Book Review: The Dovekeepers

The Dovekeepers
by Alice Hoffman
4/5 stars

This historical fiction novel uses actually historical events at Masada after the Romans sacked Jerusalem to explore the lives of four women and how their identities revolve around men in their society. Alice Hoffman is  Jewish by blood, Spritualist by religion. She has written many books with a common theme of magic; in this case, it is the mysticism of the Moabites and Hebrews. 

I came across this book because I had read other historical fiction novels set in the same general time period (same century), and I thoroughly enjoyed them because of their historical accuracy. Hoffman began this book after a visit to the museums at Masada and based her characters on real people. The story is based on what actually happened at Masada when it was taken after the destruction of Jerusalem. According to the historian Josephus, two women and five children escaped; this book provides you with an imaginary tale about the people that might have survived. 

In general, I liked the book. Her writing style is lovely and captivating, encouraging to you to delve deeper into the story. There were a few passages that I tagged because I thought they were beautiful. 

page 272: "I heard the voice of God all around me, but I was unafraid...But now I understood that, although words were God's first creation, silence was closer to His divine spirit, and that prayers given in silence were infinitely greater than the thousands of words men might offer up to heaven. 
   I listened to the wind that had risen in the desert to follow us here.
   I heard what it had to say."

page 488: "That was why the Almighty had given us prayer, to distinguish men from animals, to leave the beasts inside of us locked away, as demons are locked in lead jars."

As a Christian with a reasonable understanding of the Bible it was difficult to read about that idolatrous worship of Ashtoreth, but many of the passages reminded me of the voodoo worship that I encounter living in Haiti. The amulets, potions, spells, etc. are very similar to many practices here, giving me a little more perspective on how people who believe in these items think and understand the world. It was also difficult sometimes to distinguish the voice of each character. By the end of the book, I felt like all of their voices were so similar that I wouldn't have been able to read a passage and tell you who was speaking right away. I wanted a more stark contrast between the voices of these very different characters. 

Each of the book sections for the four women was entitled using that woman's relationship to a man in her life. It illustrated how difficult it was for a woman to exist outside of a man's protection at the time. It provided a a notable contrast to the characters themselves who each managed to create something of their own identity without the help of a male overseer. 

This was an interesting read that I would highly recommend to people who enjoy reading about historical events and learning about different cultures. I'm intrigued to read more of her books, because many of them have a magical or mystical undertone. I am also looking forward to the TV mini-series recently aired to see if it follows the book closely.