Currently it’s past mid April and here I am posting March readings! What a responsible grade 12 student! Anyways, here is a short summary on last months reading progression. 

I completed The Red Tent closer to the beginning of the month and it is an experience I will always remember. The bible mainly focuses on the roles of man, and if I am not mistaken, all of the authors of the Bible are males. That right there gives us an idea of how much perspective we have into the lives of women during the historical ages. In this particular novel, Anita Diamant showcases the perspective of women through the life journey of Dinah – a very minor character from the book of Genesis. Diamant reveals the traditions and sufferings of ancient women by creating a story that explores womanhood from every aspect. It beings with the story of the four mothers of Dinah, progressing into the life of Dinah and how she was raised. It reveals many ancient secrets, one of them being the world of the red tent. Being fairly familiar with the content of the story as written in the Bible, there were some major differences in the occurrence of certain events. For this reason, I cannot accept Diamant’s novel as anything more than fiction. Nonetheless, it was an excellent read and I would recommended it to anyone interested in topics like ancient biblical history or oppression and role of women in society. 

The second book I completed in this month was the Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. I would never run out of things to say about this book; Hoffman spent nearly five years in research and writing to complete this novel and the effort is well evident in the story. Set in 70 C.E. Israel, this novel explores the life of four courageous, ambitious, and fiercely independent woman as they fought their way through the period of the destruction of Israel. After Israel fell to the power of the Babylonian Empire in B.C. 606, they nations sovereignty and safety was completely lost. Over the years, power shifted from the Babylonians to the Medio-Persians, from the Medio-Persians to the Greeks, and finally from the Greeks to the Romans. During the time of the novel, Roman governing had become cruel beyond measure and the Israelites were forced to leave their sacred city to the desert in seek of refuge. In the novel, Hoffman introduces  four woman, each from very different walks of life, that come to the Masada (an ancient fortification in the Southern part of Israel located on top of an isolated rock plateau) in seek for refuge and escape from cruelty. The first character we encounter is Yael. Her mother died during childbirth, her father never loved her, but her courage, willpower, and independence echoes as the roar of a lioness. Revka escapes to Masada with her two small grandsons after witnessing the gruesome murder of her beautiful daughter by the Roman soldiers. Aziza, a warriors daughter raised as a son demonstrates extraordinary strength – however falls in love with a fellow soldier. And then we have Shirah; skilled in the field of ancient magic, medicine, and other spiritually crafts. These four women interweave into each others life, demonstrating the power and strength of woman in a forsaken world.     

My last and final book was I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. I’m not going into much detail of the book as the post is already getting way to long! I read this book because my group is presenting it at our next book club. I liked the book, but unfortunately not 5 star worthy. Zusak is an amazing writing – I will never say oppose that because I love his other book, The Book Thief. Although this book was humorous, light, and enjoyable, I didn’t feel as excited to continue, nether did I feel satisfied after completing – I guess what I am trying to say is that it wasn’t overall that powerful.

As for my reading goals for next month, well, I would like to finish Dorian Grey, especially considering that my AP exam is coming up. However, I’m lacking the interest to continue reading. Aside from that, I want to read poetry books; I haven’t ever committed to any poetry books, but considering our next unit in class, I would like to give it a try. Some books I have in mind are Milk and Honey & The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur.