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 Invention of Wings
In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with eighteen-year-old Jesus changes everything.
Their marriage evolves with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, and their mother, Mary. Ana's pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to Rome's occupation of Israel, partially led by her brother, Judas. She is sustained by her fearless aunt Yaltha, who harbors a compelling secret. When Ana commits a brazen act that puts her in peril, she flees to Alexandria, where startling revelations and greater dangers unfold, and she finds refuge in unexpected surroundings. Ana determines her fate during a stunning convergence of events considered among the most impactful in human history.
Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman's bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her. It is a triumph of storytelling both timely and timeless, from a masterful writer at the height of her powers.
“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 Invention of Wings
In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with eighteen-year-old Jesus changes everything.
Their marriage evolves with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, and their mother, Mary. Ana's pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to Rome's occupation of Israel, partially led by her brother, Judas. She is sustained by her fearless aunt Yaltha, who harbors a compelling secret. When Ana commits a brazen act that puts her in peril, she flees to Alexandria, where startling revelations and greater dangers unfold, and she finds refuge in unexpected surroundings. Ana determines her fate during a stunning convergence of events considered among the most impactful in human history.
Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman's bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her. It is a triumph of storytelling both timely and timeless, from a masterful writer at the height of her powers.
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Readers say *The Book of Longings* is a beautifully written, richly detailed novel that uniquely centers on Ana of Sepphoris, a fiercely independent w...
Really did not think that I would like this book as much as I did. Great writers have a way of describing their characters so that the reader can actually see them. In fact, sometimes I am disappointed seeing the movie version because the actors don't fit what I saw.
This book is a beautiful imagining of what the life of Jesus the man realistically looked like. His wife, her aunt, her friends, her mother serve as a representation of the women who were present during that time. It is important to recognize that these voices, the stories and experiences of half the population were not "less than" but rather erased, systematically from history by those who wished to remain in power. We have to recognize how successful they were in their campaign to quiet those voices, in the long term effects, it has had on women culturally throughout the world.For the last two thousand years or more.
This story follows a young woman named Ana of Sepphoris who is quite unlike other women whose destiny brings them marriage and children with no hopes of being anything more, of having their own dreams, and fulfilling their own longings. From a young age, Ana has wanted nothing more but to have a tutor of her own, to learn to read, to write, and to learn about the world around her. With her father having a prominent position with Herod Antipas - tetrarch - and being of some means, he entertains the fancies of his daughter despite Ana's mother's objections and the knowledge that she will have to one day abandon her education in favor of establishing herself as wife and mother in someone's household. When they form a marriage contract with a man who is considerably older than Ana in hopes of gaining coveted property, Ana is devastated. The man they take her to meet seems cruel and cold. During that fateful meeting, Ana spies a young man in the market who immediately garners her interests. The man - who would one day be her husband - is Jesus of Nazareth. From there, we are told the story we know from Ana's perspective: the fall from grace from her family, Jesus saving her life, her marriage to him, a journey to Alexandria with her beloved Aunt Yaltha, and the ending. This is a very well written story that, even though I knew what was coming, I still managed to cry and have my heart broken.
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