't quite believe them. For a brief moment, I almost cared when she saw Marcus on the hill. But there was something about it that just felt very dull.

Yes you're right - a great idea - shame the author didn't do more with it.

It just seemed to have no purpose to me. It didn't tell an interesting story, it didn't inform me about anything and none of the characters either interested or inspired me. I too found it really dull to read. At least it was over quickly! I'd love to know how it found its way on to the short list.

That totally perplexes me, Hilary. The blurb on the Booker Prize website says '[Mary] slowly emerges as a figure of immense moral stature as well as a woman from history rendered now as fully human'. I didn't get any of that. There's no character development; I imagine Toibin's Mary to have quite a monotonous voice, one of those where she could be saying something really interesting but I won't notice because it sounds so dull

I didn't think any of her narrative sounded genuine, if you know what I mean. It was stilted and unnatural. Certainly not "fully human" and I didn't get the moral stature at all. A member of my book group refuses to read any booker book because she says they are always over hyped and so ultimately very disappointing.

I totally agree - I couldn't connect with Mary at all - and moral stature??
All in all the author managed to take a wondrous story (whatever your take on religion) and make it boring.
@Hilary - I agree with your friend that some Booker short list books seem to be chosen for fashion or the sake of controversy - but you'd miss an awful lot if you avoided them all- Wolf Hall for instance (I rest my case)

All in all the author managed to take a wondrous story (whatever your take on religion) and make it boring.

That, for me, sums it up perfectly. I was epecting so much more from the book.

So agree!!

Well I am more or less in agreement with the rest of you - I thought when it first started I was really going to like it, then it didn't really take off if you know what I mean. It was alright, I didn't hate it but if it had of been any longer I think I would have got bored! I didn't think he got the voice right either - she was supposed to be a woman from the middle east 2000 years ago but she sounded pretty modern - I know you have to translate but it just didn't feel right.
(Sorry for long post - didn't get back till after midnight so just catching up now!)