Have I got a saga for you. It’s
got love stories, the supernatural and a cursed existence redeemed only in the
final act. And it involves nary a vampire. (Bet you didn’t see that one coming!)
Instead, this saga is in the form of a book of literary fiction called The
Dovekeepers. It focuses on 5 Jewish women whose suffering and kick ass
triumph over misfortune make the challenges of vamp Edward Cullen pale in
comparison.
Thirst for blood? Nah. These
ladies thirst for water, revenge and a sense of hope. You see the story’s set
2,000 years ago, and they’ve narrowly escaped murderous Romans in Jerusalem.
Separately, these gals stagger through the desert and find a home in a souped
up Roman palace that a band of Jewish warriors has overtaken.
It’s 70 C.E. so you’d think the
passions that motivate these gals might be different than modern day ambitions,
but no. They’re motivated by love and friendship, protection and jealousy, same
as your average 2012 soccer mom. The stakes are higher (should they lose any of
these) so there’s lots of black magic and spell casting too.
Here’s what was particularly
great about the book: its premise is based on an event that actually happened
and artifacts that were actually found (and are currently housed in a museum).
But author Alice Hoffman made up the rest. She thought about the women who
might have lived in the fortress, and she fleshed them out so fully that these
gals could be members of your own book club, albeit with less of an interest in
a really good wine list.
The Dovekeepers is a great read
– a thoughtful look at the ways one civilization destroys its own humanity and
the steps its women take to earn it back. (Available on amazon.com for around $10.88.)
No comments:
Post a Comment