Rating: 
Summary: Good, but historically inacurate
Review: this book had many good ideas, but some of the information is completely inaccurate. This book has the ideas, but the author should have known which son belonged to which mother before writing the book! Otherwise, the book was pretty good, and it expresses what ancient womanhood must have been like.
Rating: 
Summary: making a minor story come alive
Review: ....in the bible, jacob is portrayed as anything but an honorable man. he is protrayed as a schemer, a coniver and very self-centered. the fact that dinah in this book wears rose-colored glasses is understandable - the man is her father. this book is not exactly anti-male, but neither are men portrayed in an admirable light. laban is a con artist who is out-conned by a better con artist - jacob. his sons, including joseph, are extremely self-centered (read the genesis they come off pretty badly). you rarely hear about the women and that is the point of the red tent. it gives us a glimpse into the lives of these women. life in those days was hard. women (and men) grew up very fast and childhood and adolescence were not an indulgement, merely a stage to get thru until one became a productive adult. .... this book takes a very minor story and makes it breathe life. if anything it describes the day-to-day, month-to-month, year-to-year cycles of life. everyday was a struggle for survival. food had to be cooked, clothes made (and i mean from scratch) children tended to, flocks tended etc. i was glued to this book until about the last 100 pages. after the [invasion] of dinah and the murder of shechem, the story want downhill and i had to force myself to finish it. i wish instead dinah had stuck around (the bible gives us no clue what happened to her - so at that point fiction really kicks in) and give us her take on joseph's dreams and his brothers selling him into slavery, rubean's treachery w/ bilhah, er and on and judah's bieng ensnared by his own lust w/ tamar etc. while diamont does take some events out of their biblical order (jacob wrestled w/ the angel before not after he served laban) she does refer back to many familiar stories ....jacob was a very self-serving man who didn't care that his sons massacred an entire town - he was only concerned w/ the way that it would impact his reputation and fortunes. read the original....its a pretty good read too !!!!
Rating:
Summary: Can't stop thinking about it
Review: At first I just kept thinking that this was going to just tell a story -- but it was much more than that, it evoked emotions from the recesses of yourself that you never knew existed. The intriguing tale of all the women and the hardships (both physically and mentally) that they went through was well written. I have to admit that when I finished the book I thought it was "okay" -- then I just couldn't stop thinking about everything that happened and it made me like it more and more. Definitely both a learning experience of the historical past and an emotional experience through the characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Book
Review: I couldn't put this book down. At first I hesitated about the possbility of a religious slant but the first few pages had me hooked. I enjoyed every word. I don't think it would be a bad idea for this day and time to have some place like the red tent to go to. Of course I would like our tent to be well equipped with the best music, books, food, drink, etc. and along with a bunch of good friends. Hay, why not! Men don't want us around during that time with the PMS thing anyway, why not let them fin for themselves? All kidding aside, this was a very interesting book and I loved the way the story was told. I was sad for Dinah when he father died and I was sorry to see the book end. I hope the author will write more books along these lines, I would enjoy reading more of them.
Rating:
Summary: One of my book club's favorites...
Review: The Red Tent was thoroughly enjoyed by our entire readership and provoked fun discussion about women in the bible and women in general. The details about daily life in biblical times were especially interesting to me. The cooking, farming and family traditions were fascinating. It was a great read.
Rating:
Summary: This one's for the ladies, I think.
Review: _The Red Tent_ is a captivating portrait of life in the ancient Middle East, before the advent of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It's not "the women's Bible," but it is an interesting counter-story. The characters in _The Red Tent_ are drawn from Bible stories but Diamant's retelling of the story of Dinah and the rest of Jacob's family breathes life into all the characters (especially the women). Diamant also dramatically fleshes out and occasionally contradicts the biblical version of the story. Sacrilege? Maybe, but absolutely fascinating, inspiring, entertaining sacrilege. The exoticness of Dinah's culture is compelling of itself; the strict division of men's labor from women's, the celebration of the menses, the observance of religion in daily life, but _The Red Tent_ is not all atmosphere; the story is full of deception, greed, betrayal, and all sorts of action. I'm not sure men would enjoy this book; in fact, one of my first thoughts on finishing it was "what a shame I can't share this with my male friends." Am I wrong? Let me know, gentlemen. I'd love to hear from a guy who really liked this extraordinary book.
Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding!!!
Review: An absolutely amazing book!!! Why couldn't the bible have been written with such grace and captivation!? I am absolutely NOT religious, but found this to be a book that I could not put down. What a powerful book for all women. It made me see that the women in the book revered their womanhood and it's power!! There's definately a message to be learned from these incredible, strong women, by the women of today!! Hail to the Goddess Innana!! A wonderful find! Enjoy!!!
Rating:
Summary: What a journey...
Review: I found this book to be a captivating vessel into the lives of women who are familiar to those of us who unwillingly drudged (I speak only for myself) through Sunday School, but who often go unmentioned. It made me crave the intimacy of motherhood and grieve for the losses that go in hand with it. What a journey to a land that is so far from us yet holds many of the same values and longings of women. I've recommended this book to every woman I know confident that she will bring from it a deeper understanding of what it means to be female. I am also going to go read the Bible now for the first time, hoping that I can stir my imagination into creating stories of my own.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: This book is captivating and a real bargain! You will be glad you gave it a chance. I would recommend it for women who have had a child or two...
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely fantastic
Review: This book explains what the women in the time of Jacob' daughter, Dinah. There lives were enforced by their religion and the women were certainly subservent to the men. Jacob had many sons but only one living daughter. This book tells of her coming on age and being able to go to the Red Tent at the time of the full moon. I founf this book captivating and when I finished it thr first time I read it again and will probably do so again. I sincerely hope that Anita Diament will write many more wonderful books
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