The Dovekeepers
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Aya Cash
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Jessica Hecht
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Tovah Feldshuh
About this listen
Over five years in the writing, Alice Hoffman’s most ambitious and mesmerizing work ever, a triumph of imagination and research set in ancient Israel.
The author of such iconic bestsellers as Illumination Night, Practical Magic, Fortune’s Daughter, and Oprah’s Book Club selection Here on Earth, Alice Hoffman is one of the most popular and memorable writers of her generation. Now, in The Dovekeepers, Hoffman delivers her most masterful work yet - one that draws on her passion for mythology, magic, and archaeology and her inimitable understanding of women.
In 70 C.D., nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on a mountain in the Judean desert, Masada. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic historical event, Hoffman weaves a spellbinding tale of four extraordinary, bold, resourceful, and sensuous women, each of whom comes to Masada by a different path. Yael’s mother died in childbirth, and her father never forgave her for that death. Revka, a village baker’s wife, watched the horrifically brutal murder of her daughter by Roman soldiers; she brings to Masada her twin grandsons, rendered mute by their own witness. Aziza is a warrior’s daughter, raised as a boy, a fearless rider and expert marksman, who finds passion with another soldier. Shirah is wise in the ways of ancient magic and medicine, a woman with uncanny insight and power. The lives of these four complex and fiercely independent women intersect in the desperate days of the siege, as the Romans draw near. All are dovekeepers, and all are also keeping secrets - about who they are, where they come from, who fathered them, and whom they love.
This novel is Alice Hoffman’s masterpiece.
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Long ago when the Earth was flat, beautiful, indifferent Gods lived in the airy Upperearth realm above; curious, passionate demons lived in the exotic Underearth realm below; and mortals were relegated to exist in the middle. Azhrarn, Lord of the Demons and the Darkness, was the one who ruled the night, and many mortal lives were changed because of his cruel whimsy. And yet, Azhrarn held inside his demon heart a profound mystery which would change the very fabric of the Flat Earth forever.
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A gothic fairytale
- By KH on 04-10-12
By: Tanith Lee
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The Architect's Apprentice
- By: Elif Shafak
- Narrated by: Piter Marek
- Length: 16 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1540, 12-year-old Jahan arrives in Istanbul. As an animal tamer in the sultan's menagerie, he looks after the exceptionally smart elephant Chota and befriends (and falls for) the sultan's beautiful daughter Princess Mihrimah. A palace education leads Jahan to Mimar Sinan, the empire's chief architect, who takes Jahan under his wing as they construct (with Chota's help) some of the most magnificent buildings in history.
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I feel like I should like it more than I do
- By nyog on 04-19-17
By: Elif Shafak
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Jesus
- A Novel
- By: Walter Wangerin Jr.
- Narrated by: Walter Wangerin Jr.
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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With eloquence and beauty, the award-winning author of The Book of the Dun Cow, The Book of God, and Paul: A Novel, turns his pen to history's most compelling figure, Jesus of Nazareth. In vibrant language, Walter Wangerin, Jr. sweeps away centuries of tradition and reveals a man of flesh-and-heart immediacy. Passionate, intelligent, and irresistibly real, this is a Jesus pulsing with life, who will captivate you as thoroughly as he did the men and women who walked with him across Galilee's golden countryside.
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Terrible
- By Donald on 12-25-05
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The Mists of Avalon
- By: Marion Zimmer Bradley
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 50 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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A posthumous recipient of the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, Marion Zimmer Bradley reinvented - and rejuvenated - the King Arthur mythos with her extraordinary Mists of Avalon series. In this epic work, Bradley follows the arc of the timeless tale from the perspective of its previously marginalized female characters: Celtic priestess Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar, and High Priestess Viviane.
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Davina Porter brings an old favorite back to life!
- By Carolina on 07-13-12
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Lavinia
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Highly acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin lends a resonant voice to a pivotal yet often overlooked character of Vergil's The Aeneid. Born into peace and freedom, Lavinia is stunned to learn that she will be the cause of a great war - or so the prophecies and omens claim. Her fate is sealed, however, when she meets a man from Troy.
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Fascinatingly well written
- By Kennet on 03-11-09
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Only the Stones Survive
- By: Morgan Llywelyn
- Narrated by: Michael Healy
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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For centuries the Túatha Dé Danann lived in peace on an island where time flowed more slowly and the seasons were gentle - until that peace was shattered by the arrival of invaders. The Gaels, the Children of Milesios, came looking for easy riches and conquest, following the story of an island to the west where their every desire could be granted. They had not anticipated that it would already be home to others, and against the advice of their druids, they began to exterminate the Túatha Dé Danann.
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Preferred audio to print
- By Heather Cooper on 02-09-17
By: Morgan Llywelyn
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Shaman's Crossing, Book One of the Soldier Son Trilogy
- By: Robin Hobb
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Hugo and Nebula Award finalist Robin Hobb crafts intricate fantasy tales featuring larger-than-life characters and exotic landscapes. Nevare Burvelle survives the King’s Cavalla Academy—where nepotism and corruption reign—to become a soldier in the Gernian king’s army. As he and his fellow soldiers are thrust onto the front lines of the king’s brutal territorial expansion campaign, they struggle against the Plainspeople—forest-dwellers who possess a powerful magic long dismissed by the Gernians.
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Sometimes Magic Isn't A Good Thing
- By Therese M. Woolley on 10-18-13
By: Robin Hobb
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Buddha
- A Story of Enlightenment
- By: Deepak Chopra
- Narrated by: Deepak Chopra
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Deepak Chopra brings the Buddha back to life in this gripping account of the young prince who abandoned his inheritance to discover his true calling. This iconic journey changed the world forever, and the truths revealed continue to influence every corner of the globe today.
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Excellent +++++
- By Daniel on 04-17-09
By: Deepak Chopra
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Illuminations
- A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen
- By: Mary Sharratt
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Skillfully interweaving historical fact with psychological insight and vivid imagination, Sharratt's redemptive novel brings to life one of the most extraordinary women of the Middle Ages: Hildegard von Bingen, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. Offered to the Church at the age of eight, Hildegard was entombed in a small room where she was expected to live out her days in silent submission as the handmaiden of a renowned but disturbed young nun, Jutta von Sponheim.
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Strong woman; weak novel
- By connie on 12-01-12
By: Mary Sharratt
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The Greener Shore
- A Novel of the Druids of Hibernia
- By: Morgan Llywelyn
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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After Julius Caesar triumphs over Gaul, the druid Ainvar and his three wives sail west to the brilliant green island of Hibernia. Here, Ainvar and his clan try to reestablish themselves.
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Captivating
- By PhoenixMark on 02-22-07
By: Morgan Llywelyn
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Nice, gentle story for when you feel bad.
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Growing up on idyllic St. Thomas in the early 1800s, Rachel dreams of life in faraway Paris. Rachel's mother, a pillar of their small refugee community of Jews who escaped the Inquisition, has never forgiven her daughter for being a difficult girl who refuses to live by the rules. Growing up, Rachel's salvation is their maid Adelle's belief in her strengths and her deep, lifelong friendship with Jestine, Adelle's daughter. But Rachel's life is not her own.
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An exquisite story about love and libraries.
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Each of three sisters—Elv, Claire, and Meg—has a fate she must meet alone: one on a country road, one in the streets of Paris, and one in the corridors of her own imagination. Inhabiting their world are a charismatic man who cannot tell the truth, a neighbor who is not who he appears to be, a clumsy boy in Paris who falls in love and stays there, a detective who finds his heart's desire, and a demon who will not let go. What does a mother do when one of her children goes astray? How does she save one daughter without sacrificing the others?
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The tragic story....
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Magic Lessons
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Where does the story of the Owens bloodline begin? With Maria Owens, in the 1600s, when she’s abandoned in a snowy field in rural England as a baby. Under the care of Hannah Owens, Maria learns about the “Nameless Arts". Hannah recognizes that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she knows. It is here that she learns her first important lesson: Always love someone who will love you back.
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short stories
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Twig lives in Sidwell, where people whisper that fairy tales are real. After all, her town is rumored to hide a monster. And 200 years ago, a witch placed a curse on Twig's family that was meant to last forever. But this summer, everything will change when the red moon rises. It's time to break the spell.
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In this haunting short story of loyalty and betrayal, a young woman in early 1900s Massachusetts discovers that in navigating her treacherous coming-of-age, she must find her voice first. For fatefully observant Adeline, growing up carries an ominous warning from her adulterous mother: don’t say a word. Adeline vows to never speak again. But that’s not her only secret. After her mother takes a housekeeping job at a lighthouse off the tip of Cape Ann, a local woman vanishes. The key to the mystery lies with Adeline, the silent witness.
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This story is incredible
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Illumination Night
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Illumination Night follows the lives of a young blond giant who is as beautiful as he is frightening; an old woman at the end of her life whose last mission is to save her granddaughter's soul; a family torn apart by a wife's fears and a husband's unrealized desires; and the high school girl who comes to Martha's Vineyard against her will, who steals husbands and cars, and who will bring everyone together in a web of yearning, sin, and ultimate redemption.
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Didn't like the characters but....
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The Daughters of Mars
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Naomi and Sally Durance are daughters of a dairy farmer from the Macleay Valley. Bound together in complicity by what they consider a crime, when the Great War begins in 1914 they hope to submerge their guilt by leaving for Europe to nurse the tides of young wounded. They head for the Dardanelles on the hospital ship Archimedes. Their education in medicine, valour, and human degradation continues on the Greek island of Lemnos, then on the Western Front. Here, new outrages - gas, shell-shock - present themselves.
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Interesting WWI novel with an Australian bent
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By: Tom Keneally
What listeners say about The Dovekeepers
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kate
- 10-14-11
Draining story - but beautifully written/told
Do not 'read' this if you are depressed. The writing is lovely. The narration is incredible. But your heart will break again & again. I'm torn between my appreciate for the wonderful aspects of this story & the sadness it drew out of me. I guess that's a sign of a good book.
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61 people found this helpful
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- Mel
- 11-16-11
No Olive Branch
There is no peace to be found here, there is no olive branch... Suspicious, guarded, and impassioned, four disparate women find themselves in the ancient and foreboding fortress of Masada only to realize that for them, there is no refuge-- from mankind, or destiny. While dutifully tending the doves, their stories and secrets unfold and their lives entwine through creative and talented writing by Hoffman, and nicely performed narration. With the ferocity of the warriors they are surrounded by, and their inherent spirit, the women come to embody and protect those very traits the doves they care for symbolize: family and love, gentleness and peace. While each narration is compelling, I found the historical research and wonderfully detailed descriptions--ancient Masada (with its mysterious and mystical history), and the austere beauty of the Judean desert--to be the sensory hooks that kept my interest more so than the characters. I understand the technical difficulties that are inherent in pulling 4 distinct personalities from one head, and with that said, there are times during the narration that the characters lose their individuality and definition, causing the tight thread of a great story to slacken a bit. The genre of "Magical Realism" is difficult for analytical readers...When characters possess such prescience, the ability to think beyond societal parameteers with the wisdom of centuries, AND magical powers, I always end up asking myself, "so, why are they in such predicaments;" if they can conjure the rains and summon spirits, why don't they find better living quarters, monogamous mates, a decent meal? As the novel concludes, when the pairs of doves are released from the holds of the massacred city to fly and live on, I realized the answer and who the dovekeepers are. Agree it is reminiscent of Red Tent; an entertaining and slightly haunting read to let your mind drift through, with the possible caveat to SOME male readers, there is no "kind" in mankind in this novel.
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46 people found this helpful
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- Susan
- 11-08-11
Good Story
I really enjoyed listening to this book. Although I've read the history of Masada, this book brought the place to life for me. Being the last of the Jews to hold out against the Romans, times were tough, and food became scarce.
It was interesting listening to how these women survived these tough times for a few years, and how they were all connected on some very basic levels.
The only complaint I have is that, some of the stories were redundant, as the characters lives over lapped.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Kristine
- 02-02-12
Great Read
Would you listen to The Dovekeepers again? Why?
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.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Dovekeepers?
One of the most memorable scenes was when Revka describes the death of her daughter at the hands of the Romans - and her revenge.
What about the narrators’s performance did you like?
I liked that each of the narrators's voices matched the character they were portraying and did so believably.
If you could rename The Dovekeepers, what would you call it?
The last warrior women of Masada
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- Sandra
- 11-17-11
Engaging story
I enjoy throrough character development and Alice Hoffman is always a favorite. I was not disappointed in either the story or the characters. Unfortunately, I did find that I had some difficulties listening to the first narrator. While her voice is clear and her enunciation very good, I sometimes found her rhythm distracting. At one point I actually increased the speed in order to make my way through a passage. I recommend the book, but would caution that listeners may need to take occasional breaks.
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- Eugenia
- 04-11-12
travel to Israel while reading this book.
What made the experience of listening to The Dovekeepers the most enjoyable?
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.
Who was your favorite character and why?
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.
Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
yes some of them all were very good.
If you could take any character from The Dovekeepers out to dinner, who would it be and why?
Yael and order her anything but poultry.
Any additional comments?
best read in a while ! but most of my reads from Audible are excellent.
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- vicki
- 09-29-12
Top Notch
Would you listen to The Dovekeepers again? Why?
This book was amazing, the characters were so engaging
Who was your favorite character and why?
I could not pick a favorite
Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No I haven't listened to any others of these narrators
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Where the lion sleeps
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- none
- 06-30-15
Great book
Best book ever. The readers were great, good expression without being overly dramatic. Beautiful writing. Very disappointing to come to the end of the story.
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- Adrianne
- 08-29-14
Great story! Loved reading it & listening to it.
Would you recommend The Dovekeepers to your friends? Why or why not?
I have read and listened to this story and have recommended it to others.
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- sabrina honaker
- 05-19-17
Dovekeepers
Absoulety loved it! A great book also but the soundtrack puts you there. Love it
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