Review: The Dovekeepers

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I started this book (with high hopes) on April 17, 2012. I finished it today, July 10, 2012. It took me three months to read it. Why?

The first half of the book was why. The “voice” of the first character was too “melodious” for my taste. The writing, which I guess aimed for a dreamy/ethereal feel, became insufferable at times. Okay, most of the time. So a few weeks into the plot, I decided to put the book down. I was even tempted to put it away for good (The writing was too gushy I felt I was getting a toothache every time I would try reading it again).

When I decided, once and for all, to finish it this week, I suddenly noticed the plot picking up pace. Maybe I liked the characters more (the book, by the way, is divided into four parts—with the four main women characters speaking for each part), and I could see glimpses of the Alice Hoffman who wrote Here on Earth. However, the sappy reflections masquerading as frilly, frilly sentences still abound—becoming overwhelming at times. Good thing I managed to read through them and see the book redeem itself in the end.

I can understand why the author got carried away with her writing, though. The topic, the siege of Masada, is a goldmine of potential (fictional) novels: dark, mysterious, unverified, and “romantic.” You could see this potential in the last few pages of the book, when Hoffman was tackling the actual siege and the “suicides.” Those few pages, by the way, exhibited the book’s strength—when it actually dealt (head-on) with the Masada story.

The book, for me, held much prospect. Strong characters, fancy words and equally fancy reflections (while most fell flat, some were actually insightful), promising story and ambiance. Too bad it had the tendency of falling victim to the maudlin. Like a pretty girl with too much make-up.




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