The Book of Longings: A Novel
"An extraordinary novel . . . a triumph of insight and storytelling." --Associated Press "A true masterpiece." --Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed An extraordinary story set in the first century about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny, from the celebrated number one New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Inve...show more
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Community Reviews
I put off reading this one for a long time. I’ve even started it a few times and not gotten past the first chapter. Something about it scared me. Would it be sacrilegious? Would it make me ask difficult questions of my already fragile at times faith? Would I end up hating how much I loved it?
This book was gentle. It was kind, reverential, and human. The portrayal of Jesus as an adolescent before his ministry was beautiful. The strength of the wo...read more
This book was gentle. It was kind, reverential, and human. The portrayal of Jesus as an adolescent before his ministry was beautiful. The strength of the wo...read more
Imaginative story of biblical times, telling about Jesus’ adult life before he began preaching. In this otherwise historically authentic telling, he has a wife who, like other women of the time is rendered invisible by social custom and local laws. But this wife is a scribe and seeks to study and write, shocking pastime for a woman at the time. The characters are engaging and well drawn.
Hard to conceptualize a fictional telling of Jesus's life. Would like to read again someday with a more narrow lens bevause there's some really deep content. Fun historical fiction.
I don't usually read Christian fiction because it is usually hokey. But I would not put this in that genre because it has much more depth and the cultures seem well researched. I enjoyed the story and loved that it fills in some gaps about women in that time period, that are missing in the Bible. She is full of longings, but she is very loyal to those whose stories need to be told - she is going to tell them.
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