Masada is a powerful place because it has a powerful story, and the magnitude of what happened there so long ago eloquently comes through in Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers. Told through four, first-person accounts, we re-live not only the trials on Masada itself, but the invasion of Jerusalem and the flight of the Jews from the holiest of cities.
Each narrator has a different piece of the story to tell, sharing their own struggles and sorrows even as they guide you up to the tragedy which forever marks Masada. Yael is only a child when she's forced to leave her home with a father who doesn't love her. She grows into a determined and resourceful young woman over the course of her journey. Revka is a fighter amidst all the horror and tragedy she witnesses. She's fiercely loyal to her family and friends. Aziza is trapped between genders, happiest as a warrior navigating the uncertain times by taking action. Shirah is known as the "Witch of Moab," and possess more passion and intelligence than one would imagine for a woman forced to survive on her own. All four women come together inside the dovecote as they care for the Masada doves who help sustain the community, for a time, in more ways than one.
What struck me most about this story was how unique each character was, even beyond the four, central storytellers. When you hear about Masada, from a historical perspective, the community of Jews who lived out there are just that, a big group. Because individual stories would have to be primarily fictionalized, that personal element was always missing. It never detracted from the impact of the story. It didn't stop the tears in my eyes as I watched the sun come up standing on the mountain where my ancestors gave their lives. But, I'm glad Hoffman made character development such a critical part of her story.
This really is a beautiful book, full of hope and sadness that mirrors the environment Masada was -- a temporary oasis in an unforgiving desert. Hoffman builds such complete characters into this hopeless tale, giving them so much life, that it is painful to read the inevitable as the book concludes. She makes her women smart and strong, resilient and defiant in ways that make them all survivors regardless of how the story ends. Never once did anything feel out of place in the narrative; it's a perfect combination of history and imagination.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Dovekeepers and highly recommend it. Hoffman is a favorite author of mine in general, but this departure from the relative present, so far into the past, is really something special.
Other Alice Hoffman books reviewed on this site:
2013 Reread #8
I think I will always love this book. Where else can you find so many intriguing elements mixed into one story that will pretty much always feel relevant? This book focuses on art, religion, history, the power of love, the power of enlightenment and self-awareness, and the ability of inanimate objects to grow consciousness and locomote across the country and across the world. Beyond all the strange characters and philosophizing typical of any Robbins book the heart of this story is what I've always connected with - live in the moment if you can and don't let the past dictate who you are nor the future influence who you will be. Just be you, right now.
It takes a very long time to get to this epiphany and on the journey a lot goes on for our main characters Ellen Cherry Charles and her husband, Boomer Petway. They encounter a wide range of strange characters who are all obsessed in one way or another with the same thing, the Middle East. Some characters believe the world is nearing its end and the third temple should be rebuilt at any cost, some just feel a change on the wind and want to be in Israel, and others want to set an example of how an Arab and Jew can actually get along in the hopes it will lessen the conflicts going on in that part of the world. The funny thing is though, Ellen Cherry and Boomer don't know anything about the Middle East. They come into the story totally ignorant and yet ride this wave because of random associations. And, it's really the two of them that essentially figure everything out Boomer finds the unity between Arabs and Jews through art and Ellen Cherry comes to understand the conflict through the enlightenment brought on by a very salacious dance of the seven veils.
My favorite element of this story is the inanimate objects - a spoon, a dirty sock, a can of beans, a conch shell, and a painted stick journey from the mid-west to New York City then over to Israel. Conch Shell and Painted Stick are artifacts from before the first temple in Israel who have somehow managed to survive. Robbins uses them to fill in the gaps in history since, of course, Can o' Beans is so interested in learning how the Middle Eastern conflict really got started. These characters move without a real concept of time or sense of urgency, but with a level of determination that goes beyond anything a human could muster. Eventually, Conch Shell floats across the ocean from New York to Israel with Can o' Beans riding on her. The patience and determination to accomplish that is just mind-blowing. I love the idea that the pull toward Israel is so strong, even inanimate objects feel it and gravitate toward it. It's a feeling I myself experienced when I was there visiting. There's just something about that part of the world - you feel the origins of life, of your story in the air. After visiting the country I had this residual compulsion for a few months to return and find a way to live there. Being in Israel gave me this sense of calm that I haven't had anywhere else in the world, which is a little odd when you think about it since that part of the world is anything but calm.
Using the Middle East and the long history of conflict there as the backdrop for this story was really a stroke of genius. The conflict has been going on for so long, it's not going to stop any time soon, so this book will always have a relevant element to it. The idea of peace as well is never going out of style, and a tandem theme to any conflict as long-going as this one. It's a way to talk about grudges and peace and learning to let go in a context that everyone can relate to. If you're not directly involved in the conflict or haven't been learning about it your whole life because you're either Arab or Jewish, you've watched the news, you've seen the craziness that goes on over there, you understand.
This is just a long, strange, trip of a book and an amazing read that I still, after letting it sit on my shelf for over a decade, would recommend to anyone looking for something a little off the beaten path of today's popular fiction.
