Book of Longing

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Nothing much caught my interest or held my attention after 40 percent of the book even though things keep happening alongwith the introduction of new characters and events related to them.

Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen | Goodreads

Many writers spend a lifetime writing, yet they suffer like you. When they write, it is about their own life. That is art's biggest tragedy. . . [W]e can't tell a single story of which we are not the centre."Sue Monk Kidd brings to life a spirited, and spiritually aware, young woman who must come to terms with her own heartfelt desires and ambitions...Other novelists have imagined the human side of Jesus, and some have envisioned him as married. But no other writer has fleshed out a partner who can stand on her own, who is intellectually and spiritually well matched with Jesus...Kidd’s research into first-century Jewish life, along with her vivid descriptions of the villages and terrain, make Ana’s story come alive. leonard cohen’s always been the guy who lives on the seam where the the spiritual meets the erotic, only here he's moved away from imagery based in biblical and jewish mystical tradition and infused his sensuality into buddhist spirituality. this book...basically, when he was in his sixties, leonard cohen went up a mountain to live and study in a buddhist monastery, and during the five years he was there, he was really horny and wrote a bunch of poems about it. I also loved the little doodles and self-portraits scribbled in between poems, throughout the book. They're fragile and beautiful, sometimes a bit sarcastic too, and most of the time playful. I also like how the collection also includes a little introduction he wrote for Chinese readers for one of his previous books, Beautiful Losers. That intro is so beautiful that it definitely deserved to be counted as a poem in itself, so including it makes total sense. I know this book represented some important issues regarding survival, mystical nature and the nature in general, imprisonment and some relevant political issues, historically representative, disasters that happened, war, unavoidable circumstances we have to face in our lives, love and relationships, some unfortunate events; death, grief and separation; repentance and regrets.

Book of Longing - Leonard Cohen - Google Books

Astonishing and completely original, Shubhangi Swarup’s magical novel will change the way you see people—and landscapes, forests, the oceans, snow deserts.” —Nilanjana S. Roy Swarup debuts withan inventive novel in stories that features a multigenerational cast in search of love and worldly purpose. . . . By integrating magical elements—talking glaciers and yetis appear—Swarup eschews conventional love stories to focus instead on many forms of desire, while zigzagging across time and place. This offersbeautiful depictions of humanity through a successfully experimental form.” — Publishers Weekly In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with eighteen-year-old Jesus changes everything.What role does Ana's incantation bowl play in her quest to realize her longing? What is the importance of ritualizing one's faith or longings? If you were given an incantation bowl in which to inscribe your deepest longing, what might you write? What can our longings teach us? Included are lyrics to a few of my favorite Cohen songs, like "Alexandra Leaving" and "Love Itself" which only makes the collection better. I like a story well told in beautiful lyrical language. What I don't like is trying to involve as many issues of importance and deviate as much from the original thread so as to create an ameobic tale which puts forth its pseudopods in varying confusing directions. It covers a vast canvas from the Andamans, Burma(Myanmar), Nepal and the no man's land separating India and Pakistan. Most of the poems/scribblings concern the time he spent in Monastery, so there is a big dose of "wrestling with God" in here, along with "wrestling with love, sex, things of the flesh".

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd - BookBrowse Reviews of The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd - BookBrowse

Latitudes of Longing left me reeling, weighted under the sheer beauty of its prose. It swept me off my feet and left me breathless. In 2007, the American composer Philip Glass premiered his work Book of Longing. Song Cycle Based on the Poetry and Artwork of Leonard Cohen, in which he set 23 of the book's poems to music. Some poems included Cohen's spoken word. The work was co-commissioned by Luminato Festival under the artistic direction of Chris Lorway in Toronto Canada, Australia's 2008 Adelaide Festival under the artistic direction of Brett Sheehy, and Barbican Centre in London, and premiered at Luminato in 2007. It was subsequently performed at various venues in the United States, Australia, United Kingdom and Europe. At the Barbican Centre in London in October 2007, Cohen joined Glass onstage for a pre-concert discussion. The double-CD was released in December 2007.Avoid the flourish. Do not be afraid to be weak. Do not be ashamed to be tired. You look good when you’re tired. You look like you could go on forever. Now come into my arms. You are the image of my beauty .” Lord our God, hear my prayer, the prayer of my heart. Bless the largeness inside me, no matter how I fear it. Bless my reed pens and my inks. Bless the words I write. May they be beautiful in your sight. May they be visible to eyes not yet born. When I am dust, sing these words over my bones: she was a voice.” It’s not too often that I say a book changed my perspective — this one did. Easily one of my “Top 5” in the past year. Beautifully written, meticulously researched, and unabashedly feminist. Read it! I didn’t know that this book would become close to my heart for its sheer narration which is indeed riveting. I am amazed at the coherence of the different stories which run parallel to each other, in different lands, in different times and yet stand still for a reader willing to devour them. The gripping writing style had me and the lines such as “Life is more than the sum of its breaths and terrors” won me completely. I am still in the awe of the way the plot has been designed, developed and presented that beguiled not only me but would hook anyone pursuing a delightful and honest work of art. In Kidd’s ( The Invention of Wings, 2014, etc.) feminist take on the New Testament, Jesus has a wife whose fondest longing is to write.