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    The Dovekeepers: A Novel
    The Dovekeepers: A Novel
    The Dovekeepers: A Novel
    Audiobook19 hours

    The Dovekeepers: A Novel

    Written by Alice Hoffman

    Narrated by Aya Cash, Tovah Feldshuh, Jessica Hecht and Heather Lind

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    About this audiobook

    An ambitious and mesmerizing novel from the bestselling author of Rules of Magic. The Dovekeepers is “striking….Hoffman grounds her expansive, intricately woven, and deepest new novel in biblical history, with a devotion and seriousness of purpose” (Entertainment Weekly).

    Nearly two thousand years ago, nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic and iconic event, Hoffman’s novel is a spellbinding tale of four extraordinarily bold, resourceful, and sensuous women, each of whom has come to Masada by a different path. Yael’s mother died in childbirth, and her father, an expert assassin, never forgave her for that death. Revka, a village baker’s wife, watched the murder of her daughter by Roman soldiers; she brings to Masada her young grandsons, rendered mute by what they have witnessed. Aziza is a warrior’s daughter, raised as a boy, a fearless rider and expert marksman who finds passion with a fellow soldier. Shirah, born in Alexandria, is wise in the ways of ancient magic and medicine, a woman with uncanny insight and power.

    The lives of these four complex and fiercely independent women intersect in the desperate days of the siege. All are dovekeepers, and all are also keeping secrets—about who they are, where they come from, who fathered them, and whom they love.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateOct 4, 2011
    ISBN9781442344570
    Author

    Alice Hoffman

    Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The Book of Magic, Magic Lessons, The World That We Knew, Practical Magic, The Rules of Magic (a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick), the Oprah’s Book Club Selection Here on Earth, The Red Garden, The Dovekeepers, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, The Marriage of Opposites, and Faithful. She lives near Boston.

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    Reviews for The Dovekeepers

    4/5

    889 ratings94 reviews

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    • 4/5
      If you liked The Red Tent, you are likely to enjoy The Dovekeepers. It is set in 71 AD as the Romans are murderously dominating Israel and suppressing Judaism. The Zionists, or Zealots as they are sometimes called, have taken Herod's fortress, Masada and hold out there for three years until the Romans launch a full scale attack against them. This is the story of four women and the lives that brought them to Masada, the lives they live together. It is filled with tales of strength, survival and different types of mysticism melding together. Hoffman has definitely woven her own magic, creating a cast of characters who break your heart and win your admiration. Excellent!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      I pick the audiobook because I had loved reading "The Museum of Extraordinary Things" from the same author. I was disappointed to discover that I really did not like "The Dovekeepers". I find the story too depressive and sad without a real narrative need. The Jewish history and culture description is often inaccurate or wrong, collecting must of the time a bunch of banalities decorated with fantasies.
    • 1/5
      Sloppy second rate writing full of contrived melodrama.This is a good book for anyone who doesn't want to think. Consider a rock to the head while reading to keep away any thinking, you won't miss anything. I didn't love many of the plot points, found some awkward at best, but mainly I was bothered by the lack of depth and noticeably poor writing. In place of depth and substance, there is contrived melodrama. As for the writing, there is a flow to it, but sometimes the words stopped making sense or were inconsistent with what was said earlier. Apparently Hoffman didn't see it or chose not to bother with it. Hoffman says this took five years to write. Since 2007 she published four regular novels and one young adult. This was published in 2011. I don't see how she could have spent much of those five years actually researching/writing this book. Anyway, it doesn't show.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed learning more about the time period this book was set in and the characters coming full circle but it wasn't an exciting read.
    • 5/5
      The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman is a retelling of the Biblical story of Masada. The main characters are a few of the women who take care of the doves that King Harod left when Masada was emptied of people. It is quite a wonderfully drawn story and when I read it, in my mind's eye, I was there. Hoffman has such a way of sucking you into her tales. I love that about her books. I always feel like I am a part of the story.This particular story tells of how the people lived at Masada while they waited for the Roman legions to come for them, for they knew that they would and that it was only a matter of time. Masada held out longer than any other other Israeli fortress did against the legions and it took a great while and a great number of Romans to bring them down and in the end they didn't even get that satisfaction. I highly recommend this book whether you are Christian or not and I gave it 4 1/2 stars.
    • 5/5
      An emotional, heartwrenching tale, beautifully written, that reminds the listener of the complexities of the world we live in, and "the world yet to come." The traditions, teachings, historical offerings of these words, will draw me back to listen, once more. I am grateful for this story.
    • 4/5
      The Dovekeepers: A Novel (Kindle Edition) "The Dovekeepers: A Novel" is historical fiction based on the Roman siege of Masada circa 73 CE. This attack is historic. Josephus, the historian, recorded the incident. History tells us there were 7 survivors, 5 children and 2 adults. This is the story of how the residents of Masada came to be there and what came to pass. The book could have been better if more detail and attention was given to the relationships in book instead of on details of spells, charms, amulets, and superstitions
    • 5/5
      This is a unique, beautifully written story. I enjoyed it very much!
    • 5/5
      Lovely read, feels authentic. Great historical detail and character complexity. Pay close attention to all the detail.
    • 4/5
      The Dovekeepers: A Novel (Kindle Edition) "The Dovekeepers: A Novel" is historical fiction based on the Roman siege of Masada circa 73 CE. This attack is historic. Josephus, the historian, recorded the incident. History tells us there were 7 survivors, 5 children and 2 adults. This is the story of how the residents of Masada came to be there and what came to pass. The book could have been better if more detail and attention was given to the relationships in book instead of on details of spells, charms, amulets, and superstitions
    • 4/5
      Intriguing. It was nteresting how the lives of the women intertwined.
    • 5/5
      A moving, passionate tale of war and struggle, grief and joy, faith and cultural clash, and deep abiding love. It was read beautifully, in the empathetic voices of true storytellers- as if the story was their own.
    • 2/5
      Having loved the Red Tent, I figured I would give this a try. I wasn't too impressed with this book, the characters weren't worth investing in. I could easily put it down and not have thought twice about it.
    • 5/5
      A 2,000 year old story has finally been told. There is such a raw vulnerability in this tale told by three strong albeit imperfect women. The heroines unfortunately live at the time of the Roman attempt to overtake the tribes imbedded near the Judaic Temple. You will be immersed in the cultural life experience of fulfilling your tribal caste, becoming a disenfranchised nomad, and choosing between living in the shadows or becoming a chameleon in a new society - each time making harrowing choices to survive. I recommend the audio book, which uses three unique voices. This book lost me in an authentically terrifying adventure from another place and time.
    • 5/5
      Historical fiction that tells the story of four women dove keepers: Yael, Revka, Aziza, and Shirah. It is a slowly building story leading up to the Siege of Masada. These four are deeply drawn characters whose lives eventually converge. We learn about their strong personalities, relationships, and families. They all have significant obstacles to surmount.

      The scenes are vividly described, and the language is beautiful. The author writes in a way that feels “old,” as it should since its setting is 70 C.E. in the Judean desert. I definitely would not have wanted to live back then. It reminded me a bit of The Red Tent, which I also enjoyed very much. I can also recommend The Marriage of Opposites (also historical fiction). This is my favorite book by Alice Hoffman.
    • 5/5
      ''We came like doves across the desert. In a time when there was nothing but death, we were grateful for anything, and most grateful of all when we awoke to another day.''Yael. A woman cursed by her father, a woman who stands tall against demons and mortals, and one of the finest characters you'll ever encounter.Shirah. A healer. A witch. A woman who defies everyone and everything for the sake of her love.Revka. The mother who nurtures and protects. The mother who avenges the unspeakable tragedy that has befallen her family.Aziza. The lover. The warrior. The faithful sister.Masada. The eternal symbol of defiance, strength, bravery and sacrifice. The land that reminds us that slavery cannot agree with a human's existence. That Death can be a fine companion...One of the most moving, unique, extraordinary novels ever written. A hymn to all that makes us human.''Let us make haste. Let us avoid the evils of mankind. We prefer death before these miseries. Let us go out of the world with our wives and children in freedom. ''Let our story bear witness that we perished out of choice, a choice we made at the beginning, to chose death rather than slavery.''
    • 5/5
      Absolutely beautiful writing.
    • 4/5
      Multiple sequential narrators isn't my favourite narration method, it always feels to me that once I'm getting used to one narrator I'm onto another. I like to be connected better to my narrators. Still it's an interesting read with compelling characters about a period of history I know something about (I studied Classical Civilization in college) but we didn't really dwell on Masada. Told from the point of view of four women who are involved in this, warrior, mother, witch, grandmother and they're all working in the Dovecote, a place that provides food and fertilizer They're each pulled different ways to support different things and different parts of the struggle. You can see how things happened and how it's almost inevitable what the outcome is.My mum suggested I might like it so one day when I was shelving I came across it and devided to give it a try and I did enjoy the read, Glad I read it but not one I'd go back to..
    • 4/5
      A fascinating account of the intertwining of four women's lives in the period of history of the last days of Masada. Each of their lives is told separately in the first person. A well constructed, researched
      and written book.
    • 3/5
      Long-winded and repetative. The "magical" details in this novel did not enhance the read for me. Interesting characters in a fascinating setting but their interactions should have been highlighted more--not just their individual stories.
    • 2/5
      The Dovekeepers: A Novel was written in the 21st century about Biblical times. The terms that we use today were unintentionally used where they did not belong. This speech pattern bothered me. I feel like the author researched but like a football player who is almost open, she almost got it. Consequently, she lost me and honestly I could not finish the book and do not even care to know what happened. I do not recommend this book.
    • 5/5
      Historical fiction about the fall of the Kingdom of the Israel to Rome in 70 CE and the community of Zealots who inhabited Masada and were the last to fall. The story focuses on the stories of several women living on Masada, and how their lives and fates interrelate.
    • 5/5
      Picked this up from the library. Just ordered it in paperback to have for my girls to read. That good.
    • 4/5
      I was a bit intimidated by this doorstop of a book in the beginning, but it sure didn't take me long to get into the story. Once I got 'hooked', I didn't want to stop reading.

      I really liked the way Ms Hoffman was so descriptive with her writing. I could almost smell the smells, feel the desert air blow across my face or see the colors of the fine silk that was worn.

      I really didn't like that it took over 400 pages out of 500 to get to the meat of the story. I really didn't like that I know little to nothing about Jewish history (my issue not hers).

      The ending was certainly something that I did NOT see coming and would not have guessed who and how the survivors actually survived. The ones that did not survive was absolutely heart breaking.

      I recommend this book to everyone that doesn't mind investing a little time into a story.
    • 3/5
      A must read for anyone interested in the story of Masada. Slow at times it still brings you vivid descriptions of the landscape, rich characters, and a good historical framework of Israel around 70CE.
    • 4/5
      In 70 C.E a group of about 900 Jewish rebels fled Jerusalem and settled in Masada, an ancient fortress high in the desert mountains and considered to be indestructible. There, they held out for months against armies of Romans.

      Read about four strong-willed and fiercely independent women. Learn their secrets and how their lives intersect.
    • 3/5
      It was enjoyable. I wonder how accurate it was. If the Jews had interwoven that much superstition into their worship it is no wonder they were rejected by Jehovah. It was interesting how they viewed the laws on cleanliness. They were being protected but not they way they thought.
    • 2/5
      Having loved the Red Tent, I figured I would give this a try. I wasn't too impressed with this book, the characters weren't worth investing in. I could easily put it down and not have thought twice about it.
    • 4/5
      Harrowing but worth it. I am normally not a fan of Hoffman. Here on Earth? More like Hell on Earth. This though? Great.
    • 3/5
      If you're an Alice Hoffman fan, or if you liked The Red Tent, you'll probably be into this book. Since I'm not wild about either, I wasn't. But it is well-written, despite being about 150 pages too long.