What a gloriously soul-wrenching masterpiece! I stumbled upon this book while playing my favorite game at the library, in which I randomly choose an aisle and go treasure-hunting. I had not heard of this book or this author, and I won't lie; I was first drawn to this book due to the photograph on the cover of the young woman with eyes that looked into my very soul.
In this haunting tale centered around four women dwelling in the Jewish stronghold of Masada during the Roman siege, Hoffman draws the reader in word by word in such a fashion as to render everything else in life meaningless. I found, by necessity, that I simply had to put the book down every couple of chapters to come up for air and contemplate life. Ordinarily I prefer a book that I can dive into for hours on end, but this required so much of my emotional energy that it was impossible to dive in for too long. This was a tale to be savored bit by bit. Upon completion of the book, I sat on my couch in silence for a good ten minutes before getting up and resuming my life.
This book is dark. This book is light. This book is heartbreaking and it is triumphant. A testament to the human spirit in the face of unimaginable conditions (although Hoffman has imagined them fully and beautifully.)
The book does contain some adult themes, so I would not recommend it for teens, except under their parent's approval.
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