Title: Miryam
Author: Judith Cooper
Publisher: AuthorhouseUK
ISBN: 978-1-5246-7788-6
Pages: 212
Genre: Fiction/Religion
Reviewed by: Tiffany Ezuma

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Religion is complicated. Or rather, people make religion complicated when it comes to whose beliefs are right, whose beliefs are wrong, whose beliefs to follow, whose beliefs to ignore. Over the years, it has been used as a force to both unite and divide people, to give a culture a commonality and to highlight their differences from others. With Miryam, author Judith Cooper seeks to bridge that ideological divide with a fictional story set in Biblical times that mirrors the story of Jesus.

Cooper dives right into the story with the assault of Miryam, a young girl, who was raped by a Roman soldier. She’s found by her neighbor, Yoseph, a much older man who’s empathetic to her situation and tells her to not tell her parents about the assault. Back then the woman would have taken the fault for her assault and her prospects for marriage and a good life would be ruined. It’s a difficult circumstance for a modern reader to digest but the way Cooper handles it isn’t overly gratuitous and we are able to understand the character motivations for Yoseph wanting to cover it up. Over time, it’s clear that Miryam is pregnant and Yoseph offers to marry her as a way to keep others from knowing what happened and condemning her. From here, the novel takes off and the story begins to follow the lives of Miryam, Yoseph, and their offspring, one of whom becomes a clear Christ-figure.

Cooper’s prose is clean and straightforward, which makes for a quick read. The story is engrossing enough that even though some of the plot points will be familiar with those who know the story of Jesus, it’s still one which will keep the reading anticipating the next chapter. One of the novel’s only weaknesses is it would be nice to have a little more set-up to the time period and the life circumstances of the characters for those readers who are not familiar with the Bible story.

Overall, Miryam is a fascinating read that will appeal to both religious and non-religious readers who are looking for a good story. The book is heartfelt and it’s clear that it’s a passion project for the writer, since that emotion is imbued with every word.