Tuesday 3 April 2012

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman


My hold for this one finally came in!  The Dovekeepers is the story of the fortress of Masada, Israel in 70AD.  Nine hundred Jewish rebels and their families are sheltering from the Roman army, Jersualem and their way of life already destroyed.  Amongst these nine hundred Jews are four women, who together tell the story of life before and during the siege.  Yael's mother died in childbirth and she has been blamed for it ever since.  Revka is a baker's wife who witnessed horrific things when her village was destroyed.  Aziza wants to be a warrior, but is trapped by her gender.  And Shirah has followed the man she loves to the fortress, putting her children in danger.

The Dovekeepers was one of those books that made me love reading again.  I wouldn't say I had been in a reading slump, but I hadn't read a book that blew me away in a good long while.  When I opened The Dovekeepers and started reading, I had one of those "THIS is why I like reading" moments.  Don't you just love those moments?

I think what made The Dovekeepers so compelling was the amount of research that had gone in to it, and how completely the author immerses the reader in life in Ancient Israel.  I didn't feel like Hoffman was telling me what it was like then, I felt as though I was living it.  Too often in historical fiction I come across jarring modern dialogue or worse, modern ideas and morals, but this book felt very authentic.  The characters all felt rooted in their times and this bought the past to life.  I was also impressed with how much grit the story had; Hoffman didn't shy away from the darker sides of the siege and the last section was harrowing to read.

Each of the four women tells a quarter of the story and it was Yael's story that I enjoyed the most.  Whilst all the narratives were believable and enjoyable, Yael's personality and spirit lept off the page and I found myself rooting for her.   In the synopsis provided on the inside cover, Hoffman tells you that only two women and five children survived the siege and this creates a tension throughout the whole story.  As a reader you come to like all four of the main characters and this gives the ending a powerful impact.  I finished this book a few days ago and I'm still thinking of the ending now, of how brutal humans can be to each other.

The Dovekeepers is the best piece of historical fiction I've read in years and I will definitely be looking out for more of Hoffman's books.  Highly recommended.

Source: Library
First Published: 2011
Score: 5 out of 5

Read Alongside:
1. Jerusalem Maiden by Talia Carner - Story of an Orthodox Jewish girl in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire who wants to break free of the restrictions and expectations of her religion.
2. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Stephen Galloway - Another haunting story of life under siege, this time in Sarajevo in the 1990s.
3. The Gilded Chamber by Rebecca Kohn - Historical fiction retelling of the Jewish story of Purim, where Queen Esther saves the Jews.

18 comments:

  1. Great review! Sounds wonderful -- this is on my list. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope you enjoy it Annette. Let me know what you think!

      Delete
  2. Darn. I saw a perfect copy of this at the used warehouse I visit in Tennessee this weekend but decided against it. A 5 out of 5 makes me even more sad. I'll have to grab it if I come across again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, that's a shame. I'm sure your local library would be able to get hold of a copy?

      Delete
  3. I loved this book too! It was one of those rare instances where I could feel the desert heat and sand and taste their meals of lentils and bread. Each time I put it down I would have to adjust my internal clock back to 2011. What an amazingly talented author! But, yes, the cruelty humans can inflict on each other is staggering. When I finished it I had to just sit with it for a while before I could even move.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad someone else loved it as much as I did! You're exactly right about having to adjust your internal clock back to the present time each time you put it down. I'll be looking out for more books by Hoffman :)

      Delete
  4. I loved this one too. Hoffman did a great job of juxtaposing a feeling of magic with the grit and hardship of suffering and pain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you loved it as well, Lindsey. I didn't see the final sections coming, I was quite shocked!

      Delete
    2. Me too. I kept forgetting what was inevitably going to happen. Every once in a while I would remember, "Wait! They are not all going to make it!"

      Delete
  5. This is a fantastic review, Sam! Your enthusiasm for this book is palpable! The premise sounds fascinating and promises intrigue, tension and terror and captivating stories of the women's experiences and it sounds like Hoffman delivers all this and more. I love that you found the writing authentic and could tell Hoffman had done an enormous amount of research.

    I haven't read many of Alice Hoffman's books but this is one for my tbr list - Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad my enthusiasm came across :)
      I hope you get a chance to read it, and please let me know what you think if you do. There's a lot of historical fiction out there, but this is one of the best I've read.

      Delete
  6. It's not often I've found a book that makes you feel as if you are actually in another time--I'll have to put this one on my wishlist!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's exactly it - often the characters in historical fiction still feel very modern. Let me know what you think when you have a chance to read it, Melody.

      Delete
  7. I loved this as well. I've only read one other Alice Hoffman book, but she's already a favorite of mine. First thing I did when I finished was look up Masada on Google Earth, and sure enough, you can still see evidence of the Roman seige.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hoffman is a wonderful author, and she took on a difficult and ambitious task with this book. Unfortunately, she tried too hard, and failed to make the women of her story come to life.

    Marlene Detierro (Rogue River Country)

    ReplyDelete
  9. This book held my interest from page 1. It tells a real story from an unusual perspective. It is inspirational.

    Mica
    Best Reviews for Alaska Fishing Lodge Sitka

    ReplyDelete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Awesome review! I love when books move people like this. Thanks for sharing your review...I'm off to add it to the To-Read list!

    Mariz
    Great data for Ipe Decking information

    ReplyDelete