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Summary: Monotheism is bad for women
Review: The Red Tent is a fascinating account of the transition from polytheism and women's power, to monotheism and men's domination. The Red Tent is a readable, enjoyable account of the life of the nomadic early Hebrews at the dawn of montotheism and its corrolary: patriarchy. The spirit of the women sharing the red tent during their menstrual cycles is both captivating and intimately believable. I felt the power emanating from their shared knowledge of vastly important "secrets" such as childbirth, recipes, and family management. As their spirits, as well as their gods, faded into the background, the loss was palpable and ever so real. Bravo for a writer who can transform these (almost) prehistorical women into recognizable "actors" in the drama of the feminist struggle.
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Summary: Looking to build your faith? Read the "original"!
Review: Though I did like the author's writing style I was disappointed to see my "heroes in the faith" from the bible trivialized and in most cases even distorted. The people who praised Ms. Diamante's insight into biblical events appear to me as not having read the "original". If she was trying to just write another story, she did a well enough job, but I don't think that this book will inspire women out there about God or his word - if anything, it will make them more cynical about the roots of judaism and christianity... I would not recommend the book to christian believers out there - some sexual parts are too graphic, and again, are trivializing people we admire...too bad, this story could have really made an impact!
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Summary: Interesting work
Review: This is an interesting book historically and dramatically. The changes made by the author to the biblical story were daring, yet intriguing. Diamont takes the story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob, from Genesis and gives another possible version of how things could have happened. Diamont fleshes out this mysterious woman who is mentioned, what, once? and gives her a chance to speak for herself. The characterizations of the people involved in this story; Leah, Rachel, Zilpah and Bilnah in particular are obviously well thought out and extremely well researched. This book will give you an increased insight into, probably not Dinah, but the way people lived in these biblical times. An immensely enjoyable read.
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Summary: Great fiction
Review: This novel is very enlightening - it delves into one of the lesser studied stories of the bible.
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Summary: Iluminate the Text
Review: I found that this delicious novel was infinitely more meaningful, when read along with Listen to Her Voice, Women of the Hebrew Bible by Miki Raver.
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Summary: I Am Woman! (BC Style)
Review: Diamant's "Red Tent" is a piece a well-crafted historical fiction based upon the Biblical tale of the only surviving daughter of Exodus' most fertile patriach and polygamist, Jacob. The story of Dinah is little more than a footnote in the Good Book, but here Diamant has fleshed out Dinah's story and the stories of her four mothers Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah as well as her many brothers including Jospeh (of Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat fame). The author has given real faces and believable family conflicts to a well-known Old Testament story. This story spans Dinah's life from before she was born to her death and richly details the mystical powers of womanhood. Dinah travels through the Holy Land, to Egypt, becomes a wife, mother, midwife, daughter, widow, and healer. . Those of you who enjoyed the "Mists of Avalon" will like the similar epic quailty and message of the book.
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Summary: Imaginative, Lyrical & Compelling Journey Back in Time!
Review: This is a story of Dinah, a little-mentioned person in the book of Genesis in the Bible, contained in the passage that outlines the lineages of Jacob and his 12 sons. The author has detailed and filled in the pieces around Dinah's life beginning with her mothers and then as a midwife, wife, and mother herself.
Set in a Shepherd's camp and then in Egypt, this author has pulled out all the stops of her imagination and taken her readers back in time to a man's world where many wives were the norm, many children were sired, many less children were born, and many women died giving them life. This novel was written from a woman's perspective about this particular world, and it lushly illustrates the events, interactions, and emotions surrounding the ebbs and flows of life. Dinah's early experiences revolve around five "mothers," the one who gave her life and the other four who were married to her father. These women and their younger offspring all spent time in the Red Tent, where the cycles of a woman's life were experienced in all their richness.
The Red Tent is in the genre of The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, which is high praise indeed, for that is an exquisite book. The Red Tent is wonderfully written and masterfully crafted, and it is a magnificent work. It illustrates with passion the important events in life -- coming of age, courtship, marriage, and of course the birth and the giving and sustaining of life -- from a female's viewpoint during the time in which it was set. Men ruled the world then, as they do now, and it gives one pause to ponder a woman's role, and a woman's treatment, in a man's world. The givers of life add so much incredible richness and joy to life itself -- the grand miracle of giving birth, sustaining life, nurturing, the special gifts of appreciating beauty and creating beauty in the world with their presence and their energies. It was an incredible experience reading this novel, going where it directed, feeling the events it detailed, and considering the unique fortitude it took to survive and thrive in that world.
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Summary: Unforgettable
Review: I loved this book so much that even now, three books later, I find myself still thinking about Dinah, and missing her so. Like a good film, this novel is so rich and real that I found myself lost in the world of Genesis. Loved it, loved it, loved it........and wished it never ended. Read it immediately.
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Summary: Hear me roar!
Review: Yes, that's right an I am woman kind of book...that I really liked! Get it and stick with it, you'll like it. You will appeciate the finer things in your life...like a sterile ennviroment in which to give birth! And a husband that that doesn't have children with your sister!
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Summary: Interesting, different, and worth reading!
Review: The Red Tent is a story told through the eyes of Dinah, a woman who lived during Old Testament times. Many readers think this book is based on a story in the Bible, but it is actually about 1% truth and 99% imagination. The premise of this story is that Dinah, a daughter of Jacob, is telling the reader about her life as she is remembering it many years after it occurred. Jacob had four wives, and thus Dinah had four mothers. Dinah spent much of her childhood observing the four very different feminine characteristics of her mothers, listening to their stories, and learning their traditions. The lives of these ancient women revolved around childbearing and child-rearing. Childbirth defined their triumphs, their tragedies, and their sense of self-worth. The story tells us about the relationships between women of the time and the bonds they formed. When Dinah transitions from girlhood to womanhood, the women of her life celebrated with her, and Dinah eagerly anticipated the new phase that this transition was to bring to her life. However, early in this new phase of Dinah's life, a great tragedy occurs that alters her forever. A traumatic series of events caused Dinah to leave her family and her land for a new life and a new culture. Despite the time and distance that separatd her from the people of her past, Dinah continued to be influenced by the women of her childhood. In everything Dinah did, she carried part of her mothers with her. Many people who have read this book have expressed dismay that the story contradicts the Bible. Personally, I don't understand why anyone would expect the story to agree with the Bible? This fictional story is told through the eyes of an imperfect human being looking back on her life, while the Bible is the truth given breath by the perfect God. I think maybe the whole point of this story is that when a human being looks back on her life, she may see things very differently from the actual truth. In truth, Dinah was raped by Hamor's son. But isn't is plausible that the trauma of his murder caused Dinah, later in life, to perceive they had a great love affair? The truth is that Jacob was, in spite of his mistakes, a good and faithful man of God. But isn't is a possibility that his only daughter never knew him or loved him and saw him as a weak man? The truth is that Dinah's brother Joseph was intelligent and of high moral character; he never slept with Potiphar's wife despite her attempts at seduction. But isn't it likely that false rumors, like those told by Shery in The Red Tent, were spread about Joseph? And isn't it probable that some of the Egyptians grumbled that Joseph was stupid and arrogant, and belittled his talents? The truth is that Jacob did not love Leah. But isn't it believable that Leah could have distorted stories she told to Dinah to make Dinah believe Jacob did love her? I found this book to be a great break away from modern-day stories. I thought it was interesting and intriguing. The reason I give it 3 stars instead of a solid 4 is because I feel that the story would have been much better if Dinah had accepted the one true God, as her father Jacob did. I could have become more attached to the character of Dinah if she had embraced God and sought prayer in her times of need. Still, this book is worth reading... as long as the reader understands the difference between fiction and truth!
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