The Friendship List
A Novel
by Susan Mallery
HARLEQUIN - Romance (U.S. & Canada)
HQN
Women's Fiction
Pub Date 26 May 2020 | Archive Date 17 Jun 2020

Loved this latest release by Susan Mallery!! Will highly recommend to friends and patrons at my library.
5 STARS!!

As a Christian, I was hesitant to read this book,. That said, the story was well written and believable. Sue Monk Kidd did her research admirably. Ana, the daughter of a wealthy family, was a daring and rebellious writer of scrolls about the fate of neglected and misused women. She was betrothed to an older widower. Being horrified by this news from her parents, she cleverly figured out how to escape this fate. She met Jesus at the entrance of a cave where she had gone to hide her scrolls and immediately fell in love with him. They married and she became pregnant with a little girl who died in childbirth. As a reader, I was impressed by the amount of research that was done for this book. Agree or not, it is worth reading and will make a good discussion book.

I have enjoyed Kidd’s writing and storytelling very much and so chose to read this without really knowing the subject. It is well written albeit slow in the beginning. Kidd tells the story of Ana, wife of Jesus of Nazareth. I had no difficulty in imagining Christ with a wife, a feminist wife and scholar, nor the portrayal of him as a average man of the time. As the story evolves both characters come into the roles they are meant to play. I did have difficulty understanding the choice of portraying Christ’s birth as a question of paternity that plagued his childhood because I don’t understand Mary that is silent about it, indeed is silent about everything that she experienced. Coincidence that I finished reading this on Easter Sunday and so read about the Passion after I heard it at (online) church.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Book of Longings is a beautiful reimagining of Christian history and heritage. Kidd does a remarkable job of steering well clear of religious topics. Instead, she focuses on the humanity of Christ and the life of his fictitious wife. I absolutely loved the interjection of a staunchly feminist character into a time that was not ready to hear her voice.

Ana is rebellious from a young age and finds a kindred spirit in Jesus, who also thinks and acts differently from his Jewish brethren. Their relationship was generally heartwarming, although it did feel a little lukewarm at times. I suspect Kidd did this on purpose to toe the line in respect of Christian belief. For me, though, it was one of the few weak parts of the novel. I also found the storyline involving Ana’s brother simultaneously interesting and troubling. The escalation at the end of the novel, while obvious given her brother’s identity, did not seem to be fully developed. It seemed Kidd relied on our biblical knowledge and name recognition rather than fleshing out the story of how Ana’s brother ended up where he did. Of course, argument could be made that this was Ana’s story not her brother’s. For these two reasons, I docked a star. In all other respects, I found this a well-written, well-researched, and highly enjoyable novel.

In the author’s note, Kidd says that if Jesus did have a wife (and there is no historical evidence one way or the other), she would be the most silenced woman in all of history. I have to agree, and I think Kidd’s portrayal of Ana is a fitting tribute.

The Book of Longings is a what if: what if Jesus was married? It's certainly a valid question as his movements, as tracked in the Bible, don't start until he's well into adulthood, and documents from the time period are spotty due to all the unrest in Emperor Tiberius"s reign.

Sue Monk Kidd introduces Ana, daughter of wealthy parents who has learned to write, believes in herself and that women matter outside the home (this was a fairly radical notion) and is related to Judas.

Ana is a great at everything, always has her wits about her, and manages to carve out her own life while being present for the start of Jesus' ministry and his death.

This should be a great book--it is written with care and a close eye for historical events, etc. but Ana is simply too perfect. There is nothing she can't do, no historical moment she isn't part of, and those with even a passing familiarity with Jesus's life know what will happen. Everything unfolds at a near glacial pace and while I enjoy description and side quests as much as anyone, this would have been better as a novella, with tighter pacing and less meandering toward the foregone conclusion.

I’m not generally one for books of a religious nature, but this was a new interesting take on such a well-known story. And it brought a woman’s voice into a time period and story that usually isn’t there. Loved the story of a woman finding her voice against all odds!

Ana and her brother Judas were raised in a wealthy family in Galilee. When Ana meets a worker - Jesus - she is instantly enamored with him. However, her parents have engaged her to marry a much older man. On the eve of her wedding the older man is struck ill and dies. Ana, now considered a widow, has few, if any, prospects. When she is almost stoned in the village, Jesus steps in and saves her. The two are married shortly afterwards.

I am an atheist, I was a bit hesitant about reading this book however, I was instantly drawn in to the story. The book was not preachy, was not religious, instead it was just a well written, engaging story. I would love to read more from this author. Overall, highly recommended.

The Book by Longings by Sue Monk Kidd Reviewed March 30, 2020 3.5 Stars
I have only read a few of author, Sue Monk Kidd] novels. My two favorites were “The Invention of Wings” and “The Secret Life of Bees”.
I requested this novel primarily because it was the latest Sue Monk Kidd novel.

What if?
Jesus married.
What if?
During the lost years between when he was twelve and thirty; he was a normal Jewish young
man and fell in love.
What if?
Jesus married a girl like Ana.

This is a fictional story based on Ana not Jesus the son of God but Jesus a young Jewish man. This is not a religious story but historical fiction.

AT times this was slow and not my favorite Sue Monk Kidd novel I did like reading this with Easter 2020 right around the corner. Our news has been all about the terrible covid-19 virus and I have to admit I got caught up in it and didn’t do my usual Lenten Easter preparation. (However, I sure have been saying more prayers.)


I enjoyed the Author’s Notes and how Ms. Kidd did her research and did attempt to adhere to the biblical stories of Jesus’s trial, crucifixion, and burial.

Want to thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House Viking Group for this early release granted in exchange for an honest professional review. Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 21, 2020

I have looked forward to Sue Monk Kidd's next book for a long time! This did not disappoint! This was such an interesting and novel idea to read about. What would happen if Jesus had been married? Kidd's attention to historical detail and painstaking research is evident throughout this book. For those who loved The Red Tent, this will become a favorite. I loved the characters and their development throughout the book...even at the heart-wrenching ending. It is so believable when you are reading it--it feels like you are actually there. Another haunting, phenomenal read by Sue Monk Kidd!

Wow, very interesting. Quite deep and occasionally hard to follow. I felt the mid section was a bit of a slog, but overall a moving story.

This is the story of Ana, Jesus' wife. Yes, that Jesus, but it's her story, not his. Kidd takes the undocumented portion of Jesus' life and spins that a typical young male of this time period would be married. Ana defies her family and rejects the arranged match her parents plan to wed Jesus, a poor carpenter. But as I said, this is her story. Ana is a feminist; atypical for her gender, she is literate, and finds great joy in it, particularly as a writer. She is a feminist and noting that few stories about women, especially written by women, exists, her dream is to be a storyteller, and to be remembered for her writings. There are several richly drawn female characters, whose stories overlap Ana's, and in some cases, Jesus'. Jesus loves Ana, and supports her desire to write, although the day to day life they share leaves her little time for it. She supports and worries for him as he follows his path towards ministry, and a plausible explanation for why these paths diverge is written. A very interesting read for fans of historical fiction and of books about women's voices.

When I saw this title on NetGalley, I chose it purely because it was by Sue Monk Kidd. When I began reading and realized it was the story of Jesus' wife, I hesitated. I do not enjoy biblical fiction. However, I decided to trust Sue Monk Kidd, to open my heart and mind. I am so glad I did. SMK does an amazing job focusing on the women in the story and the roles they were expected to follow. Ana, Jesus' wife , does not fit the norm, just as Jesus did not fit the norm. When I had about 80 pages left, I gasped. I was not ready fo the book to end.

This is a book that will appeal to the feminist in you. This book is a celebration of a woman finding her voice. This well researched book will make you smile and make you cry. Just read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

If Jesus did marry, this would be the woman. Sue Monk Kidd has written another masterful story, imagining what life would be like for Jesus's wife. In an age when women were invisible, Ana is a presence larger than life through her written words, and passionate love for Jesus. Monk has paralleled closely the stories from the Bible. Her extensive research is clearly evident, and makes the book plausible and lovely at the same time. I would highly recommend this book! We know Jesus was human and divine. I came away from this story with the human Jesus walking beside me.

The Book of Longings was an interesting viewpoint of the life of Jesus from the perspective of a wife. Being a Christian and having read and studied the Bible all my life, I related incidents that Ssue Monk Kidd wrote in her book to incidents written in the Bible and they were remarkably similar and possible from a fiction writer's perspective. Since I read this book during the Lenten season, it resonated even more with me. It is a mind-challenging and thoughtful endeavor.

Imagine that Jesus had a wife. Not Mary Magdalene as proposed in The DaVinci Code and any other number of books ranging from fictional to scholarly. Imagine that Jesus, in the years between reaching manhood and beginning his public role as prophet and visionary, when he lived as an ordinary Jewish man, fulfilling the ordinary expectations regarding family life, had a wife. Who would that woman have been, the one who formed a lifelong bond with a man who would become increasingly focused on a nonviolent struggle to free the Jewish people? What were her interests? What drove her? What did she do as Jesus left home for longer and longer periods of time traveling the Jewish world? What was her relationship to G-d?

In The Book of Longings Sue Monk Kidd creates her own set of answers to these questions—imagined, not factual, but grounded in careful research into the time period and region. The beauty of her answer and the reason this book succeeds are due to the completeness with which she depicts Ana: wife of Jesus, aspiring scribe at a time when few women were literate, theological skeptic, who moves across geographical and class boundaries.

The Book of Longings is both engaging and surprising, deeply moving, and a testimony to the strength of women across time. Highly recommended.

I received a free electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The Opinions are my own.

This novel is the story of Ana, the wife of Jesus. Sue Monk Kidd makes the fictional leap that Jesus, like most Jewish males of his time and place, would have married around the age of 20, which fits in nicely with the gap in knowledge about Jesus's life between the ages of 12 and 30. Ana is an aspiring scribe in a male-dominated world, the novel telling of her youth, scandal, marriage to Jesus, and exile to Egypt. Another review described the book as losing focus once Ana arrives in Egypt but the book is Ana's - it's about her life, her world, her "longings."

This is the most luminous book I’ve ever read. It brings a feast of emotions and is masterfully crafted. Five glorious stars!

This is my first book by Sue Monk Kidd. I've hope that the rest of her books are just as compelling as this was. As the reader, I was awash in emotion. The longing, grief and joy was so overwhelmingly well done.

I have found past books with a Jewish main narrator difficult to follow. I don't know much of the traditions or culture and that makes it hard to really engage in a book because often, and understandably so, are written for the people of that culture. This novel incorporated a lot of Jewish aspects but also didn't assume the reader knew what the celebrations or specific words referred to. It is not simply a novel about Ana, a Jewish girl married to Jesus of Nazareth. It also incorporates Roman and Egyptian life. It is the life of a girl growing up with a dream that she struggles to give voice to.

When people say that a story is a journey- this is a novel that falls into that category. I wept with Ana, I scolded her with Yaltha and I hoped for her with Jesus. I say this not as someone who is particularly religious but I was enthralled by this book. 6/5 stars.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC.

<i>The Book of Longings</i> by Sue Monk Kidd tells the fictional story of Ana the wife of Jesus. We meet Ana at the age of 14, the daughter of a wealthy palace official and on the brink of an arranged marriage to a much older man. However, Ana has dreams of her own that center on writing down the stories of women rather than being used as a commodity by her power & land hungry parents. When Ana meets a young carpenter who is also an outsider, she realizes that she can pursue a different path than her parents intend for her.

It took me a while to get into the book, but once I did I adored Ana and the other women in the book (especially Tabitha, she's such a vivid, incredible character). Some parts drag a little (the beginning, the time in Haran's house, for example), but I still enjoyed this story so much. The story is very much Ana's story, while obviously Jesus is a presence in the book, it's not as strong as you might think. Ana and the women take center stage, and the book is better for it.

This book is going to be the big book club book of the year and for good reason.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

It is always interesting to read another author’s take on the life of Jesus via those around him. Sue Monk Kidd does an excellent job. Her historical research is always right on. It did seem a bit of a stretch to get the main character into various locations and situations while being true to the social norms of the time but SMK made a valiant attempt. It is fiction, And it is good fiction. I enjoyed the possibilities presented by the story.