THE SECRET MAGDALENE

This feminist depiction of the life of the Magdalene is sublimely fascinating. Read by Bernadette Dunne with verve and compassion, the novel enraptures the listener. Such knowledge of this woman and her great courage are made manifest that the fictionalized story of Mariamne, the Magdalene, and her beloved Yeshu'a (Jesus) becomes totally credible. Dunne's seamless narration is rendered invisible as listeners are drawn with Mariamne and her beautiful, outspoken cousin, Salome, through the Holy Land and Alexandria. This story carries no sense of the inevitability of the crucifixion, mostly because of the common-sense portrayals of these courageous women. Not simply a novelization of the Christian New Testament, this reads like history. B.H.B. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 07/ JAN 08]