Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus - The Library of the Uncommons

Graphic novel, 280 pages

English language

Published April 12, 2016 by Drawn and Quarterly, Drawn Quarterly.

ISBN:: 978-1-77046-234-2
OCLC Number:: 921022830

(1 review)

The idiosyncratic master Chester Brown continues his thoughts on sex work

The iconoclastic and bestselling cartoonist of Paying for It: A comic-strip memoir about being a john and Louis Riel returns and with a polemical interpretation of the Bible that will be one of the most controversial and talked-about graphic novels of 2016. Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus is the retelling in comics form of nine biblical stories that present Chester Brown's fascinating and startling thesis about biblical representations of prostitution. Brown weaves a connecting line between Bathsheba, Ruth, Rahab, Tamar, Mary of Bethany, and the Virgin Mother. He reassesses the Christian moral code by examining the cultural implications of the Bible's representations of sex work.

Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus is a fitting follow-up to Brown's sui generis graphic memoir Paying for It, which was reviewed twice in The New York Times and hailed by …

The idiosyncratic master Chester Brown continues his thoughts on sex work

The iconoclastic and bestselling cartoonist of Paying for It: A comic-strip memoir about being a john and Louis Riel returns and with a polemical interpretation of the Bible that will be one of the most controversial and talked-about graphic novels of 2016. Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus is the retelling in comics form of nine biblical stories that present Chester Brown's fascinating and startling thesis about biblical representations of prostitution. Brown weaves a connecting line between Bathsheba, Ruth, Rahab, Tamar, Mary of Bethany, and the Virgin Mother. He reassesses the Christian moral code by examining the cultural implications of the Bible's representations of sex work.

Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus is a fitting follow-up to Brown's sui generis graphic memoir Paying for It, which was reviewed twice in The New York Times and hailed by sex workers for Brown's advocacy for the decriminalization and normalization of prostitution. Brown approaches the Bible as he did the life of Louis Riel, making these stories compellingly readable and utterly pertinent to a modern audience. In classic Chester Brown fashion, he provides extensive handwritten end notes that delve into the biblical lore that informs Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus.

1 edition

Literally Graphic reviewed Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus by Chester Brown

Review of 'Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

As a sex-positive feminist deeply religious person there are a lot of ways in which I feel like this book was written for me. It's certainly not for everyone. A lot of the people who have the context to understand this collection of short stories are likely to not appreciate his interpretation of the Bible - it certainly lies far outside traditional interpretations even if it is IMHO well founded - and an ever growing number of people who might have more of an appreciation for his ideas are going to lack the biblical knowledge that you likely need to really understand what this collection of bible stories are getting at. I was extremely fortunate to attend the launch of this book and even there it felt like more then one of the questioners was a little confused by what he was presenting.

I would have rated it five stars, …

As a sex-positive feminist deeply religious person there are a lot of ways in which I feel like this book was written for me. It's certainly not for everyone. A lot of the people who have the context to understand this collection of short stories are likely to not appreciate his interpretation of the Bible - it certainly lies far outside traditional interpretations even if it is IMHO well founded - and an ever growing number of people who might have more of an appreciation for his ideas are going to lack the biblical knowledge that you likely need to really understand what this collection of bible stories are getting at. I was extremely fortunate to attend the launch of this book and even there it felt like more then one of the questioners was a little confused by what he was presenting.

I would have rated it five stars, but the extremely simplistic language and style of the book was a bit overdone for me. It's his style though so I can't really fault it that much - it just sort of niggled at me. Of course, since Brown seems unable to talk about anything but sex and prostitution, I do actually really appreciate how cut-and-dry his tone generally is. The nudity is very matter of fact and none offensive, something I would love to see more of.