First Chapter, First Paragraph & Teaser Tuesday: Mary Called Magdalene by Margaret George

First chapter, first paragraph, is a meme hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea.

My current read is a very large book by author Margaret George called Mary Called Magdalene.  (It’s going to take me a while to read if I want to keep posting on my blog every day, which I do, so it will be some time before there is a full review.)  I read another book of hers a few years ago called Helen of Troy and enjoyed it very much.

As with so many subjects where there are few primary sources to fill in the background of famous persons, much is conjecture but a lot is based on research and knowledge of the period and of other persons surrounding the character of interest.  Such is the case here and so far I’m finding it fascinating.  Here is the first chapter, first paragraph which is in italics in the book:

She was carried to a place she had never been. It was much more vivid than a dream, it had a depth and a color to it, and exquisite detail that made it seem more real than the time with her mother in the courtyard, more real than the dreamy hours she spent sometimes looking out at the great lake of Magdala, the one so grand they called it a sea: the Sea of Galilee.

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

From the same book, p.85:

She patted Mary’s arm. Mary tried not to wince; the welts and scratches were very bad today, and she prayed no one would want her to try on her wedding robe and make her bare her arms.  Only a little while longer and she would be gone from this besieged house, this house where something malevolent hovered, tormenting her.

What do you think?  Would you keep reading?  What are you reading?