Reviews with content warning for Death - The Book of Longings

Title: The Book of Longings
Author: Sue Monk Kidd
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3.0
Pub Date: March 23 2021

T H R E E • W O R D S

Tender • Imaginative • Historic

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Set in the first century, Ana is a gifted young woman secretly writing stories in a male dominated society. She comes from a wealthy family, and is expected to marry a rich, older widower, but an encounter with 18-year-old Jesus will change everything.

The Book of Longings is the story of their marriage and one women's determination to realize her passion and potential.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I was super excited to read The Book of Longings because I had loved Sue Monk Kidd's previous works. When I originally bought this book, I hadn't read the premise, and when I finally did I was hesitant to jump in. On the urging from several book friends to give it a chance, I did just that and here are my thoughts.

It is flawlessly and beautifully written with each sentence flowing into the next.
It is well researched and presented. The author even mentions where she erred on dates in the name of creative freedom to help with flow.
It is imaginative, the plot is definitely unlike any historical fiction I've read before.
It is an ode to fierce females with Ana being one of the most courageous characters in recent memory, especially in a male dominated society.

But...

It was just not for me. I couldn't remove the religious aspect from my experience, and all the biblical detail and reference were hard for me to focus on.

Don't let that deter you. This is hands down one of those cases where it was me and definitely not the book.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• bookclubs
• readers who love a fierce female lead

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"When you're in love, you remember everything."

Content Warnings

sahcrook's review

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adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

hazelgirl21's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

acashton's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

ottercorg's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Having grown up a very traditional, quite conservative Christian, I was hesitant to start reading this one, having been recommended it by a dear friend. It felt wrong, like some sort of blasphemy, as I still today profess to be a Christian. But I read it anyway, because I’ve turned away from a lot of what I was taught growing up.

I’m so glad I pushed away the guilt in reading this. What an incredible story, what beautiful words. I finished it about on the second Sunday of Lent, which made the whole story even more pertinent and poignant. The writing is powerful and eloquent, without going over my head or becoming too difficult to understand. I will be reflecting on it for some time.

Content Warnings

bandysbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is basically the telling of Jesus’ life through the eyes of his wife. She explains her absence from the biblical stories and he’s written in a way that he’s just a normal man, not a deity.

Content Warnings

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