Rating: 
Summary: Pleasantly suprised!
Review: When a friend gave me this book to read and I saw the glowing reviews from all the christians on the back cover, I thought, why would someone who knows me, think I'd enjoy such fiction? I see now, she had given it to me as a read that would inspire me spiritually. Whatever your faith, I think this is a worthwhile read. I can see why some believers may take offense at Dinah's characterizations, but remember, it is fiction! I see the bible as enlightening fiction as well, so I feel no hostility by reading a bit more with a feminist slant. It made me remember both the insignificance and the importance of my existance in the world anew. Yes, indeed, thought provoking and inspiring!
Rating: 
Summary: a new telling of an old story......
Review: Evoking a marvelous sense of destiny and magic,Dinah's story is told in a fresh and new way, breathes a marvelous way of life in the time of the patriarchs, and a sympathy for all women,bound by love and traditions,definately eye opening!
Rating: 
Summary: Reading "The Red Tent"
Review: As an American who has lived abroad for the last 7 years, I relish the few days each year I spend with childhood friends at our beach place in Massachusetts. Through the long summer afternoons, we discuss all the books we have read since the last time we have been together. The Red Tent was strongly recommended to me this past July and now I worry about what my friends think I like to read. The author of the Red Tent has taken an excellent idea, and probably has done research of a decent quality, and managed to turn out a book of remarkable pap-like quality. This is a good story exceptionally badly told. Save your pennies.
Rating:
Summary: Midrash at its best!
Review: I was hooked after just the first paragraph. Dinah's story is so easily overlooked in the Genesis account, but Diamant breathes new life into it with her vivid characterization and descriptive style. Many conservative Christian readers have been upset by the sideways steps this book sometimes takes from the scriptural account. I don't share these concerns -- this is a work of fiction, and doesn't suppose to be a true story. Rather than being a fault of this book, I see those inaccurate moments and creative storyline as a strength. I actually wanted to read scripture more after reading The Red Tent, and my curiosity for understanding the subtext of biblical passages was greatly increased. Having travelled to Israel myself, her story reacquainted me with the sights, smells, and sounds of that trip. But beyond the vivaciousness of her storytelling was the story itself. And, oh, what a story. I so enjoyed listening to the author's vision of feminine life in ancient Israel. Hearing the women share their secrets, support one another during life's difficult moments, and cling together in sisterhood made me so glad to be a woman myself. Diamante has capture the essence of womanhood in this book, and I enjoyed it so much that I've passed it on to many other women (and even a few reluctant men!).
Rating:
Summary: Torn
Review: Hmmm. Rating this book was probably one of the hardest things I've done at amazon.com, besides forking over my credit card for one of my periodic book-binges. Anyway, this book is fantastically written, bringing the Old Testament era to life with the sounds, smells, and even tastes of a culture that frankly, I haven't been too intimately familiar with but feel that I should. The language and plot flows smoothly and poetically. The book itself was amazing.
The only problem I have is with the author. I grew up in a heavily Catholic family and had 17 years of formal Catholic education. That said, I would be the first to admit that I'm not the most conservatively religious person in the world, quite the opposite, but I have read the Bible cover to cover, several times. However, I had issue with some of the "embellishments" she chose to include in this story. I completely respect the art of removing a Biblical tidbit and building fiction around it, but at points in the novel, the complete lack of respect for what many consider "forefathers" and important religious figures is disconcerting at minimum. Many of these add-ons are cheap and possibly only included to boost sales, as they more resemble a kinship with Danielle Steele. I would feel differently if I knew that the author had conducted alot of research and found that these things (okay I'll say it, bestiality) were common back then, but if she just picked it out of the blue, I am massively disappointed at her slip from the respect which is due religious figures from ANY religion or creed. There is a large gap between coloring these figures as human with massive human flaws and issues aside from what has been present in the OT, and painting them as base characters from the latest trashy grocery stand book. However, this issue seems to only exist in the first few chapters, so it was more like a nagging feeling than a real problem.
Another concern I had with this book is the modernity issue. Again, I couldn't find any implication or hint as to the amount of research this lady did, but nowhere between the covers or even on the website did I see any anthropological or Biblical technical references (although I could just somehow be missing it), so I would have to guess that it was minimal. With that in mind, the contemporary themes were unsettling. I felt like she was trying to make the exasperated point of "times never change" and "history repeats" and other such cliches, but perhaps at the expense of authenticity. Some of the actions and behaviours of the characters were a little too close to home. If I can say, "Hey, I've done that" in reference to someone who lived thousands of years ago, I have to be a little wary that the story hasn't been "updated". Then again, I'm not a specialist, and maybe she is. Who knows, and that's the problem. I did see evidence of a greater knowledge of the culture behind the OT, so it's not like she's making things up as she goes along, just to clarify.
So after all this complaining, why four stars? The artistry of the writing more than makes up for annoying details. I just thought I'd alert any fundamentalists or readers who are particularly sensitive about religious issues, which I can be sometimes, despite all my liberal-ness. For those with tough skin, this is a riveting story well-composed with vibrant images exploring topics and even methods of writing rarely seen.
If the subject matter interests you, I'd recommend Karen Armstrong. She writes wonderful nonfiction investigations into religion, the monotheistic ones in particular. A collaboration between her and Diamant would be unstoppable and world-altering.
Rating:
Summary: The lost world
Review: Books that recreate worlds that are largely lost to us can be hard to read. Many people find history to be a rather dull subject. But, in fact, Ms. Diamant has created not only an extremely readable tale but she has actually done it so well that I have found myself refering back to this book as if it is a history book rather than fiction. An excellent rendering of and old testament story.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't get enough of this book.
Review: This was an amazing book. After hearing people talk about it for a while I finally decided to pick it up and read it. The start of the book was wonderful. I love how it started out with the 4 mothers and then how it got into Dinah's story. Dinah was a wonderful charactor with an intersting story. The first two parts had me hooked. The last part I found it bit hard to get into but I liked it. I love this book and hope to read more similar storys to this.
Rating:
Summary: A surprisingly wonderful tale of women!
Review: I had read everything else that the airport bookstore had to offer and so finally broke down and bought The Red Tent. What a delicious, wonderful, historical, emotional and passionate novel!! The reader is introduced to the many wives of Jacob (Book of Genesis) and their proficiencies and charms each by Dinah, Jacob's only daughter (and as the only woman in her generation - left to continue to hand down the tales, traditions, foods, etc.). The Red Tent is the place where women go to 'be women": pass their menstruations, give birth, prepare for marriage, and when they are ill. This wonderful place becomes the "women's room", the place for the younger ones to learn and the older ones to teach, and place to go if one is ill and need of comfort.
The first half of this book, filled with the sweet remembrances of the women in the red tent; their stories and their skills (midwifery, cooking, gardening, herbs, sewing) is the dearest - it is amongst these mothers that Dinah learns to become a midwife. There is something powerful and beautiful about women celebrating what they are all about. The novel changes somewhat when Dinah tells us the tale of Jacob's family's move into the land of Canaan. What happens to Dinah in this book is more satisfying that as it is suggested in the bible. While not a happy event, it is more satisfying, obviously, to believe that Dinah experienced true love. This is a wonderful novel about the value and continuity of the women in history and one I am sorry I waited so long to pick up and read.
Rating:
Summary: a must read for all women
Review: although this angle on the biblical story of Dinah is fictional, I found the details on ancient midwifery breathtaking...
I'm even more proud to be a woman after reading this book & the happy ending is worth all the pain in the first 2/3s of the book
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling, Thought-provoking Read
Review: There was some mention of feminism and the depiction of the male characters as fools. That was true, where many were concerned, including the female characters. To me, that made them real. I have to admit that I have read very little of the Bible, and probably wouldn't have read this book had a friend not recommended it to me. I'm glad that I did. Although the book started out rather slow, Diamont drew me in with the characters of Leah and Rachel, who fell in love with a man named Jacob. She did an excellent job of describing the sibling rivalry between the two women, the clash between father and son-in-law, and the horrifying event that rips the family apart.
The Red Tent is a tightly interwoven novel of female bonding, lust and jealousy, and family legacies. You don't have to have a strong knowledge of the Bible to enjoy this book. The fact that Diamont took a very brief glimpse of history and blew it up into a believable story shows how creative she is. I'd recommend this book to anyone.
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