This startling, brief  book -- originally, a one-woman show--  imagines Mary in Ephesus looking back on her life.

 

In The New York Times Book Review, author Mary Gordon said:

 

"It takes its power from the surprises of its language, its almost shocking characterization, its austere refusal of consolation. The source of this mother's grief is as much the nature of humankind as the cruel fate of her own son."