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Bright Dark Madonna (2009)

by Elizabeth Cunningham(Favorite Author)

4.25 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0979882877 (ISBN13: 9780979882876)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Monkfish Book Publishing

review 1: The whole Maeve Chronicles series is superlative, highly recommended, one of my favorites. I would recommend it for fans of strong women, Celtic fantasy, Biblical reinterpretation, myth and magic, Goddess fiction, the Mists of Avalon. In a nutshell, Mary Magdalen is re-visioned as a Celtic ex-pat and Jesus' wife, a magical and strong and sometimes foolish woman, and her tale spans the course of four well-researched and well-written books. Written with cheek and humor and glory and beauty, all at once.In Book Three, Bright Dark Madonna, Maeve and her mother-in-law Miriam escape into the Galatian mountains to raise Maeve's daughter away from Jesus' followers, now arguing over how to found a church/movement/share the Way now that Jesus is gone. Of course, any daughter of Maev... moree will not be content to hide forever, and Jesus's message does not stay put, so more journeys ensue, including time in Ephesus. I had a real sense of Maeve as Mother and as woman growing into her age - not crone yet, but getting older. We see old friends again, as her story begins to spiral back to the beginning.
review 2: I'm very torn when writing this book review. Book 1 and 2 of the Maeve Chronicles are listed in my "favorite books ever" folder, and yet...I just can't justify giving this one a full 5 stars. Once Cunningham hits her stride with this novel, it is riveting. However, when I first started it, I truly almost sent it back to the lending library. The first few chapters are full of tongue-in-cheek modern references that serve no purpose other than to jolt you out of the story Cunningham is trying to tell, and make things seem "fresh" when they don't need to be. The "blues" version song that begins one of the first chapters especially made me wince. Really...there's no need for such theatrics. I realize that Cunningham's Magdalen is a sassy and strong woman, and in her version of the story, her dove can poop on Christ's shoulder, and so on. But this just seemed to take it a little too far. As I said, however, once Cunningham gets past this initial stumble, the book is riveting. However, even here I had some issues with the Maeve as portrayed in book 3. I hate books where...instead of the protagonist doing things, things just seem to "happen" to her. The action goes on around her and she just goes with the flow. About 2/3 of this book can be described in this way...the once strong and intelligent Maeve now just shrugs her shoulders and accepts whatever people say about her and her husband, and their life together. She lets other people make plans for her (although she does refuse to follow some of them...as I said...there is a third of the book where she wakes up) and Cunningham explains all of this away by saying "oh, she's in a pregnant haze" or some other excuse. Granted, I've never been pregnant, but I seriously doubt that Maeve's entire personality would be changed, and even if it was, it makes for a very boring character.The book still gets 4 stars, because the tale is one you absolutely cannot put down. The action may be happening around Maeve while she sits there numbly, but the action itself is still riveting. Cunningham is still in many ways a cunning author, but as I said...this book just won't be going down in my list of "favorites-ever." less

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