Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me a copy of "The Book of Longings" in return for my honest review.

The story starts out a bit slow as readers are introduced to Ana. We establish that Ana is a woman ahead of her time, a feminist with dreams beyond what the time's conventions allow. She meets and falls in love with Jesus and soon the two are married. But simply being a wife is not enough for Ana.

The story takes a more historical look at Jesus rather than the biblical tales and invents Ana as the wife the world never knew. Some might have an issue looking at Jesus in this sense, but I thought it was unique and quite enjoyed it. Those with hesitations because of faith should remember, this is a work of fiction which focuses on Ana's story. We see Ana grow and follow her destiny, while her husband follows his. The story was slow to start, but as Ana developed more as a character it seemed that the story itself picked up its pace.

I think the author did a great job establishing the times, providing historical context to how the land was governed at the time, and how feelings of unrest primed the road for Jesus to emerge as a leader. It was a very interesting look at this period. I imagine that strong women who wanted more have lived through every period of time and "The Book of Longings" did a fantastic job portraying this.

In the end, "The Book of Longings" was an enjoyable book, showcasing the growth of a woman who was ahead of her time.

The Book Of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd astounded me.

Beautifully written and throughly researched, set during biblical times, it showcases strong women, family ties and Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity.

I highly recommend The Book Of Longings as well as Sue Monk Kidd's previous books!

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Publishing Group for the ARC.

4.5-5 stars Thank you Netgalley for my free ARC of this book. Sue Monk Kidd has done it again! I loved The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings, and now I add The Book of Longings to my "loved" list. Once again, Kidd has created a strong female protagonist in Ana, a young woman growing up in Jesus's time, a time where a woman was only something to be seen and not heard. For Ana, having a voice and making sure that women's stories were heard became her longing, one that motivated every action she took for the rest of her life.
Yes, in the story she becomes the wife of Jesus, and as a Christian, I wasn't sure how I was going to deal with reading historical fiction that played with that idea. However, for the most part, I feel that Kidd has made it clear that her intent was not to retell the story of Jesus but rather to write a strong piece of fiction about the life of a woman who could have married Jesus and then use only the pertinent pieces of His story to fit into Ana's.
The only issue I have with the story is that my belief in who Christ was and the way I understand Him from the Bible, I had a hard time with his being totally human in a couple of spots. I won't spoil your reading of the book by elaborating.
Overall, I found this to be a believable work of historical fiction because Sue Monk Kidd was able to build characters who we not only cared about but felt could have undergone the events that happened. I will miss Ana and Yaltha and the other strong women we come to know and love in the book. Treat yourself to The Book of Longings, yet another, beautiful work of literary historical fiction by Sue Monk Kidd!

The Book of Longings


An imaginative and intriguing story of a first century woman full of courage and perseverance.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
Ana was raise in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee. She is rebellious and has a daring spirit. She desires to write about the neglected and silenced women of her times. Unwillingly, Ana is betrothed by her parents an landowning older widower. And then she meets the eighteen-year-old Jesus in the market place.

After the death of her betrothed, Ana marries Jesus and they live with his brothers families, and their mother, Mary in Nazareth

Ana’s pent-up longings intensifies amid the turbulent resistance to Rome’s occupation of Israel. Ana’s brother, Judas, is an active member of the resistance. She is sustained and encouraged by her fearless Aunt Yaltha, who harbors a compelling secret of her own. When Ana commits a brazen act that puts her in peril, she flees to Alexandria with her Aunt, where startling revelations and greater dangers unfold, and she ultimately finds refuge in unexpected surroundings.

REVIEW
THE BOOK OF LONGINGS is an imaginative and intriguing first person narrative set in the first century. Ana, is a women who more than anything wants to reach her potential and wants her voice to be heard. Ana’s character is full of courage and perseverance.

I approached this book cautiously, raised a Catholic I personally believe that Jesus never had a wife. But what if he did? Can’t we just imagine that for a while? What would she have been like. What would she think about him. THE BOOK OF LONGINGS is a work of fiction. It is not trying to rewrite history. This is Ana’s story, and she had a quest of her own.

One of the most amazing things I learned from the book was that a hymm written by Ana was actually extracted from a real document, known as the Nag Hammadi text, written by an unknown female author during the same time period.

Sue Monk Kidd’s wring is touching and poignant. She skillfully transports us back in time and I appreciate that she had tried to be true to the historical, cultural, political and religious backdrop. I particularly liked that her author notes identify the key areas in her novel that deviate from the know timeline, the written Word or from accepted tradition.

Kidd is from Sylvester Georgia and is best known for her novels The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings. Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin/Viking for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Viking
Published April 21, 2020
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd is the most stunning novel I have read recently. It is the tale of Jesus' fictional wife, their life together, and her life without him. It brings to the forefront both his humanity and the longings of a woman who didn't exactly fit the mold, just as he didn't fit the mold. She watched him die. Her brother betrayed him. Not because he didn't love him, he just hated the Romans more. Life was cruel the, for everyone, not just the Jews. It was worse for them. There were bad people then: selfish, arrogant, jealous, egocentric, just as people are now. There were also loving people, people misunderstood, people who were loyal. We meet them all in this book. I have no words. It was a breathtakingly beautiful book that I recommend to all Christians and non-Christians alike.

I received a free ARC of The Book of Longings from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #thebookoflongings

This book may draw people in because of its relation to Jesus, but make no bones about it, the star of this show is Ana. Ana is an intelligent young woman living near Jerusalem who wants nothing more than to have a voice in a time when women were completely silenced. She comes to know Jesus, the young carpenter who would become the leader of Christianity.

The Jesus of this book is wholly human, and the more miraculous aspects of his life and ministry are not explored. Instead, focus is on his personality, in particular how his compassion nurtures and encourages Ana’s desire to express herself.

I’m sure that many people will draw comparisons to The Red Tent, a book that also explored aspects of biblical stories from a female perspective. I, however, enjoyed this book much more. It is very heartfelt, and the ties between Ana and her female friends are wonderful to read. She is a courageous, thoughtful, principled, and interesting person. Even as someone with no religious affiliation, I don’t believe that there is much in this book that will offend people with religious beliefs, but I guess you’ll each have to be the judge of that. I enjoyed reading this book and I’m very sure I will be re-reading it in the future.

The Book of Longings was the perfect remedy for my “stay at home order” blues. Sue Monk Kidd transported me to biblical times while weaving together this beautiful (and at times heart wrenching) story of female strength and companionship. The way biblical canon has been chosen always bothered me because women do not often have a voice. Kidd empowers women of biblical times and women throughout history. This was a beautiful, moving, enthralling story.

I was really quite skeptical going into this book as I am a Christian but I wanted to go into this book with an open mind because I truly enjoy reading books set in this era. There was so much depth to the Book of Longings. For lack of a better term I was left longing for this book when I was not reading it. This book reminds me of The Red Tent in so many incredible ways. I truly loved this book

"The Book of Longings," by Sue Monk Kidd, Viking, 432 pages, April 21, 2020.

The first line is memorable: "I am Ana. I was the wife of Jesus."

Ana, 14, is a member of a wealthy family in Sepphoris with ties to Herod, the ruler of Galilee. Yaltha, her Aunt, is educated. Judas is her cousin's son whom Ana's parents adopted.

Ana defies the restrictions placed on women and writes secret narratives of women in the Torah. But her parents betroth her to a man she doesn't know. He is a widower with two daughters.

Then as Ana meets the man in the marketplace, she faints. A younger man comes up to help her. It is Jesus, who is 18. Ana is going to be forced into the betrothal. Her brother Judas tries to intervene and is arrested. But then an illness travels through the community and Ana's betrothed dies. She is now considered to be a widow.

Herod wants her to be his concubine. Ana runs away. When she is accused of theft, Jesus intervenes and says she will soon be his betrothed. They marry.

Sue Monk Kidd has said that while Jesus is never mentioned as having a wife, it is also never mentioned in biblical texts that he did not have one. So she imagines that he did.

It is well-written, but slow-moving. Sue Monk Kidd weaves the known stories of Jesus in to the narrative. It is more about Ana than about Jesus.

"The Book of Longings” is the fourth novel by the author of "The Secret Life of Bees” and “The Invention of Wings."

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

While this novel contains the historical rather than theological Jesus as a character, it is really the story of his fictional wife, Ana. It is widely believed that during the “lost years” of Jesus he worked as carpenter in Sepphoris rather than Nazareth and Ana meets Jesus during this time. The first part of the novel is a bit slow to start but nicely introduces Ana as a feminist with an aching need to read and most importantly to write. Jesus and Ana marry and eventually part as Jesus follows his own ache for God. Ana experiences a lot during their separation and it makes for an absorbing story. The resentment of Roman rule over Judea reaches a breaking point and most of us know what happens next. Don’t go into this expecting religiosity. Instead, Ana is given a voice during a time when women were completely invisible.

The premise of this book is a bold one and I wasn't quite sure it would be for me, but because I have enjoyed all the other books I've read by Sue Monk Kidd I gave it a chance. I was not disappointed at all. The story of Ana, Jesus' fictional wife, is intriguing from the first page. This is a book that makes you think "What if?" It is truly Ana's story, a story about a strong woman determined to forge her own path. Wonderful writing and storytelling.

Sue Monk Kidd is a deservedly respected author, and one of my favorites. Her new book, The Book of Longings is the transcendent story of a young girl Ana and her longing to be a scribe and prophet during the first century B,C.
Ana is a contemporary and eventual wife to Jesus. The descriptions of Nazareth, Jerusalem, and of the people in these settings are wonderfully rich and illuminating. Sue Monk Kidd has written a masterpiece.

After The Invention of Wings, I had the bar set in the rafters for Sue Monk Kidd’s next novel. Having come to expect powerful, well-researched historical tales of amazing women, I was both excited and concerned when I saw that she was leaving American history and entering the realm of what is, for many, a sacred space. I found one instance of what I believe to be an anachronism (corn - presumably of the maize variety from the description - would not have been present in this part of the world in this time period). However, I wrestled much more with my own hang ups when the author’s fictional choices contrasted with my own imaginings.

The truth of the matter is that the context is not the star or the deciding factor in this novel. Ana’s character is a rich, inspiring, achingly real portrayal of the female experience in a patriarchal society, regardless of time and place. Kidd’s descriptive details and ability to evoke genuine emotions from someone sitting and looking at lines of alphabetic characters have never been more on display. At the end of the day, she is the artist of this work, and if it makes me feel as much as it did, and if I remember it as long as I expect to, then she has done her job well.

I was initially unsure of this book because I was worried that I would be turned off by the religious themes. I am glad I gave this one a chance because it was phenomenal. Ana who is strong and smart is the most captivating character and is the star of the show. I would compare her to Madeline Miller's wonderful Circe. A book about Jesus' wife is sure to have many people disgruntled. And to those people, I ask that they actually read the book before making a judgement. Their marriage is portrayed as loving and a true partnership and would be a perfect example of a Christian marriage. I could go on to say more lovely things, but they would all boil down to go read the book.

I wasn't sure that I would like this story which takes place in the time of Jesus, but I quickly became engaged in Ana's story.
Ana is a woman who longs to have a voice. She the feels the oppression her society places on women and resists. The story begins when Ana is a young teen living in her wealthy parent's home in a small city in Israel. Her parents lives are all about gaining wealth and status. They outwardly follow the Jewish laws for conventions sake. The one thing her father has done for Ana is provide her with tutors who have taught her to read and write. She speaks Aramaic as well as Greek and Hebrew. Her unusual education as well as her intelligence has made her unwilling to accept the standard role forced upon women. When her parents betroth her to a rich man many years her senior, she is horrified and powerless.
Her older brother Judas has been banished from the home because of his association with zealots who are actively rebelling against Roman rule. Judas and Ana are close and he supports her in her resistance to marrying this man who has a reputation for cruelty. Ultimately, Ana's unconventional actions result in her narrowly missing being stoned in the streets. A young laborer who she glimpsed in the market place once before rescues her. His name is Jesus.
The author has researched the customs of this time period making her fictional characters come alive and her story believable. As always, Sue Monk Kidd's writing is exceptional.

What an unusual book! Ana is a 14-year-old girl living with her well-to-do parents and adopted brother Judas in the 1st century in the pre-Israel area of the Middle East. Although women have no power and no education, Ana, independent and headstrong, learns to read and write, and loves creating stories about women. Ana is betrothed to an older man, a marriage arranged by her father for financial reasons. Then, Ana meets a young man in the market - Jesus. Yes, THAT Jesus. From that point on, the lives of Ana and Jesus are intertwined forever.

The book is a brilliant blending of the fictional story of Ana with the Biblical story of Jesus. I loved Ana's strong spirit and admirable bravery. The writing is beautifully descriptive and flows effortlessly. The story is an intriguing tale of a fictional woman whom I would love to have known. Excellent!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC.

The Book Of Longings is a gorgeous retelling of the Jesus of Nazareth story form the view of his wife, Ana. Ana is a strong female character who learns to write when many women were not encouraged. Sue Monk Kidd does a beautiful job recreating life in Galilee for Ana, her family and her brave Aunt Yaltha. Ana goes from her wealthy family to living with Jesus's family in humble dwellings. Risking her life to save a friend, she then has to flea to Egypt at the same time Jesus begins his ministry. This book is a real page turner. Sue Monk Kidd creates memorable characters. Fans of her will love this story!

What a more interest-catching first sentence than "I am Ana. I was the wife of Jesus..." With that sentence begins a journey of not Jesus, a man we know a lot about while knowing nothing at all, but Ana, his fictional wife, holding up a mirror to the lives of women during that ancient time. Ana goes from her wealthy beginnings as a politicians daughter, to humbling dwellings as the wife of a poor carpenter, to a woman on the run from powerful men. It's Ana's story that is being told with the backdrop being the life of the world's most famous man.

This book was well researched with well developed characters. I almost wish Ana didn't have to be anyone's wife in order for her story to be told but that was the times she lived in (and in some ways we still live in today).

I loved this book. Imagining that the historical Jesus was married, we read through the fictionalized biography of his wife. She is a fiercely independent woman, born in a time when submission is valued. However, she finds in her husband, Jesus, a man who is not only willing to accept her as she is, but also a man who celebrates the "thunder" inside her. Treading respectfully with biblical and historical figures, while also humanizing them, this novel will appeal to the religious and non-religious alike. The writing is beautiful and lyrical, and reflects a story that is similarly beautiful. I will be handing this to everyone I can think of.

So THE BOOK OF LONGINGSSue Monk Kidd
I must be honest: I was very reluctant to read this book, but was very surprised and enjoyed it thoroughly.It is a work of carefully and meticulously researched historical fiction, and requires the reader to make , as G. K. Chesterton would have said , a leap of faith.
It pictures a MARRIED Jesus, and also an alternative explanation for the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Having said that, it is very much about Ana, the fictional wife of Jesus. It really is HER book, and she is the central character-headstrong even as a child, intelligent, educated at her insistence in skills not deemed fit for women at the time, she is essentially a forerunner for the liberated women of modern times.One is left to wonder how different religion and christianity and woman’s role in it had her role been known.
And , in addition to all the above, it is an education for the reader into the Jewish customs at the time. All in all, quite a read, particularly so given that I read it during Christian Holy Week.