Song of Ancient Lovers, Laura Restrepo
Song of Ancient Lovers, Laura Restrepo
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Song of Ancient Lovers
A Novel

Author: Laura Restrepo

Narrator: Sean Rohani

Unabridged: 12 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperVia

Published: 12/30/2025

Synopsis

Award-winning Colombian author Laura Restrepo weaves contemporary themes and ancient myth in this story of star-crossed lovers in a world on the brink of collapse.Retelling the mythical love story between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon in the refugee camps of the present day, Song of Ancient Lovers is a sublime ode to love and desire as forces shaping human history, with power that rivals forces of destruction.Ethereal in its weaving of the real and the mythical, the contemporary and the ancient, this is the story of Bos Mutas, a young writer traveling from South America to northern Africa in search of traces of his obsession. His research unveils the Queen of Sheba as unyielding and committed to her independence, with remarkable influence both in her time—over Solomon and all the subjects in her expansive kingdom—and on thinkers and artists across the centuries, from Thomas Aquinas to Gérard de Nerval, Frida Kahlo to Patti Smith. He also finds traces of her influence in the magic made of devastating circumstances by women he meets on his journey, especially Zahra Bayda, a Somali midwife who has taken it upon herself to show him around.Stunning and evocative, Song of Ancient Lovers is a triumph of imagination and reverence for the spirit that connects us across boundaries of time and geography.Translated from the Spanish by Caro De Robertis

About Laura Restrepo

Laura Restrepo is the author of numerous bestselling and prize-winning novels, including The Dark Bride, A Tale of the Dispossessed, and Delirio, which received Spain's prestigious Alfaguara Prize. She lives in Colombia.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Andres on June 15, 2022

Quizás con un poco mas de edición, hay partes del libro tan inconexas, tan aburridas. La idea de plasmar sus experiencias con Médicos sin Fronteras recorriendo Yemén y Etiopía es grandiosa. Su punto de vista de la situación de las mujeres de la zona, vista a través del mito de la reina de Saba, es f......more

Goodreads review by Annette on August 26, 2025

What interested me to this story was Queen Sheba and King Solomon. I was expecting to learn more of their story but the way it’s related it is through the present generation linking themselves to Queen Sheba. Bos Mutoes as a young boy became fascinated with Queen Sheba, and for his dissertation picks......more

Goodreads review by Laura on March 11, 2023

Bos Mutas viaja buscando a la reina de Saba a Pata de cabra o cualquiera de sus miles de nombres, queriendo entender su historia para poder escribir su tesis, pero encuentra a Zahra Bayda, partera Somalie y juntos trabajan en médicos sin fronteras en un territorio de guerra y violencia especialmente......more

Goodreads review by Paginas de Andres on December 16, 2023

Creo que es mi lectura más exigente del año, estuve a punto de abandonarla porque sentía que no era el momento correcto para leerlo, pero a pesar de la densidad del tema, cada vez que lo agarraba, quería continuar con la lectura. Es imposible negar que las partes de 'La Reina de Saba', 'Pata de Cabr......more

Goodreads review by Meg on January 02, 2026

Bos Mutas is a South American academic and dreamer, and for as long as he can remember, he's been obsessed with the Queen of Sheba. This takes him to Yemen, where he hopes to track local stories of her, and instead ends up in a conflict zone. His obsession clashes with the culture, as he dissects th......more

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