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- KAT-Torrent HOME The Dovekeepers (2015) 720p The Dovekeepers (2015) 720p Based in Alice Hoffman's historical novel about the Siege of Masada, the miniseries focuses on four extraordinary women whose lives intersect in a fight for survival at the siege of Masada.
- Nov 05, 2011 The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman - review Alice Hoffman's Judean rebels head for their desert fortress Clare Clark. Fri 4 Nov 2011 18.54 EDT First published on Fri 4 Nov 2011 18.54 EDT.
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Nearly 2,000 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 com...more
Published March 17th 2015 by Pocket Books (first published October 4th 2011)
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- 10 likes · like
Linda SandsI listened to the entire book on audio- car listening and treadmill listening the best. Life Hack: change the pace of the reading to +1.75. You will…moreI listened to the entire book on audio- car listening and treadmill listening the best. Life Hack: change the pace of the reading to +1.75. You will cut HOURS off the time and it makes yo really pay attention. I loved that i knew the correct pronunciation of the names at book club.
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TerriCan't wait to watch ... Ziva (Cote de Pablo) from NCIS will be playing the Witch of Moab. CBS March 30/April 1
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Rating details
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Dec 05, 2011Kim rated it really liked it · review of another edition
There are many reasons why I wouldn’t like this book:
1. I hate feeling dumb.
2. It’s set in Ancient Israel, 70 C.E. to be exact, and the fact that I had to ask what C.E. meant --being a child of B.C and A.D --did not go over well (Refer to #1)
3. It’s set in Ancient Israel and I, shamefully, have absolutely no clue what happened back then. I mean… besides the Last Temptation of Christ and bible stories that I kind of sort of remember. (#1)
4. The author also wrote Practical Magic, which I have not...more
Oct 19, 2011Amy Bruno rated it it was amazing · review of another edition1. I hate feeling dumb.
2. It’s set in Ancient Israel, 70 C.E. to be exact, and the fact that I had to ask what C.E. meant --being a child of B.C and A.D --did not go over well (Refer to #1)
3. It’s set in Ancient Israel and I, shamefully, have absolutely no clue what happened back then. I mean… besides the Last Temptation of Christ and bible stories that I kind of sort of remember. (#1)
4. The author also wrote Practical Magic, which I have not...more
Shelves: historical-fiction, read-in-2011, 1st-century, favorites, middle-east
Never before has a book entranced me the way The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman has. I’ve literally just finished reading this book and I can’t get my mind to settle down. It’s almost as if I’ve ran a race, my adrenaline is pumping and my heart beating a mile a minute, scenes from the book keep going around and around in my head. My urgent need to tell everyone about this beautifully haunting book is taking over all other thoughts, so I need to get this review out before I explode!
Alice Hoffman is...more
Mar 17, 2015Will Byrnes rated it it was amazing · review of another editionAlice Hoffman is...more
Shelves: books-of-the-year-2011, fiction, literary-fiction, historical-fiction
We were no different from the doves above us. We could not speak or cry, but when there was no choice we discovered we could fly. It you want a reason, take this: We yearned for our portion of the sky.Masada, the word summons up images, war, Romans, Zealots, slaughter, mass suicide. A place of national pride for some, historical and archaeological controversy for many, a bit of Python mockery to others. On visiting the place itself Alice Hoffman was inspired to wonder about the experience of t...more
Shelves: historical-fiction, witchcraft-and-wizardry, based-on-a-true-story, book-club
![Dovekeepers Dovekeepers](/uploads/1/2/6/5/126529800/612392542.jpg)
The Dovekeepers on its surface sounds like it has the potential to be incredibly moving, and I had high hopes. Yet I found the reading to be more of an exercise in frustration and perseverance. The frustration is largely the result of the book's lack of development, which might sound weird to say about a 500+ page novel. It is described on its cover as a story of the siege of Masada, but fans of historical fiction will be sadly disappointed; the historical context is woefully underdeveloped. It...more
Aug 16, 2011Jennifer Rayment rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
The Good Stuff
* I wish I had the words to express how wonderful this book is. I will be honest if Simon and Schuster hadn't sent it to me for review, I probably wouldn't have picked it up and let me tell you that would have been a shame. This book is haunting and sad but yet so full of hope and of the resilience of the human spirit
* Beautiful raw and honest story and just so god-damned emotional to read
* Exceptionally real and strong female characters
* History written so it comes alive and y...more
Apr 28, 2013B the BookAddict rated it it was amazing · review of another edition* I wish I had the words to express how wonderful this book is. I will be honest if Simon and Schuster hadn't sent it to me for review, I probably wouldn't have picked it up and let me tell you that would have been a shame. This book is haunting and sad but yet so full of hope and of the resilience of the human spirit
* Beautiful raw and honest story and just so god-damned emotional to read
* Exceptionally real and strong female characters
* History written so it comes alive and y...more
Recommended to B the BookAddict by: Angela Always Reading's review
Alice Hoffman will teach the reader about an event which most of us know nothing about: this is a factual story with fictional characters interwoven. Four women who are refugees at Masada over 2000 years ago; Hoffman tells their story – will you listen?
this is where they worked: a dovecote at Masada
this is where they lived: the fortress at Masada
A colossal triumph; Hoffman shines in this endeavour which took her five years to write. Interesting? Hell, yeah! This story, the fact and the fictio...more
Aug 21, 2011Janet rated it it was amazing · review of another editionthis is where they worked: a dovecote at Masada
this is where they lived: the fortress at Masada
A colossal triumph; Hoffman shines in this endeavour which took her five years to write. Interesting? Hell, yeah! This story, the fact and the fictio...more
Shelves: 2011, historical-fiction, book-club-pick, 2011-libfavs
For fans of Alice Hoffman this book is a mixture of the new and the familiar. Devotees will recognize the strong women with unusual, even magical abilities. What's new is the historical setting and time---the fortress of Masada in the year 70 CE. Also, Hoffman's language struck me as different in this book.
I think whether or not readers like this book will hinge on their reaction to the language Hoffman uses to recreate the world of her women. I loved the level of detail. I felt the sea salt in...more
I think whether or not readers like this book will hinge on their reaction to the language Hoffman uses to recreate the world of her women. I loved the level of detail. I felt the sea salt in...more
Jul 10, 2012Linda Hart rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
An exceptional read. This is a masterpiece, a wonderful, mesmerizing book about the lives of four strong Jewish women, each with different backgrounds, powerful personalities, and distinct stories of there own. Their histories collided when destiny/circumstances found them living at the Jewish stronghold, Masada, during the last and final siege by the Romans. According to the historian, Josephus, two of these women and five children survived the horrendous event.
I agree with Janet, a goodreads...more
I agree with Janet, a goodreads...more
Nov 17, 2012Christina White rated it liked it · review of another edition
Alice Hoffman brought me back in time and I enjoyed learning about what life was like in 70 C.E. The writing was beautiful and at times poetic. I like my poetry in short doses though and after two hundred pages of lyrical prose I was ready to move on with the story. I liked the book, in fact I was swept away in the lives of the brave women it was about. Revka, Aziza, Shirah and Yael were strong women who lived amazing lives and were the only survivors of the Masada massacre. Unfortunately, the p...more
Jan 02, 2016Sean Barrs the Bookdragon rated it did not like it · review of another edition Shelves: historical, love-and-romance, 1-star-reads, ancient-rome
The Dovekeepers Alice Hoffman Download Torrent Full
This was massively underwhelming. The plot was terrible; it had no real development or drive. In reality, it barely existed at all. The story just followed the lives of some rather mundane characters. There was little to keep me reading. They weren’t really striving for anything, beyond survival; thus, I found myself getting quite bored with their stories. They just weren’t very remarkable. The historical detail was minimal, and the random magic elements that were worked in the plot were just so...more
Jan 08, 2016Gary rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Masada was a historic Jewish fortress that stood on huge rock in Judea (now southern Israel) In 73 CE 960 Jewish patriots killed themselves as Masada rather then surrender to Roman forces. For many Israelis their devotion to liberty is a national symbol called the spirit of Masada. This is a fictional story of four women who may have lived there.
I was thoroughly entranced by this tour de force-a definite masterpiece of 21st century literature. This brilliant novel takes us back to Ancient Israel...more
I was thoroughly entranced by this tour de force-a definite masterpiece of 21st century literature. This brilliant novel takes us back to Ancient Israel...more
Jun 29, 2013Angela M rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
I was absolutely taken by this amazing story which was based on historical events of which I knew nothing about. The writing is beautiful and the story of these strong and willful women will remain with me for a long time.
May 24, 2015Diane Wallace rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Awesome read! could not get enough of the storyline..love the plot twist and characters.. A.Hoffman is a great author..(paperback!)
Oct 30, 2016Cathrine ☯️ rated it liked it · review of another edition
2.75★
Being a huge AH fan I’m somewhat embarrassed with my rating and reception to this novel. With only a couple of exceptions, every GR friend who read it rated it very highly. Writers Toni Morrison and Wally Lamb praised it as well. So what’s up with me? I offer up my thoughts for those very few of you who also struggled.
I ended up feeling like many of the Jews wandering in the desert for forty years, except for me it was forty years of five hundred pages. Initially, the chosen people were hap...more
Sep 09, 2011Jason Golomb rated it really liked it · review of another editionBeing a huge AH fan I’m somewhat embarrassed with my rating and reception to this novel. With only a couple of exceptions, every GR friend who read it rated it very highly. Writers Toni Morrison and Wally Lamb praised it as well. So what’s up with me? I offer up my thoughts for those very few of you who also struggled.
I ended up feeling like many of the Jews wandering in the desert for forty years, except for me it was forty years of five hundred pages. Initially, the chosen people were hap...more
Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, ancient-rome, roman-empire, literature
'Dovekeepers' is the first book I've read of Alice Hoffmans'. In fact, one evening my wife looked at the book while I was reading in bed and said: 'You're reading Alice Hoffman? I've read Alice Hoffman. But you don't read Alice Hoffman!'
And so I DID read Alice Hoffman and I liked Alice Hoffman. This is a very good book. It's real deep and very weighty.
'Dovekeepers' orbits around the real life events of the early 70s A.D. in ancient Judea. Rome was large and in charge and in the midst of shatter...more
And so I DID read Alice Hoffman and I liked Alice Hoffman. This is a very good book. It's real deep and very weighty.
'Dovekeepers' orbits around the real life events of the early 70s A.D. in ancient Judea. Rome was large and in charge and in the midst of shatter...more
Jul 18, 2012Carole rated it liked it · review of another edition
This is a work of historical fiction. The story is based on the Roman attack on the fortress at Masada in 73 A.D. and the resulting mass suicide. Since I have visited this site in present-day Israel, I was interested in reading a novel based on this event.
In terms of the history, Hoffman has done an admirable job of researching and narrating the events at Masada. She describes the time, place and culture of the ancient Hebrews with great detail.
However, in terms of the fictional part of the nove...more
In terms of the history, Hoffman has done an admirable job of researching and narrating the events at Masada. She describes the time, place and culture of the ancient Hebrews with great detail.
However, in terms of the fictional part of the nove...more
Jan 09, 2012Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Judea AD 70 ...'The First Jewish-Roman War'
In the years after the destruction of the second temple, approx. 900 Jewish rebels and their families fled Jerusalem and took refuge in the fortress of Masada in the Judean desert.
Women Dovekeeper's: collecting birds eggs, gathering droppings to ferlise the fortress's orchard's.
These women tending to the Masada's dovecotes, formed a small community within a larger one. They each bring their conflicts with them. They live with guilt, grief, loss, famil...more
In the years after the destruction of the second temple, approx. 900 Jewish rebels and their families fled Jerusalem and took refuge in the fortress of Masada in the Judean desert.
Women Dovekeeper's: collecting birds eggs, gathering droppings to ferlise the fortress's orchard's.
These women tending to the Masada's dovecotes, formed a small community within a larger one. They each bring their conflicts with them. They live with guilt, grief, loss, famil...more
Apr 20, 2015Mandy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Once again a book I picked up because of book club. One of the few books I have read in my life that made me sob like a baby at the end. I've heard they're making this into a mini series and I can't wait for it if they do. I enjoyed the four stories of the women and how they meshed together. An emotional ride for anyone who reads. Such an outstanding work of art based on four women who come together and become family despite their backgrounds. Really enjoyed!
Mar 07, 2017Camie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
This book has been called Alice Hoffman's masterpiece, her most ambitious and mesmerizing writing, and I surely agree. This is the richly told story of four strong and mysterious women from diverse paths who find themselves drawn together as sacred dovekeepers for the 900 Jews who held off the fierce Roman army for months in the Judean desert at the mountain fortress Masada. No doubt you know something about the famous siege, and this great fictional (yet fact related tale) has all of the ancien...more
May 11, 2012Rachelle Urist rated it did not like it · review of another edition
It's pure soap opera. When the story's moving, it engages. Otherwise, it's stagnant and annoying.
This book has the nasty whiff of Anita Diamont: phony historicity; extraneous research thrown in because she has it, not because it fits; names of objects (e.g.: 'birthing stool') that are never explained (probably because the author is clueless about its use); predictable outcomes (of course Yael will fall in love with the enslaved legionnaire); repetitive themes and phrases, ponderous and heavy-han...more
This book has the nasty whiff of Anita Diamont: phony historicity; extraneous research thrown in because she has it, not because it fits; names of objects (e.g.: 'birthing stool') that are never explained (probably because the author is clueless about its use); predictable outcomes (of course Yael will fall in love with the enslaved legionnaire); repetitive themes and phrases, ponderous and heavy-han...more
Oct 16, 2011Diane S ☔ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
What an amazingly powerful novel about the fall of Jerusalem and Masada. This took Hoffman five years to write and it is said to be her masterpiece, which for me it was. Four women of uncommon strength of will, magic , love and their quest for survival. Her writing is flawless, one feels the barrenness and the struggle for life in the dessert, their torment as they watch their family members taken from them, yet find the will to go on. Trying to keep their faith in God intact and find a way to r...more
Apr 16, 2019Linda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
This was more like a 10 star for me.....think it’s her best yet that I have had the pleasure to read. This novel just touches on so many conditions of human struggles, & no more than the times of Roman conquerers trying to wipe out the Jews, by attacking on their home grounds. The four main characters are women, who come up against the worst of times, and never give up. It is a story of their loves in life, that wasn’t exactly a rose garden.....very strong heroines, can’t pick a favorite, lo...more
Jun 03, 2012Mandy R rated it it was ok · review of another edition
The only reason I would give this book 2 Stars is due to the amount of research that Alice Hoffman had obviously put into this novel, which I certainly appreciated. Honestly though, I think that this roughly 500 page book could have been done in about 200 pages.
Poetic descriptions saturated this novel, making for an incredibly dull read. When an author spends two pages describing wind I would rather not read it. I get it, it's windy! It has no bearing on the plot, would you please move on with t...more
Poetic descriptions saturated this novel, making for an incredibly dull read. When an author spends two pages describing wind I would rather not read it. I get it, it's windy! It has no bearing on the plot, would you please move on with t...more
Jun 18, 2012Colleen rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Wow, a lot going on here. A bit repetitive and mighty superstitious, ancient times are presented here in a not-too-graphic presentation. My first Alice Hoffman, but I have some more of hers to read on my list. This book has been on my TBR since 2012, so I am happy to report finishing, and well worth it.
Herbane, holy plant.
Burned amulets at roots offering to Ashtoresh, goddess watch in time of strife.
Recipe book for human heart, all we know and all experienced contained there.
May 29, 2013Susan rated it did not like it · review of another editionHerbane, holy plant.
Burned amulets at roots offering to Ashtoresh, goddess watch in time of strife.
Recipe book for human heart, all we know and all experienced contained there.
Recommends it for: anyone who has a table with one leg an inch too short
I wore garments of green, white, and blue as I traversed the distance from my chamber to the chamber of Lynda, who lives in a county where rivers run not to the great inland sea where I can watch the sun rise every morning, but to the river that once formed the boundary between our land and lands of the Spanish Empire before an audacious Corsican who tried to conquer all of Europe agreed to sell them to the United States under President Thomas Jefferson.
Moving toward the setting of the sun, whi...more
Apr 02, 2012Tania rated it it was amazing · review of another editionMoving toward the setting of the sun, whi...more
Shelves: favorite-books, best, historical-fiction
The desire for Jerusalem was a fire that could not be quenched. There was a spark inside that holiest of holy places that made people want to possess it, and what men yearn for they often destroy.
I've realized that when I rate a book on GR, four stars mean that it's a really good book and that I would highly recommend it to most people, but when I rate a book five stars it mostly means that there was a personal connection with the book. This was definitely the case with The Dovekeepers, although...more
Sep 12, 2018Sharon Metcalf rated it liked it · review of another edition
Alice Hoffman Aquamarine
3.5 stars
There was something about Alice Hoffman's work of Historical Fiction -The Dovekeepers- that had me feeling ambivalent. Yes, I liked it but I wasn't as enraptured by it as other GR friends were.
Set in Israel in 71 CE most of the story took place within the walls of the Masada fortress. Having fled Jerusalem after the Romans stormed in and massacred the locals, the four female protagonists had each found their way through the harshest conditions, overcoming all manner of challenges and h...more
There was something about Alice Hoffman's work of Historical Fiction -The Dovekeepers- that had me feeling ambivalent. Yes, I liked it but I wasn't as enraptured by it as other GR friends were.
Set in Israel in 71 CE most of the story took place within the walls of the Masada fortress. Having fled Jerusalem after the Romans stormed in and massacred the locals, the four female protagonists had each found their way through the harshest conditions, overcoming all manner of challenges and h...more
Oct 20, 2018Amanda - Mrs B's Book Reviews rated it it was ok · review of another edition
*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
The Dovekeepers, published in 2011, is the first historical fiction tale written by Alice Hoffman, of Practical Magic fame. Prolific author Toni Morrison describes The Dovekeepers as ‘A major contribution to 21st century literature’. The Dovekeepers is ambitious and it certainly has an important role in educating the audience about the plight of nine hundred Jews that converged on the mountain region of Masada to escape the Roman army in 70 CE. It is a tower...more
The Dovekeepers, published in 2011, is the first historical fiction tale written by Alice Hoffman, of Practical Magic fame. Prolific author Toni Morrison describes The Dovekeepers as ‘A major contribution to 21st century literature’. The Dovekeepers is ambitious and it certainly has an important role in educating the audience about the plight of nine hundred Jews that converged on the mountain region of Masada to escape the Roman army in 70 CE. It is a tower...more
Mar 02, 2012Ben Kane rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Every December, I trawl through the newspaper articles 'Best Books of the Year', noting down any titles that appeal to me. I'm picky, so it's usually only a few. In December 2011, The Dovekeepers was one of two titles that I wrote down. I'm usually pleased by these choices, recommended by other authors or academics, but rarely am I transported the way that I was upon reading this magical book.
Other reviewers have ably described the plotline, so I won't go into it here. Suffice it to say that the...more
Aug 05, 2017Kathleen rated it it was amazing · review of another editionOther reviewers have ably described the plotline, so I won't go into it here. Suffice it to say that the...more
The Dovekeepers Alice Hoffman Download Torrent Free
Shelves: 5-star-books, audio, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, read-in-2017
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Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The Rules of Magic, The Marriage of Opposites, Practical Magic, The Red Garden, the Oprah’s Book Club selection Here on Earth, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, and The Dovekeepers. She lives near Boston.
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“Here is the riddle of love: Everything it gives to you, it takes away.” — 117 likes
“I knew what it was to yearn for a life so distant it seemed that it had never been anything more than a dream.” — 67 likes
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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.
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Almost too dense to bear, Hoffman's 23rd novel is brimming with doom, based on the story of the mass suicide of Jewish Zealots at Masada as recorded by the historian Josephus. Set in the first century, the blood-soaked saga unfolds from the perspectives of four courageous Jewish women whose lives converge in the dovecotes of the rebel desert stronghold. Yael is an assassin's daughter who flees Jerusalem as it falls to the Romans, arriving pregnant with the child of her father's married colleague. Revka, her husband murdered by the Romans, comes with her two grandsons, rendered mute after witnessing their mother's disembowelment by Roman soldiers. Shirah, from Alexandria, possibly a witch, brings her beautiful daughter Aziza, who having learned the ways of men among the tribesmen of Moab, uses her warrior's skills to fight in this last stand against the Roman legions. Suspicious of one another early on, the women, each with her own secrets and talents, powerful lovers and magical spells, soon develop a loyalty so fierce that they are willing to sacrifice everything for each other and for the children they are entrusted with. Hoffman (Here on Earth) can tell a tale and knows about creating compassionate characters, but the leaden archaic prose style she uses tells more than it shows. Massive descriptive paragraphs slow the action, until, by the end, the reader is simply worn out.
The Dovekeepers
Absolutely loved this book. I found myself thinking about the tragic lives of the characters throughout my day... Couldn't wait to get home to read more. Beautifully written, sad but empowering, truly one of the best books I have read in a very long time.
Challenging and Rewarding
I love books like this and The Red Tent, that blend history with biblical stories told from the oft-overlooked women's perspective. While many of this genre are fairly easy reads, Alice Hoffman's style tends to be more literary than most. But that shouldn't be a deterrent from this fully realized story. In my case it meant I needed to slow down and read a bit more carefully in order to appreciate and savor the nuances of the tale.
The Dovekeepers
Extraordinary!
Characters were so finely drawn l will miss them for a long time.
This is a book to enjoy for the first read and to chew slowly and savor for each additional read.
Well written and a treat for the senses; spicy, sweet, pungent and aromatic.
I highly recommend this fascinating, well researched, epic story of women, religion, magic, love and salvation.
Characters were so finely drawn l will miss them for a long time.
This is a book to enjoy for the first read and to chew slowly and savor for each additional read.
Well written and a treat for the senses; spicy, sweet, pungent and aromatic.
I highly recommend this fascinating, well researched, epic story of women, religion, magic, love and salvation.