Home :: Books :: Christianity  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity

Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
The Red Tent

The Red Tent

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $10.17
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 .. 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 .. 105 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: Dinah's story is amazingly touching, it makes the reader think about their own childhood memories. Anita Diamant lets the reader experience Dinah's growth and maturation, feeling the warmth and the bitterness of her memories. The ending seems rushed slightly, however the novel in a whole was written with such spirit and depth that it is hard to put down. Amazing, a wonderful read!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Beautifully written...
Review: I found this to be a wonderful book...and you need not be a church-goer for this novel to grab you from the first sentence. I couldn't put this book down. The true excellence of a novel is how well the descriptions make you feel you are actually there witnessing every event. No one will be disappointed after reading this novel!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Biblically Based??
Review: I found the book to be entertaining yet it grossly strayed from the portrayal of the biblical characters found in Genesis. As someone who values the Bible, it was troubling to see many of the characters and situations greatly distorted by the author.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Fascinating Tale Spun from A Familiar Source....
Review: Most of what I read is nonfiction -- it isn't often I find a novel that holds my interest, let alone one that I don't want to put down. But this story, pulled from the Old Testament's Genesis (the one with the seemingly endless list of begats) was fascinating.

Another reviewer here bemoaned the neglect of any mention of "God" -- in truth, God is woven into the fabric of this story (often spoken of as EL) without a bit of proselytizing. This story personalizes half the book of Genesis (25 - 50), making it vibrant, rich and fascinating to believers and non-believers alike. Although religion is a central part of the lives of the men and women we meet, the entire story takes place in a time when most are just beginning to consider giving up their beliefs in a multitude of gods and goddesses for the one God of Jacob's father.

Written in the first person, it gives voice to the lives of women, so neglected in the Old Testament. The story leads us through Dinah's life from before it begins to after it ends. She tells us the stories her mother and aunts (the most well-known being Rachel and Leah) told each other and her as she grew up.

As the only daughter in a family of 12 sons, Dinah has privileges most girls don't have. She is allowed into the Red Tent, the only place men do not go, and where the women go during their menses or when birthing. She also shares the daily life and rituals of her tribe, with special attention to the lives of the women. Childhood, adolescence, menstruation, weddings, worship of gods and goddesses, married life, childbirth, mothering, cooking, homelife, friendship, and death are all part of Dinah's life, along with passion and drama. Dinah becomes a skilled midwife, and is highly valued wherever she goes....

Anita Diamant is a wonderful writer, historian and storyteller. Her Dinah invites the reader into the story in such a friendly, familiar way that you will find yourself eager to hear more of her tales, and reluctant to let them end. This is one of those rare books that you may find yourself reading again and again.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Inspired work of fiction benefial to us today
Review: Red Tent has encouraged me in that even though the mysterious "El" was something the characters wanted to know more about (and seemed to revere), they struggled with their own historical beliefs and values. This book has inspired me as far as continuing my desire to help spread the Gospel to those who do not know Christ personally but have a knowledge of Him

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: My first review attempt
Review: Hi,

Bought the book locally. Usually won't buy biblical history/fiction. I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses - and usually we won't read what others write about Bible characters. We are a very closed group.

Little is known of Dinah, but she's presented in the Bible as "just" a rape victim. JW's teach that she had "bad association" in that she made friends with other girls - thus, that led to her being raped. As the scripture says "Bad association spoils useful habits." In other words, it was kinda her own fault.

But this book puts a fictional spin on the event, one I've never thought about. It also gives wonderful details of women's lives, (which the Bible conveniently leaves out.)

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because I didn't care for the songs, not my style. But I loved the book and the possiblities it put forth.

A person could read it and say "It's putting the Bible down." But the book is written by a Jewish woman, and it deals with the Old Testament, which is Jewish history. I think it makes the Bible human - as in Dinah was a human, not just a raped woman.

Enjoy.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Ok book. VERY loosely based on biblical characters
Review: The Red Tent was an Ok book. I had to pull/drag myself through it on occasions. I loved the bond between the women. PLEASE do not buy this book and expect it to follow the Bible. It appears that Ms. Diamant took a couple of names, their genealogy and some Jewish and "pagan" traditions and threw them together. I would not recommend it and will give it away to the first friend who is interested in reading it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Maybe i have missed something
Review: Perhaps i have missed something that the other reviewers got out of this book, but i did not find it at all interesting, or particularly well written. A lot of it was simply a list of 'who begat who'. Nor did I find the talk of the red tent particularly inspiring or "empowering" - but i don't think that women having periods is anything particularly important - it is just something that happens, not something we should be ashamed of or celebrate. I didn't find that the narrative of this story drew me in - i couldn't really care for Dinah and her family or what happened to them. I finished the book, because i thought that perhaps all the good bits were at the end. I was mistaken on that account.I also thought that the book was a bit misleading - while historical stories usually are about exceptions to the rule, this book gives Dinah a much more free life than women of her 'station' and situation in life would have had then. Diamant glosses over the fact that life for most women living in Old Testament times was hard.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "The Red Tent".
Review: A fascinating tale of women and men borne of Joseph. It truly is as the Bible would have read if written by a woman. It reveals many aspects of the women's lives that were before untold. (Hard to believe this is a novel .) Very believable. It has many unexpected twists and turns. A wonderful read, I didn't want it to end. Hope Anita writes another SOON!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Outstanding! A MUST READ
Review: This book is one of the absolute best I have ever read. While the context of the book in biblical times was very interesting the story from Dinah's point of view is incredibly powerful. Some of my other favorite books have been A Poisonwood Bible, A Widow for One Year and even Divine Secrets of Ya-Ya Sisterhood. This book was definitely tops - you'll find it hard to put down.


<< 1 .. 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 .. 105 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates