The Dovekeepers (Alice Hoffman)

Profoundly moving, Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers is historical fiction but thoroughly researched.  Since it was so long ago, no one can be totally sure of all the facts surrounding the Roman siege on Masada, but Hoffman's novel about one of the most important events in Jewish history is an important read for everyone.

The Dovekeepers tells the tale of four women with separate stories who, against all odds, make it across the desert to escape the Roman persecution in Jerusalem.  Each one is unforgettable and so important to Masada's narrative; how their stories, along with those of the men in their lives, eventually intertwine makes Hoffman's novel multilayered and rich.  What happened at Masada is not a secret, and knowing how these people would eventually take their fates into their own hands is both utterly inspirational and completely heartbreaking.

Hoffman is a responsible teller of this early historical event.  The book never goes overboard with the dramatics, as a novel like this shouldn't. I highly recommend The Dovekeepers for those who want to learn more about Masada's horror.

MY RATING - 4

Auf Wiedersehen: World War II Through the Eyes of a German Girl (Christa Holder Ocker)

As a teacher, I was extremely interested in reading this book. I thought it would be a quick read and something that I could use with my students during our unit on World War II. I was mistaken on both of these counts.

Ms. Ocker is "Christa", telling the story of her childhood in Germany during the collapse of the Third Reich. It begins with her family being forced out of their comfortable home in Gorlitz and made to move to a boardinghouse in Apolda. Christa tries to have a normal childhood with puppet shows and puppy love crushes. Getting to America is their goal where new opportunities abound. There are a few profound passages where Christa intersperses what she is doing on any given day compared to what is going on in the concentration camps in other parts of the country.

This book is definitely not for children, as some descriptions are in graphic gratuitous detail. While I wanted to like this book, I felt like it was better served as a private journal. Ms. Ocker wanted us to know what life was like as a German girl during World War II. She succeeded in that fact. However, I felt like she was trying to make the reader feel sympathy for her for having to eat horse meat and for giving up her favorite puppet to a Russian soldier. Knowing the atrocities that Jewish people faced in concentration camps, I personally found this difficult to do.

MY RATING - 2

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