Rating: 
Summary: This is an Amazing Book!!
Review: I don't think I could even begin to list all the reasons why I love this book. Suffice it to say that it is probably one of the best books I have ever read, and I read a lot of books. I have recommended it to everyone I know, practically. And so far, they have all loved it. Even if it takes you a long time to usually read a book, this one won't. I have 2 kids, one of them a baby, and I managed to read this book in 2 days. Please, please, please read this book. I HOPE she writes more books. I will be buying them in hardback.
Rating: 
Summary: Simplistic and silly, it tramples the Biblical story.
Review: The Bible is a wonder of verbal economy, and there is much to be derived from contemplating the original story. Inexplicably, Diamant changes the original account with grievous results. She omits mention of Abraham's contribution as the first adherent of a monotheistic diety (focusing instead on the binding of Isaac in an impossible way). The great event of that era is that monotheism took hold during the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The women must have had an important role in furthering the idea among their children, including the concept that circumcision of 8-day-old boys represented not a "mutilation," but entry into the covenant with God. (Eight days old is a good choice for circumcision. By then, the child's health can be ascertained and the infant is young enough to heal quickly and to forget all about it.) Yet Diamant's version is drenched with idolatry among the women, and this is its greatest fault. One of the wives even calls Jacob "Baal." TILT! Diamant is so obsessed with sex that she uses it as a blunt instrument, and, in so doing, fails to call up details of what actually must have obsessed the women: their children. She invents twins where none were born. By making Bilhah black (perhaps referring to scholarship concerning whether Ethiopian Jews are descended from the tribe of Dan), Diamant didn't seem to know what to do with Bilhah's second son, Naphtali, so she made him a twin of Leah's Issachar. Not only is the book riddled with these and other needless deviations from the original story, its writing style is simple and awkward, no more than a partial cardboard diarama. One imagines that the tension between Leah and Rachel was electric, yet we get no sense of it; and the picture of Rebecca is at odds with what we know of her. This family compound must have bustled, but the scampering and squeals of little kids do not run through the story, neither their colicky cries nor skins and scrapes, nor do we see the kind of sweet chaos lots of kids can cause, nor do we know what their mothers taught them, nor do we even know where the kids slept. What of other details? What cooking utilsels were used, how did they brew beer and make bread, where did they get salt and yeast? Dinah searches for herbs, but what herbs? Diamant doesn't tell us, so we don't have any sense of the aromas. Nor does she say how chores were divided. If you have to read this book, read it carefully. Ultimately it is insulting to the principles of the three religions that are descendants of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Rating: 
Summary: Fatal Flaw
Review: As I see it, The Red Tent has four major strengths: (1) It's well written. Ms. Diamont has created a living world peopled with real characters. The prose is often nearly poetic, yet the dialog is realistic, dramatic and moving. (2) Second, the book often has the taste, texture and aroma of history rather than fiction. Ms. Diamont appears to skillfully weave historical and archeological fact with imaginative story telling. The result is a work of fiction constructed on a skillfully built scaffold of fact that feels like history even where it is obviously fiction. (3) Ms. Diamont demonstrates uncanny skill in taking "silences" of the Bible (where the Biblical narrative leaves off) and interprets them in ways which are not obviously contradictory with what IS in the Bible. Her ability to pinpoint such "gaps" in the sacred text and fill them skillfully and with imagination makes her novel fascinating reading, including for those familiar with the Biblical text, for here is a realistic point of view of what the Bible might have said if it had filled in those silences. (4) Finally, and most importantly, the overwhelming strength of The Red Tent are the portraits of the women who people its pages, most especially Leah and Rachel, Bilah and Zilpah, and of course Dina. Never again will these women be mere shadowy figures evoked only by a few Biblical references to their names for a reader of The Red Tent. However, the weaknesses of The Red Tent are also real and parallel the novel's strengths. On the whole, the men in its pages are far less substantially portrayed than the women. They tend to be one dimensional cardboard cut out type characters, even Jacob and Labon, and far more so the king and prince of Shechem and male characters populating the portion of the novel taking place in Egypt, including Joseph. Similarly, the novel's blending of history and imagination breaks down when the story line reaches Shechem and Egypt, the descriptions of both of which are more suggestive of suburban living in this century than historical reality. But another weakness of The Red Tent is, I believe, also its fatal flaw. This is Ms. Diamont's failure to follow through with the courage of her own story's convictions. In her novel she creates living, breathing, strong, sensitive, intelligent, caring, flesh and blood Biblical matriarchs, and then abandons them to an age-old male chauvinist stereotype. For apparently, Elokim, the God of Abraham, is the province solely of men in the world depicted in The Red Tent. Despite the statements in Biblical narrative indicating that Abraham's wife, Sarah, Isaac's wife, Rebecca, and Leah all individually prayed to the God, Elokim, Ms. Diamont ignores these jewels of Biblical feminism. Instead her finely drawn heroines stay mired in the muck of paganism. They are more interested in their wood and stone household idols than in the fascinating concept of an all powerful and invisible God, a God who is worshiped by the very man each of the four weds, loves, lives with and bears the children of. How could this be? Is it conceivable that woman such as the characters portrayed by Ms. Diamont could possibly be satisfied worshipping sticks and stones when in their own home is a higher spiritual alternative? One could argue that these women, unlike Jacob, were raised in ignorance of Abraham's monotheistic and all powerful God in the company of idol-worshiping Laban. But is it conceivable that not one of these four articulate, intelligent, spiritual women as portrayed by Ms. Diamont would show any interest in the most earth shaking spiritual phenomenon to touch the planet - at the very moment it took place and in their own household, tents, and family? I think not. Sadly, The Red Tent appears to be so enmeshed in defending a view point -- that women of the Bible are just as rich, full, complete and complex human beings as are men in the Bible -- that it steps right into the trap of handing God in the Bible over to men, staking the claim of Biblical women instead to idol-worship. The unfortunate but incontrovertible message we receive is that men in Dina's day may have found the imminent and omniscient invisible God of Abraham and Isaac compelling, but the women did not, and would not or could not strive for this new spiritual height. This is the novel's fatal flaw. Despite all of its power and drama, its skillful blending of historical and fictional events and personages, in the end, The Red Tent serves up the same old stereotype. Biblical matriarchs - whose rightful place is that of true spiritual partners of Biblical patriarchs, are instead left diminished in our memories as spiritual dwarfs. How sad! What a tragic waste of a powerful writer and story!
Rating:
Summary: First re-writing history - now the Bible!
Review: I got one-third through the book before I quit reading it. It was not because of the development and furtherance of the Bible story, but I got tired of reading about a woman's time of the month, birthing, adventures with sheep, and jerky men. If the author had taken the story and made it into an allegory or a separate story, but her re-writing of Bible bothered, plus the fact that she made so feminist. Nothing against feminism, but one must take into context the time when this story happened and not compare it to today's standards. There were bad times back then, but there were good times also. Basically, though, I just lost interest in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Insightfull, yet slow.....
Review: I didn't know what to expect from this book when I started reading it. And not being very knowlegeable on the Old Testament I wasn't very familiar with some of the traditions mentioned in the book. I found myself looking at the family tree at the beginning of the book constantly trying to remember all the characters. It was pretty slow reading and I got tired of reading over and over again about all the births taking place in the red tent. If you got extra time in your hands, read it, it takes you to a very interesting time in the world.
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Summary: Fantastic book
Review: This book is utterly incredible-different from anything I have ever read. I cried at the last page knowing I would miss the characters immensely-go get it!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting yet disappointing...Read the original version
Review: I know I am in the minority here, and I'm sorry that I didn't find the book as enjoyable as the other readers. I must admit that this book was interesting as I did learn a few things about the traditions back in those days. I also liked the author's writing style; however, I feel that the author rewrote the original story that was in the Bible. As a young Christian woman, I thought that this book would give me some great insight on women's faith back in those days. Unfortunately, it was the wrong kind of faith as most of the book seems to be talking about other "gods" and "goddesses." I wish I never read this book because it "trashed" the characters of many important people of the Bible (i.e., Jacob, Rebecca, and especially Joseph). Like another reader here, I also would not recommend this book to other Christian believers as this book had some very graphic sexual details and again the trashing of many Bible heroes. Thank goodness I didn't waste any money on this book (as I borrowed it from the library). It's an interesting tale here; however, the original version in the Bible is so much better. Good luck with your decision and reading.
Rating: 
Summary: A Change of Pace
Review: Excellent. Although a little difficult to get into, once it got hold of me, the book wouldn't let go. One way of saying that "life doesn't change" no matter when it takes place.
Rating:
Summary: Very Different
Review: As one other reviewer claims, it is extremely slow reading for the first 150 pages or so. I found myself having to look back to the beginning of the book several times to understand the family tree as the members were being introduced. Jacob had so many wives, that it was hard keeping track who was who and which wife had which children. The last half of the book picks up quickly and truly captured my interest. Give this book a chance and don't put it down because it is slow reading to begin with but it is important to get the family tree straight and learn of the mothers stories to understand the latter part of the book. The thing that I liked best about this book though, was the fact that it was so different. So many books are so similiar that after awhile they all seem alike. This book is unlike any other and for this reason I truly enjoyed it.
Rating:
Summary: Review of the Red Tent
Review: Disappointing. This book promises an exciting new perspective from the point of view of women of biblical times but I found it tedious and unengaging.
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