Galilée, Ier siècle de notre ère. Issue d'une famille aisée proche du chef pro-romains de la région, Ana est rebelle et ambitieuse. Elle s'acharne à poursuivre des études et couche sur le papyrus le récit de maintes femmes maltraitées et réduites au silence. À quinze ans, elle se voit obligée d'épouser un veuf âgé, perspective qui la révulse. Sa rencontre avec Jésus, qui n'a alors que dix-huit ans, va radicalement changer son avenir. À ses côtés, elle vit une existence intense, chargée d'amour et de conflits, d'humour et de drames. Ils habitent Nazareth avec les frères et la mère de Jésus, Marie. Face à l'occupation romaine, la ferveur des désirs d'Ana ne fait que s'intensifier alors qu'elle se lance dans la résistance, menée en partie par son frère Judas. Prise dans la tourmente d'événements déterminants de l'histoire, Anna va consacrer toutes ses forces à prendre son destin en main.
Un roman extraordinaire... un miracle de discernement et de virtuosité narrative.
Associated Press.
Traduit de l'anglais (États-Unis) par Laurence Kiefé.
Caroline du Sud, été 1964. Lily, quatorze ans, grandit entre un père intransigeant et Rosaleen, sa nourrice noire, qui l'élève depuis la mort de sa mère. Lorsque, au cours d'émeutes raciales, Rosaleen est gravement blessée, elles décident de s'enfuir toutes les deux... Un trio de productrices de miel, femmes généreuses et cocasses, les recueilleront et accompagneront Lily dans l'exploration de sa propre histoire.
Hymne à l'amour maternel et au pouvoir régénérateur de l'affection, cet inoubliable roman initiatique est à la fois drôle et émouvant sans jamais tomber dans le mélodrame.
Caroline du Sud, 1803. Fille d'une riche famille de Charleston, Sarah Grimké sait dès le plus jeune âge qu'elle veut faire de grandes choses dans sa vie. Lorsque pour ses onze ans sa mère lui offre la petite Handful comme esclave personnelle, Sarah se dresse contre les horribles pratiques de telles servilité et inégalité, convictions qu'elle va nourrir tout au long de sa vie. Mais les limites imposées aux femmes écrasent ses ambitions.
Une belle amitié nait entre les deux fillettes, Sarah et Handful, qui aspirent toutes deux à s'échapper de l'enceinte étouffante de la maison Grimké. À travers les années, à travers de nombreux obstacles, elles deviennent des jeunes femmes avides de liberté et d'indépendance, qui se battent pour affirmer leur droit de vivre et se faire une place dans le monde.
Une superbe ode à l'espoir et à l'audace, les destins entrecroisés de deux personnages inoubliables !
When Sue Monk Kidd was in high school, a home economics teacher wrote a list of potential occupations for women on the blackboard: teacher, nurse, librarian, secretary. "Writer" was nowhere to be found. On that day, Kidd shut the door on her writerly aspirations and would not revisit the topic until many years later when she announced to her husband and two children that she was going to become a writer. And so began her journey into the mysteries and methods of the writerly life...
Don't miss the extraordinary new novel from Sue Monk Kidd, The Book of Longings - published on 21st April 2020, and available to pre-order now
The Invention of Wings: The No. 1 New York Times bestseller. A powerful and extraordinary novel about the unlikely friendship between two exceptional women during the last years of slavery in the US. From the celebrated author of the multi-million-copy-bestselling novel The Secret Life of Bees.
'Fascinating... A splendid tribute to a pair of true heroines' The Times
'Wonderful - well-written, moving and engaging by turns, and always compelling' Daily Mail
'A remarkable novel that heightened my sense of what it meant to be a woman - slave or free' Oprah Winfrey
'A resonant, illuminating novel' Observer
Sarah Grimké is the middle daughter. Her mother says she's difficult and her father says she's remarkable. On Sarah's eleventh birthday, Hetty 'Handful' Grimké is taken from the slave quarters she shares with her mother, wrapped in lavender ribbons, and presented to Sarah as a gift. Sarah knows that what she does next will unleash a world of trouble. She also knows that she cannot accept another person as a present. And so, indeed, the trouble begins ...
A powerful, sweeping novel, inspired by real events, and set in the American Deep South in the nineteenth century, The Invention of Wings evokes a world of shocking contrasts, of beauty and ugliness, of otherwise respectable people living daily with cruelty they fail to recognise; and celebrates the power of friendship and sisterhood against all the odds.
What readers say about The Invention of Wings:
'You cannot fault Sue Monk Kidd's writing; she very adeptly speaks with both Sarah and Handful's voice. The pictures she paints are vivid, compelling and haunting; this is not a novel I will easily forget' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
'I was not expecting this book to grab my heartstrings and pull the way that it did' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
'The weaving of fact and fiction into a powerful novel covering abolition of slavery, women's ambitions in 19th century America, love, family, betrayal and hope for a better future make compelling reading' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars
'Unforgettable. This book was completely and utterly dynamic. From the first word to the last I was enthralled with Sarah and Handful. So powerful' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
THE New York Times BESTSELLER
The stunning bestseller about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny, from author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings
'Transporting, life-affirming, gripping. It is simply brilliant' Mel Giedroyc
'Fascinating . . . Clever, rebellious Ana is a memorable character' The Times
'Brilliant . . . Brava!" The Daily Mail
Ana is born in Galilee at a time when women are seen as possessions, only leaving their fathers' homes to marry.
Ana longs to control her destiny. Taught to read despite her mother's misgivings, she wants to be a writer and to find her own voice. A voice that will speak for the silenced women around her.
Betrothed to an elderly widower, Ana almost despairs. But an encounter with a charismatic young carpenter in Nazareth awakens new longings in her, and a different future opens up.
Yet this is not a simple love story. Ana's journey will bring both joy and tragedy, but it will also be enriched by the female friendships she makes along the way.
The Book of Longings is an exquisite tale of dreams and desire, and of the power of women to change the world.
'One of my favourites' Alicia Keys
'I kept having to close this novel and breathe deeply, again and again . . . It is a true masterpiece' Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed
'Unleashes the reader's imagination with glorious evocations of extraordinary times and places, allowing our minds to roam . . . Original, challenging, beautiful' Adele Parks, Platinum
'Compelling . . . Ana is a truly wonderful character, strong and inspiring, and her life story so captivating that it swept me along' Good Housekeeping
'This moving novel by bestselling author Sue Monk Kidd persuasively imagines the marriage between a brilliant young woman and Jesus' Daily Mail
'Incredible . . . A story which is full of humanity, love and tenderness - and one which touched me deeply.' Brown Flopsy's Book Bureau
'The way that Hamnet gave a voice to Shakespeare's wife, this does the same for Ana . . . One of the greats for historical fiction' Books by Bindu
'Not a day has passed since I finished reading it that I have not thought about Ana, her story and the beautiful lyrical words Sue has written' TheFallenLibrarian
'I loved it. I loved the feminist theme, I loved the language and I loved the imagery of putting voice to your longings and then giving birth to them. Just fab' BetweenMyLines
'Glorious. Beautiful. Life-affirming' Buried Under Books
'I am Ana. I was the wife of Jesus.' So begins the new novel from the number one New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings , an extraordinary story set in the first century about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny in a time of great despair and great hope. In her fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family in Sepphoris with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, a relentless seeker with a brilliant, curious mind and a daring spirit. She yearns for a pursuit worthy of her life, but finds no outlet for her considerable talents. Defying the expectations placed on women, she engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes secret narratives about neglected and silenced women. When she meets the eighteen-year-old Jesus, each is drawn to and enriched by the other's spiritual and philosophical ideas. He becomes a floodgate for her intellect, but also the awakener of her heart. Their marriage unfolds with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, James and Simon, and their mother, Mary. Here, Ana's pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to the Roman occupation of Israel, partially led by her charismatic adopted brother, Judas. She is sustained by her indomitable aunt Yaltha, who is searching for her long-lost daughter, as well as by other women, including her friend Tabitha, who is sold into slavery after she was raped, and Phasaelis, the shrewd wife of Herod Antipas. Ana's impetuous streak occasionally invites danger. When one such foray forces her to flee Nazareth for her safety shortly before Jesus's public ministry begins, she makes her way with Yaltha to Alexandria, where she eventually finds refuge and purpose in unexpected surroundings. Grounded in meticulous historical research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring account of one woman's bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place, and culture devised to silence her.
