A review by nglofile
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
3.0
At first this book was a battle, but ultimately it became a rewarding one. The opening character is kept at arm's length for her entire initial POV, and that's difficult for any reader to accept. The good news is that as layers and interconnection are introduced, the thoughtfulness of the story is revealed. At times it suffers under its own weight, but it will make for an exciting discussion. As I compared notes with a colleague, I was stunned at how energized I was to talk about the book -- both in a pair and eventually in a full group.
audiobook note: I simply must attribute part of my struggle with this book with the lackluster audio production. The readings were softly atonal, and because it was true of all four narrators (admittedly, to different degrees), I'm supposing it was part of the direction. The absence of variation and expression made already difficult material that much more disengaging. The story felt as though it were being recited rather than told, and certainly not performed. Intense doesn't have to translate as uniformly melancholy, and any worries I was being too hard on the narration were dismissed as I transitioned into a different audiobook with weighty themes but that both captivated and transported me from the very first lines.
audiobook note: I simply must attribute part of my struggle with this book with the lackluster audio production. The readings were softly atonal, and because it was true of all four narrators (admittedly, to different degrees), I'm supposing it was part of the direction. The absence of variation and expression made already difficult material that much more disengaging. The story felt as though it were being recited rather than told, and certainly not performed. Intense doesn't have to translate as uniformly melancholy, and any worries I was being too hard on the narration were dismissed as I transitioned into a different audiobook with weighty themes but that both captivated and transported me from the very first lines.