The Book of Longings

This is the first book that I’ve read that’s taken a women-centric view of the time when Jesus was alive. Ana was such a likable character and strong woman, I mean, to go toe-to-toe with the son of God and his followers takes some guts! The supporting female characters were also so vibrant; my heart broke for them several times, and the audiobook narrator really added extra depth to an already immersive story.

Because I think the Jesus canonized by the high Councils of the Church is basically an invention of Christian Neoplatonism, one in which Jesus would not recognize himself, it is lovely to have a work of fiction that imagines what he would really be like, a man in love with a woman, a man with a mission that puts him in tension with the woman he loves, and, to boot, and this is the twist that makes it all work so well, all this told by the woman he loves and leaves!

It’s touching, insightful, and historically rich, and you… show more.

This story asks: What if Jesus had a wife? Kidd has said Ana “symbolizes the missing feminine within religion,” leading to another question: How might our world be different if that wife not only existed but had been openly acknowledged? 

Kidd’s Ana is a rebellious, scholarly woman who reflects a very human Jesus through their relationship. This reimagining of Jesus’s life is clever but not cute, daring but not irreverent. Women will relate to Ana’s struggles to be heard; even her generous husband at times discounts her desires. 

Equally compelling is Ana’s relationship with her adopted brother, Judas. (Yes, that… show more.

Brilliant, feisty, and intrepid Ana, raised in privilege and wealth in ancient Israel, is the heroine of this painstakingly researched historical fiction novel. Her mother discourages Ana’s intellectual curiousity, forbidding Ana’s writings about the secrets of repressed, abused women of her day. Her adopted brother Judas is part of the resistance against the Roman occupation, and her father plans on marrying Ana to a rich older man. Amidst this complexity, Ana defies him and marries far beneath her station. Her groom? Jesus of Nazareth. After the crucifixion, Ana goes to her Aunt Yaltha in Alexandria where she helps Yaltha locate… show more.