The Book of Longings - by Sue Monk Kidd - a Review

I was at the beach with my grandgirl Gia this Tuesday, and decided to bring this book along to take some photos on the beach. I thought these broken shells gave it a feel of antiquity, as the sand and the oceans are ancient. To look at the ocean, feeling the sand beneath your feet, is to see and feel the past, the present, and the future, all at once, which is probably why it seems to be so breathtakingly beckoning.

I love historical fiction, yet I've read so few set in this ancient time-frame. I read this book in about 3 days' time and enjoyed every minute of it. This was my first Book of the Month selection, and as I said to them, I picked well and so did you! The Book of Longings really hit that sweet spot for me. It had many themes I enjoy - mainly - a strong female lead (in this case a few) that are willful and independent and break out of the molds set for them.

In this book, the main character Ana, knows herself from childhood - she knows she has longings that go beyond what is expected (or allowed) for her and being a child in a rich household, and being an only child, some of her "whims" are granted to her by her father - such as being tutored to learn other languages and how to read and write them as well - being given papyrus and ink to write upon. She truly comes into her own when her aunt comes to live with them. Her aunt is such a strong character and is truly a woman who has strong longings of her own. She recognizes the spirit of Ana, and tries to nuture her into becoming whatever it is that Ana longs for. She teaches Ana to listen to her longings and to respect and nuture them herself as well. She gives her the "allowance" to be herself, even though the rest of her family are bitter about it. It isn't until her father attempts to betroth Ana against her will that she first spots Jesus by the side of the road, and becomes sort of enchanted by his kindness and handsomeness.

So let's discuss the Jesus aspect. He was in this story tangentially as the husband of Ana, a strong willed woman who spent most of her married life separated from him, be it because of her own perils or adventures, or his agendas of being a prophet and leader of his people, but wow, even the author herself gave pause to this project for many years fearing that it wasn't "the right time" to go there. In the end, Sue Monk Kidd quoted the great Virginia Woolf who said, "Everything is the proper stuff of fiction," giving permission to all writers to go for it, and I'm so glad she did! By making Jesus an actual side character, only "seen" from Ana's perspective, it made him so real as a person, and his character was written as secularly as it could be while maintaining his grace and kindness and putting them to work in practical ways. In this story he does not discuss with Ana the depth of his relationship with God or that he is the Messiah. All of that Ana learns from his disciples and from others, a title that arises while they are separated. The story does depict the crucifixion (as we knew this was inevitable) and those scenes with Ana, Mary his mother, Mary Magdalene, etc. were so harrowing. I truly felt their grief, horror, helplessness, and compassion. It made me cry, and not because of any religious reason, just because here was a beloved man being slaughtered, really for no reason other than betrayal and political reasons. The anxiety and sadness I felt for his family was intense. By incorporating Jesus into this story it did elevate and lend to some of the story plots and it was really done wonderfully well. I would hope that people who are sensitive to Jesus being rendered as such a secular character will see the grace with which his character was portrayed and not be offended by it. I think the author could'nt have done a better job of towing the line between grace and secularism. Kudos on a job well done.

The story is really about Ana, and her longings to be ... a writer, a storyteller, a respected, independent woman, and she becomes all those things and more. To see this evolution is so much fun, and I was in her corner, fighting with her, every step of the way.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction. It was a joy to read and so entertaining, a 5 star read that has sat with me for days and days since I finished it. Now -- go read it!!

THE ANCESTOR - BY DANIELLE TRUSSONI

When Alberta receives an official document, all written in Italian, she goes to her estranged husband to see if they can suss out what's been received. It turns out to be about the Montebianco estate, of which Bert is the inheritor, and it beckons her come in person to Italy to go over the estate details.

I really enjoyed this book, particularly the second half after she's arrived at the castle to meet/receive her inheritance. The castle environment was so well written, truly gothic and remote and dark. The journey that Bert (Alberta) embarks upon surrendering herself to the castle went places I was not expecting it to go. I say surrendering because she is flown in in the dead of winter by helicopter, and is basically dropped there without knowing what the true nature of her inheritance is, for as we find out, it is not just THINGS that she inherits, but a true legacy that ties her to her ancestors.

I felt especially touched by many passages in this book, particularly this one, "....i knew, as they vanished in the half-light, that they were not gone. I carried them in my body. My ancestors lived in my bones, and in my blood, in the connections of my nervous system, and in the unreachable recesses of my consciousness. They would always be with me..."  I choked up a bit on that now that my mother and grandmother are passed on and have become "my ancestors" - I think of this physicality that continues to link us together even those they are no longer alive in their own bodies, still they live on in me. This book made me feel that presence, so thank you for that...realization.

There were also other very poignant moments in this story on the nature of the mountains, the smallness of self compared to the universe, the simplicity of certain societies and their vulnerability because of that simplicity. To quote some more beautiful passages, "Time, millions and millions of years of it, more than I could even imagine, had passed through these gorges, moving fast and treacherous as snow melt. The mountains had stood against it, strong and indifferent. The fierce beauty of it all made me tremble with humility and terror. What was I --what were any of us --compared to this?"  and on page 241, "It was moonless, without a cloud in the sky. Stars filled the darkness, and uncountable explosion of brilliance, proof that we were just one small piece of an immense, burning universe." Most of the writing was very straightforward but then I'd run into sentences such as the above, and I'd just swoon. 

I honestly was hoping for a slightly different more unrealistic ending but I will admit that the choice made by the character was not surprising. I just wanted more time with Aki .... I would've liked to have seen that gone on longer.

All in all, due to the writing, the intensity, and the uniqueness of the storyline, this had me enthralled to see where it was heading and when it got there,  I enjoyed where I was. So much so, that I actually didn't want to leave. I highly recommend this book and definitely will read more by this author!

THE GRAPES OF WRATH - JOHN STEINBECK

This classic Pulitzer Prize winning book certainly needs no introduction or commentary from me on it's merits, but I just finished this book sobbing, and I felt the need to discuss it.

Let's start earlier. Last year was the first time I'd read anything from John Steinbeck - it was "Of Mice and Men" which was such a short story I thought I'd start there. I don't remember much of my feelings towards that book but I know that it sparked an interest in me to read more from Steinbeck.

The second book I read of his was "East of Eden" - which completely solidified my love of Steinbeck.

When I was done reading it, I told my father, "this is his masterpiece!" and I meant that. What I loved about it was the graceful way he retold the Cain and Abel story and its ramifications on the family, the way his characters were so fleshed out, and the philosophical dialogue- I just adored that  book! I enjoyed the loving way in which he described his California valley - it just really appealed to me and made that book one of my favorites of all time - which I will reread.

Then this book! I won't say it's a favorite book of all time, but I do consider it another masterpiece of Steinbeck's! First of all, the man writes the most PERFECT sentences! He knows how to talk about everyday happenings in such a way that feels so natural and puts you right in that scene. His dialogue again, always meaningful - and so poignant. 

The discussion of poverty in America during the great "dust bowl" of the 30's, and the great migration from the midwest to California, is what this book is all about. It centers around the (fictional) Joad family and their journey in particular to "california" where they assume there is work aplenty for farmers and where their "American Dream" of a good paying job and a solid home can be realized. Or can it? 

This book was so brutal in part because I know this was written out of a true historical scenario, even though the individuals in it were fictional. To know that so many families back then literally starved just breaks my heart. The part where the fruit is being sprayed with kerosene, ruined before anyone could eat the excess that couldn't be sold, just burned me up, as I'm sure it did Steinbeck, for he wrote of how this despair fueled anger and how the greed was ruining the country. Things of this nature happened and were appalling.

I believe this book is teaching the downside to capitalism when it goes unchecked. The greed depicted in this book is inhumane. I think John Steinbeck was certainly making a case for some form of socialism, which we did institute via welfare and other varying types of assistance. Although many today look down on socialism and the welfare/social security and other programs that we fund through our taxes, this book truly highlights how very horrible things can go when there are no such programs in place. People really would starve. 

It's interesting to read this almost a hundred years after it was written and to see how far we've come as a country, as a society.  There are so many philosophical discussions in here between characters on the subject of the needs of the individual vs. the needs of the collective, on the rights of free commerce, on the need for unions to cease auctioning jobs off at the lowest wage (which created a starving workforce - such a disgrace)....and many other themes around poverty, power, government, and the nature of people. I'm sure quite a few have written dissertations around the discussions in this book. I'm just writing to express how much this book meant to me - my mother and grandmother lived through those times. I wish I had read this book 25 years ago so I could've discussed it with both of them. How I wish I could talk to them at times like these! But I digress...

Can we just take a look at how desperate the Joad family is at the end? How earnest they were to work hard and repeatedly came up empty handed? How quickly their dream of California turned into a nightmare.... I had been reading this book for about a month - I had to read it in installments because honestly, it was one of the bleakest things I've ever read and I needed time away from it now and again. THAT LAST SCENE!!!!!!!!!! I broke down and sobbed my eyes out. And for Steinbeck to leave them there - this was just so hopeless that i sobbed and wanted to throw the book across the room because the author didn't save them for me, but left them hanging. I thought about how I'd feel in their shoes and I think I'd want to just lie down and die. It was TOO MUCH. Overwhelmingly hopeless. 

My favorite character was the mother Joad. I think she was Steinbeck's favorite character as well because she just embodied hope and strength and forbearance. Interestingly, I had the same thought as Steinbeck, which made me happy to see that he had made the mother say, which I'll have to paraphrase unfortunately since i cannot find it, something to the effect of ... we think times are bad, and they are, but life keeps moving forward and things keep improving slowly, imperceptibly, but nothing stays stagnant forever, and progress once made will never slip backwards.  

It took me 50 odd years to learn this, but history is important, if you don't know where you've been, you may recreate those same mistakes, you might not learn how far we've come, and you might not appreciate how good we have it. Yes, I said it. And I meant it.

As for me? I wouldn't have been able to bear it. Have you read this? Could you have lived like this? Count your blessings we no longer live in such bleak times. All things Covid aside, these times depicted here - way more devastating.