The Book of Longings: From the author of the international bestseller THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES

Thank you to Tinder Press for providing free copies for us to review. Our group was pretty split on this book – some loved it and thought it was the best book we’ve read so far, others thought the book was clever and thought-provoking, but lacked depth. We all felt intrigued by the concept of the book and enjoyed the detail. It felt like the author had done her research about the period and that she handled what could have been a controversial subject in a very realistic way. Even for those that didn’t enjoy the book as much, we all thought the book was cleverly written and that the author had successfully weaved together what we already knew from the Bible. We also thought Jesus’s life was really vividly portrayed. We hadn’t really read any books from this period, despite a few of us being particular fans of historical fiction, so we thought this book was an interesting addition to the genre.

On the whole most of us enjoyed this book and found it a satisfying read. We thought it clearly described the place of women in Jewish society at the time of Jesus including the possibility/likelihood of forced marriages. This is definitely the story of Ana, Jesus is almost a background character but the book tells the story of how Ana and Jesus meet, how they become married and how their lives develop from there.
We liked the style of writing, we felt it wasn’t over dramatized and we also liked the way familiar bible stories were brought into it to give us a sense of timing in their lives. We thought it was well written and well researched.
Most of us gave this book 5 stars however, 2 members of our group disagreed, their comments included “chick lit in history”, “didn’t gel with character of Ana”, found it hard going, so for that reason the rating has "lost" a star!
Reviewed by Penistone Library Readers’ Group.

The religious connotations and sheer volume of the book put me off reading it for a while. However, once I actually started reading it my fears were allayed and I was hooked. The vivid writing made the story leap off the page. I look forward to reading the author's other novels.

As a Christian, I expected I would love this book but be uncomfortable with its portrayal of Jesus. In the end, I just found the entirety of this book to be both dull and anachronistic. I wasn't bothered by the religious elements so much as just bored by the story.

Firstly, the story would have been far stronger if Ana had been a real person, not the fictional wife of Jesus. There are so many strong women in history who have been forgotten or silenced... so why does Kidd feel the need to make one up? The author's note suggesting that Jesus could historically have had a wife was interesting (though I still don't buy it-- the gospels record all kinds of ways that Jesus was completely counter-cultural, including in his treatment of women, so I hardly think there was a massive cover-up of him having a wife) but I would far rather have read about a real woman who changed history, rather than one who just came out of Kidd's imagination.

My main frustration with this book was how incredibly anachronistic it was. All the "good" characters in this book have suspiciously modern attitudes, believing exactly the same things about God and women that we do in the 21st century. Their attitudes toward female independence, marriage, and childbearing are all attitudes that are completely out of place in the historical context.

Furthermore, the characters behave in ways that are completely anachronistic. Alongside obvious things like Ana taking herbs to prevent pregnancy, she also behaves in ways that are both historically inaccurate and just plain ridiculous, such as slapping Herod across the face when he offends her. There's no way a woman hitting a powerful man would ever have been allowed to go unpunished... and yet somehow she manages to escape the palace simply by outrunning his soldiers!

Overall, I love stories of spirited young women, and I particularly enjoy stories of strong women who have been forgotten by history. Sadly, The Book of Longings was so historically inaccurate and so full of modern attitudes towards gender and marriage that I just couldn't enjoy it.

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3502092322

Ana grew up in Galilee during New Testament times. She is from a wealthy but dysfunctional family and is the daughter of Herod’s Chief Scribe (I use the word dysfunctional with caution as I do not have enough knowledge of the era to be sure that her family life was not in fact quite “normal” for the time). She is a strong, feisty girl, who is determined to forge her own way in life in a time when women were expected to conform and to do as they were told. Inevitably this attitude courts trouble and Ana finds plenty of it. She is aided, abetted and supported by her Aunt Yalta, a kindred spirit. And then Ana meets Jesus and there is an instant connection between them. They eventually marry but Ana’s problems are not over. This is the story of Ana’s life, told from the point of view of the wife that Jesus may or may not have had.

I loved this book, contrary to all expectations. Firstly I was worried that I was going to be offended because of the religious implications. Secondly, I am not a great fan of historical novels and this clearly came into that category. And lastly it was very long. I needn’t have worried on any of those counts. I was completely gripped. It is written in a very accessible way and is also fast-paced, with plenty of interesting storylines and a fascinating and likeable central character. The author makes it very clear in her Author’s Note at the end of the book that she had been very concerned about writing something which she knew could potentially be seen as offensive. Ultimately she has tackled a difficult subject with an extraordinary amount of sensitivity and personally I think she has created something of a masterpiece. I expected to be offended, instead I was entranced.
The book is obviously extremely well researched and I can only assume that the historical details are correct. I learnt a lot about what everyday life was like in that part of the world 2000 years ago and there are numerous fascinating details about the practicalities of common place activities as well as the protocols of social interactions.
One thing that I found particularly interesting was the way that a lot of the Biblical stories were woven seamlessly into the book. Having had a very religious upbringing, this made certain parts of the book feel very familiar and it was fascinating to see how the author managed to incorporate them into the novel.
The book is also beautifully written and the author has the ability to really make the characters come alive on the page.

My only criticisms are slight, to say the least. The language is possibly more flowery, poetic and lyrical than I would ideally like and the start of the book was a little slow as the characters are introduced.

This is a fascinating book which I would strongly recommend. It is possible that my knowledge of the Bible stories made it more interesting than it might otherwise have been, but my gut feeling is that no background knowledge is required in order to enjoy the book. I had not read any of Sue Monk Kidd’s other books but will now definitely be looking to remedy that soon.

Life is all a series of crossroads and choices and what ifs. Sue Monk Kidd has written a what if book. What if Jesus was a married man not as the Bible teaches him to be but a normal Jewish man who followed the teachings of the Torah that to marry and have children is a responsibility to the faith. A man who dearly loved a woman with her own destiny. This is a book of a "normal" man told through the eyes of an extraordinary woman who became his wife. It is a story of a strong, talented woman in a time when being a woman meant nothing. Women did the work of life without a voice. This is the story of a woman who was talented and bright and loved a man who was to become the Messiah. This is a story of enormous love and acceptance of allowing each other to be who they needed to be.
I enjoyed reading this what if book.

An easy read. Set in the time of Jesus, the author tells us the story through the eyes of his ‘wife’ Ana. Did Jesus have a wife? Perhaps, but not according to the Bible. We will never know, but we do know that women did not merit a mention in the historical documents of the time so the reader has to make up her own mind. I enjoyed the details of life in those days and wait to see the next title by Sue Monk Kidd.