The Dovekeepers

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman is an Israeli story about the battle of the Masada in 74 C.E. Roman forces had already captured Jerusalem and completely destroyed the second temple. The Romans had captured or killed all other Jews, but the warriors of the fortress, built on a high plateau overlooking the Dead Sea on the edge of the Judean desert, were the last ones to succumb to the Roman power. The Jewish warriors numbered only 960, and the Romans had 6,000 troops. The siege lasted more than a year. It was close to night time when the Roman’s finally breeched the fortress defenses, and then they retreated until morning. Upon seeing that their defeat was inevitable, the remaining Jews completed a mass suicide so they would not meet with the same fate as others who confronted the might of the Roman legions.

This story is about four women who found their way to the fortress and participated in life there. I must tell you that while I love historical fiction, this award winning book did not capture my interest. I got through the story of the first woman, Yael, and at the 30% mark of the book, decided it was time to venture back to the genre that interests me so much more. I think this particular book would do much better in a blog entitled “women reading books.”