A review by rebeccarudisill
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Achingly beautiful and thoroughly engrossing, this book is a powerful statement of the importance of giving a voice to women. It shows just how resilient women can be in the face of oppressive circumstances. We get to meet a human, loving, complex Jesus through the eyes of someone who knows him not as a prophet and Messiah, but as a good man and kind husband. We get to meet God in complicated, nuanced ways, including as the feminine Spirit of God (Hi Sophia - you rock!). And while I loved every second of it, this book broke my heart.
Ana misses all of the beautiful, uplifting parts of Jesus’ ministry and only reunites with him on the way to the cross. I wanted so much for Ana to receive the gospel, but she misses the resurrection in order to go back to the home and family she has built in Egypt. While I cannot begrudge Ana her found family or her joy, I wish she could have met her husband Jesus as the resurrected King. She gets a brief meeting with him 2.5 years later, but it’s written off as likely just a dream, not an encounter with God. I just hate that she missed out on the glory of seeing Jesus on the other side of Easter.
This book is 1000% worth the read and the long think you will have about it afterwards. 
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