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Summary: Vivid, great writing--very special
Review: As a Jewish woman, and avid reader of historical fiction, this was a great find for me. The evocation of the lives and relationships of Jacob's wives with one another is stunningly written. It's a beautiful book.Sections of it drag a little. The scenes in Rebecca's shrine at Mamre and some of the sections set in Egypt seemed more like a stock fatasy novel than the rest of the book, and I found they broke the spell a little. Also, I wish some of the religious tensions had been better articulated. But these are fairly minor quibbles--and I agree with the reader above that if Anita Diamant wrote a book about Esther, I would camp out in front of my bookstore to get to it as soon as possible. Get this for your daughter. A must read book.
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Summary: A lovely book that can truly touch the goddess in all women!
Review: Anita Diament has brought to us an inspiring novel describing the world of women in the days of Jacob, Rachel and Leah. Dinah is the only daughter of Jacob and Leah; the book is written in her voice. This compelling story brings the women of the old testament out of the shadows of the patriarchy and allows us to become intimately acquainted with the matrelinial lineage of Genesis. We are invited into the "red tent:" the dwelling where women spend their moon time, give birth, and recover postpartum. We follow Rachel and Dinah through their careers as midwives. We experience Dinahs sorrow when her brothers avenge the "disgrace" of her royal marriage. And we follow Dinah into a new life in a new land and her subsequent happiness and fulfillment. This book will make you cry with joy for Dinah's life journey. It is not often that we are exposed to the stories of the biblical women and Ms. Diament is a gifted storyteller; there could be no better voice!
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Summary: A Winner!
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. It has a great story, and the writing is very good. The vivid descriptions really make you feel that you were there. When "Deena" spends years in isolation, you actually feel the boredom and time slipping away. I'm not sure why I don't rate this 5 stars--it doesn't quite make my list of the very best books I've ever read. Maybe because of the ending--it seemed a bit lackluster and not in pace with the rest of the book.
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Summary: Captured my mind and heart.
Review: Woke up at 5:30 am just to have more time to read! I really loved this book.
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Summary: The Book Of Genesis told by women~
Review: i thought this book was inspiring. it amazed me how Diamant could have included Dina as part of genesis story and tell the biblical version in her point of view. i have read the bible and believe that this is a great novel for both believers and non-believers. it is long but totally worth the time to read. may God bless and keep you always.
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Summary: Absolute celebration of women in every role
Review: I am not Jewish. I am not Christian. Yet this author captured my undivided attention for the two days it took me to completely read. I was not familiar with the story of Dinah nor Jacob for that matter, but now I thirst for more. I never wanted to leave the lives of Jacob's wives.
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Summary: If only it was totally fiction
Review: This was a good story, even with the too strong anti-male tone. Even that wouldn't have been so bad, had the author not chosen to base this story on real people. I would've rather her have completely made up the story, including the characters, rather than trying to tie it in to anything that actually happened or anyone who actually lived.
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Summary: It was as if I lived in that world
Review: This was a beautiful, odd, sometimes painful, often thrilling book. I couldn't put it down, and finished it at 1 am, two days after I started it. I felt it had the best ending of any book I ever read. Pure poetry.
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Summary: Women need to share this book; Men need to understand it
Review: Anita Diamant's novel, a retelling of parts of the book of Genesis, evokes the world of ancient Canaan and Egypt in realistic terms. In the course of the biography, narrator Dinah tells of the hearts and life-cycles of women with undying resonance. This book has something for any interest - the studies of history, religion, relations between the sexes, or even just finely crafted sentences and stories - but more than this, the book helped me to understand the life of a woman in a way I never did before. I am going to share this book with all the women in my life, certain that my mother will cry over Dinah's fortunes and misfortunes. This work should be on everyone's bookshelf, revisited often and often, and well worn.
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Summary: Wonderful - I couldn't put it down!
Review: This is a marvelous book. It takes you right into the life of women in ancient biblical times. Ms. Diamant wove a fascinating tale of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob. We are all familiar with the tale of Joseph, her brother, but I had never read anything on Dinah. The author's description of life in Canaan and Egypt was very vivid. You feel as if you are there. It is a very moving story, and one I would recommend to everyone with an interest in historical/biblical fiction. I look forward to other books by Anita Diamant.
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