Rating: 
Summary: A must read for all women!
Review: This was perhaps the best book I have read in ages. This book was selected for my book club and I was not thrilled when I was told the premise of the book; however, I was plesantly surprised. Such a richly woven story, it is incredibly moving and reminds us what it is to be a woman.
Rating: 
Summary: Biblical Disappointment
Review: The Red Tent appears tells an interesting story about a family that could have lived in hte times of Jacob and Joseph. Unfortunately, there are discrepancies between the portrayal of this family and values that would be consistant with prophets of God. Instead of being uplifting and inspiring it was at times dark and discouraging. I would not recommend this read to others.
Rating:
Summary: 5
Review: this was the best book i read last summer- it deserves Five Stars
Rating: 
Summary: Worth the read
Review: Historical accuracy is not an essential ingredient in a midrash or any other fictional work, so while I am a biblically based person, I am not at all inclined to use the term 'blasphemy,' as several in my book club have. I was, however, disappointed in the amount of vulgarity. Diamant had the choice to write of sunsets or birthing bricks. Sure, they were a shepherding family - common folk in simple times - but their acts with sheep could have been a bit more inspirational. While I appreciated the topic and enjoyed some of the story line, I found Diamant's negativism disappointing. Perhaps one should read her before Kingsolver or Angelou - in my opinion, they are supberb storytellers, Diamant is not. Still, worth the read.
Rating: 
Summary: Biblical History or Fiction?
Review: First, a warning: this book, though based on Biblical characters, bears almost no resemblance to the Biblical story of Dinah, daughter of the patriarch Jacob. If you will be upset by depictions of the men of the Bible as foolish, the women as idol-worshipers, and Dinah's rape re-written as a love affair, then you should probably skip this book. If, however, you are interested in an account of the daily lives of the women of the Bible, told from a woman's perspective, you may find "The Red Tent" an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. Dinah tells the story of her four mothers - the wives of Jacob - and continues on to tell of her own coming of age and experiences as a midwife and mother. The "Red Tent" of the title is where the Israelite women would rest during their menstrual periods; and indeed, as other reviewers have noted, this can be a very "bloody" story. The author depicts Biblical women's lives as being very closely bound up in the giving and maintaining of life, and reminds us how little separated the blood of childbirth from that of death. I found this to be a life-affirming, woman-affirming tale, but was left wondering to what extent it was based in any historical understanding of women's lives in the ancient Near East.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: This book is a beautiful, fictional exploration into the lives of biblical women. These women were wise and strong and worshipped their montly cycles as a part of nature (we should all learn a thing or two from this). It's a very interesting perspective from a very talented storyteller. I hope Ms. Diamant will venture into this realm again soom. You won't be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Come! Follow Dinah (Deenah) into...
Review: The Red Tent. Her narrative into the biblical times in which she was born leans more to poetry than prose and the words flow as gently as a river carrying the reader from one day to the next.Based on the mere mention of her name in Genesis, this astute author has created a magnetic story which evokes the emotions of love, hatred, envy, despair, joy and unfathomable sorrow. The red tent is one which is assigned to the women at the changing of the moon...and for three days they may rest from their daily chores; laugh, play and pamper one another. It is just for women..young girls who have not as yet matured are forbidden. Except for Dinah! For she is the only daughter of the four wives of Jacob, among many sons. Jacob had usurped his father's inheritance from his brother Esau. I mention this because the meeting of Jacob and Esau is a particularly poignant segment. And so Dinah is to learn many wonderful things and feel the love of all the wives, her own mother and her aunties. Rachael, her one aunt who becomes a midwife, takes her under her wing and teaches Dinah the birthing secrets of Biblical times. This is one of the lessons in this novel: not to let skills die..but to pass them on from generation to generation as also seen in Jacob's father passing on his knowledge of husbandry to his son..and Jacob leading his sons along the same path. They all learned by observance and eagerness. A powerful lesson indeed! We are lead by Dinah's narrative through her childhood to her coming of age. The ceremony which accompanies this occasion is one of great joy among all the women in the camp and is described in such a way as to draw you into this revelry and make you a part of the rejoicing. And so her life unfolds and is laid out before you in stunning array. To tell you her story would be a disservice to the reader and most certainly would affect your enjoyment. So I will not do that. Follow her yourself through sweet, bittersweet, sad and devasting moments and live her life as she did. You will find it a most rewarding experience and one which will linger a long ,long time. When you are finished reading, share it with your friends, but do not give it away. For I can assure you, you will want to read it again and again in the years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Inspirational, Incredibly Well Written
Review: Anita Diamant has written a powerful masterpiece that touches the hearts of everyone who reads it. A fictional account of the wives of Jacob from the Old Testament. Narrated and written from the point of view of one of his daughters this book follows her from childhood through her older years. The love, incredible longing and pain you encounter while reading this book far surpasses those you have ever read. Incredibly touching, entertaining and mesmerizing. A wonderful book. One not to be missed!
Rating:
Summary: The Red Tent
Review: This novel is an enlightening fictional novel based somewhat on the teachings of the Bible. Throughout the book, stories of survival and way of life from olden days are told through the narrator and main character,Dinah, who was Jacob's daughter. Many of these stories are similar to, and have the same characters of those found in the Old Testamant, or the Torah. The Red Tent tells the stories of Jacob's four wives and sisters: Rachel,Leah, Zilpah and Bilhah.
The red tent is where woman of all ages would go during there menstrual cycles. In this tent, they were pampered similar to today's spa. They also socialized. Once a young girl went through their cycle, they were considered a woman. This novel tells ths stories of each of the daughters entering the red tent.
Throughout this novel, Dinah tells stories of her life and her experiences of growing up as a Jewish girl. She tells the story of her trip to Canaan. She also tells of many hardships she has with her family as she tries to find her Jewish womanhood. Dinah eventually finds peace, love and freedom, and most importantly, her place in society.
The Red Tent is a great novel and I would recommend it to any young women and older women as well. In my opinion, this novel helps to give women the strength and encouragment needed to live as a woman in a growing world.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely in my top ten list
Review: I am no religious scholar, nor do I care much for any organized religion, so I was very hesitant to purchase this book and then it stayed on my shelf unread for months.
I am in a Woman's Club and it was the selection for one of our 4 literary clubs within the group. I discussed it with a friend who had read it and she shared the study group's discussion and questionaire. The questionaire had a lot of biblical and theologian-written stories comparison recognition. This detained my selecting it for another 3 months, but then my curiosity got the best of me, for not one of the several people I talked to (and I am not usually this skeptical) had a negative word to say other than some did not appreciate all the sexual allusions. It is an excellent piece of historical fiction. Dinah is unforgettable. The women in her family at the beginning of the story approach (except for the incest) the relationships of my mother and her sisters to my sisters and me and my sister's relationships to my nieces and my daughter. Dinah's 2 marriages have simiarities to my one, but only in the best parts of her marriages. Her relationships with her friends and co-midwives are well built. I am having a difficult time now letting go of this novel to begin another. I do not want to lose this friend.
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