as a prelude to traveling to Israel, I started this book, knowing I would be visiting many places described in the book. I read about the hiding of children behind the waterfalls, and visited Ein Gedi. But most exhilerating was visiting Masada and seeing the ancient dovecotes, and the cistern. It was a bone chilling and exciting experience.

Of course, Yael, the main protaganist. her story of enduring forbidden stolen love and her desire to survive drove her to escape the supression of her life.

yes some of them all were very good.

Yael and order her anything but poultry.

best read in a while ! but most of my reads from Audible are excellent.

The book contains 4 stories of 4 different women, sort of like "The Help" because each one is voiced by a different actress. The best one was the older woman character (forgot her name) voiced by Tovah Feldshuh. The first woman character was flat and not compellingly read in my opinion.

I am familiar with the Jewish/Hebrew terms used throughout this book and I was surprised when a couple of the narrators got some pronunciations wrong. Why would the producers let this happen? It is so annoying! Really, it is not that hard to have someone check this before giving to the reader. It takes you out of the narrative when you are listening.

As far as the plot of the book, it is slow and builds up to the ending that everyone already knows, because everyone knows what happened at the top of Masada. But Hoffman sets up all the pieces well so that by the end, even though I think the book could have been edited down about 80 pages and still been fine, it was a satisfying ending. I was riveted by the last two discs, but before that, it took a bit of time to care about the characters. I did not mind the magic/witchcraft stuff mostly because it was historically accurate and it was not really supernatural particularly, it was just the way they believed at the time.

Some could fault some of the over-reaching prose that takes on a Biblical feel and can be over-the-top in descriptions of feelings. I certainly noticed that flaw but ignored it.

I think the author did an admirable job in setting and place and making you feel the stifling conditions of the book. She even did not necessarily consider these ancient zealots to all be heroes as the "Masada Myth" makes them out to be in our time. They were a complex group of individuals who were not all good--they also committed atrocities as their enemies did.

All in all, a worthwhile choice for those who like brooding, dark history with a feminine perspective.

Learning the events surrounding ancient Jewish history has been of great importance in my Christian faith; the tragic incident that occurred at Masada was one such event. Although the story is semi-fictional, my being familiar with the: places, events, customs, and peoples involved made this novel a very rich and involving read. You really get into the characters, their relationships to each other and the situations surrounding them from Jerusalem, to Masada, and then... Oops, no spoilers!

This is also a good read for anyone not familiar with the occurrence at Masada or even the Jewish people, just follow the story and you will love the book.

One of the best.

When they decided who will keep and take care of their children.

Maybe when one of them reveal, after decades, she was the one who took care of Yael when she was a little girl.

This is one of the books you cannot put down. It has passion, friendship, suspense and a message to all of us about the true nature of woman, their relation to God, their friendship between women, and their capability to love and survive. Five easy stars.

Usually, I like to listen to action-packed thrillers while I exercise. But every once in a while, I download a book that’s a total departure one of my usual selections. The Dovekeepers, by Alice Hoffman was such a fortunate choice.
I found the performance to be poetic and stirring. It is the story of the Zealots, who died by their own hands on Masada after being besieged by the Tenth Roman Legion in the early part of the Common Era. I enjoyed the author’s description of ordinary life in biblical times, as told from the viewpoint of a young woman. The most interesting thing about The Dovekeepers is its use of the Bible as a guide book and a history book.
I have stood atop Masada. The ramp that was built by the Romans still stands. Herod’s castle has been restored. So, I was able to see myself taking part in page after page of this lovely book.
For me The Dovekeepers was a meaningful, carefully crafted voyage into the violent history of civilization’s earliest days.

Intriguing idea and inventive story telling, but the first story was too detailed and other stories left too much out. The pacing was off. Having a different reader for each character was terrific, but the first reader did not pronounce the Hebrew words correctly and it was terribly distracting.

I listened to The Red Garden, which was also good but not great, though the reader, Nancy Travis, was excellent.

Yes. Each had their own style, but they couldn't overcome some weaknesses in character development and pacing.

Definitely. Not sure of actresses.

I really wanted to love this book, but I didn't. There was enough that was interesting to keep me going, but it always felt a little bit like work. I was very much looking forward to the Big Speech by the group's leader (history tells that he was very eloquent), but it wasn't especially inspiring, and the female reader did a terrible job trying to sound like a man's voice. Disappointing. Not a bad book, but not as good as it could and should have been.

As an audiobook it was great

I would be unlikely to buy another book by these authors. I found myself depressed after reading it.

Yes

Michner's historical novels

yes

The characters are well-developed and true. They are very diverse and each is enjoyable and understandable. Great book about people in a historical period and their daily lives. It flowed well while incorporating many characters and many daily issues.

I would listen to this again because of the different perspectives each character brings to this story. The characters are interesting - some I could connect with while others were not good people but I still wanted to hear what they were thinking and experiencing. I really felt that listening to the audio version brought life to this book since each section was based on a different character and therefore had a different voice. Hearing the struggles each of these women go through is difficult at times, but by listening to the story you experience it with them.

One of the most memorable scenes was when Revka describes the death of her daughter at the hands of the Romans - and her revenge.

I liked that each of the narrators's voices matched the character they were portraying and did so believably.

The last warrior women of Masada

Well worth a listen. This book is both introspective and poetic, yet filled with a surrounding tension on every page. It follows the inner lives of four women, all of whom are trying to live their lives with their children and lovers while teetering on the brink of extinction.