Rating: 
Summary: The Red Tent
Review: Excellent book that bring the Old Testament to life. It especially address the life of the women of the time in a light that is rarely talked about. The Red Tent is fast moving, well written and gripping. I really enjoyed reading this age old Biblical story from a new angle.
Rating: 
Summary: A Satisfying Read
Review: This is an amazing book. I was skeptical at first, expecting the sweet lulling quality of the first hundred pages or so to set the tone for a colorful if not quite worthwhile read. In fact, I was halfway through the book before the action kicked in. When it finally did it was nonstop. Anita Diamant proves herself a skilled story teller indeed, carrying the reader along from a dusty desert caravan to the smooth cool stones of an ancient Egyptian street. Along the way we learn about Dinah, the life she led, the people she meets, the way love in the end shaped the very mosaic of her life. I appreciate the complexity of emotions and character this book explores and the way that it veers off the beaten path of predictable romance and into the world of literature worth reading. Very satisfying, indeed.
Rating: 
Summary: A Most Overrated Book that took Ridiculuous Liberties
Review: The beginning of the books does indeed capture some very good images of female bonding. The storytelling is bland and general but does miraculously infuse life into the female characters. I was very disappointed and horrified at the extreme misguided liberties this book took. Why does the author feel she can blantantly rearrage history to fit this so-so story she told of Dinah? She could have atleast wrote a more interesting subplot to a story that was already half way written. The chapters pertaining to Jacob in the Bible are far more interesting then this narrative which loses steam halfway through.It is also a stereotype to say that only a fundamentalist would object to this book.That is pure ignorance just as the author displayed when writing a very mediocre story. Of what revelance is it if someone sends money in to Pat Robinson when the book is the subject of opinion here?
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Summary: Loved this book--For women of all walks of life
Review: This book was so wonderful to read, I am not Jewish and you probably don't even need to be Christian to like this book! I think this is a great read for women from many religions and ethnic backgrounds. It is about women, sisterhood, friendship, love, sex, family ties and quarrels, motherhood and even a little childhood. You will appreciate womanhood more after you read this book. It might even keep you from complaining about the pains of being a woman. This is now on my favorites list! I picked it up to read every free moment.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully written novel..
Review: The Red Tent is a beautifully written book. A tale of an ancient world that leaves the reader moved. I was hooked after reading the first few pages of this story. Anita Diamant has a true gift as a writer. I found myself transported to ancient biblical times and found myself being able to connect with the women in this finely crafted novel. The Red Tent is a book that modern women can connect with. A story of love, pain, celebration, and honor.I found it to be captivating, and thought provoking. A wonderful read.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great book
Review: I must preface this by saying that I am not religious - but I loved this book. I really enjoyed the story it was telling. To me this is more a story about where we come from as women, rather than some religious/biblical treatise. Reading this book you can really feel a connection with the character Dinah and the writer brings to life her world with colorful vividness. This book has an almost feminist feeling and to my great amusement paints Jacob as a villainous man who personifies most of the worst qualities one can have. This story sucked me in and I read it practically in one sitting. It was one of the best books I have read in a while.
Rating:
Summary: Exquisite woman power!
Review: The Red Tent is the most beautiful book I have ever read. Every woman needs to read this book to know the goddess they are. An unusual insight to a well - known biblical story, this book will make you think about what you've been taught was the truth. If you need a good pick -me- up or are a man wanting to understand women a little better, please do yourself a favor and read this. And to honor the other goddesses in your life, you will want all of them to have a copy too. Especially your mother.
Rating: 
Summary: So Close and Yet So Far...
Review: The deep flowing themes of a woman's life are so poignantly captured in this book that it will stir any mother or woman's soul. The agonies and joys, the intense pain and deep-rooted ecstasy experienced by these women transcends ages and speaks to their sisters today. Yet upon closing this book I found myself disappointed. Diamant pumped life and passion into these women of Genesis but failed to make the story a believable interpretation of the biblical account. The bible, written by women, would still have been God-inspired; it wouldn't have been "The True Story of Jacob, Laban, Joseph..." And while even the biblical portrayal of these men does not make them out to be super-human saints, Diamant depicts them as barbaric tyrants who follow the lead of an almost misogynistic god. Her heroines worship instead a mother goddess who is in tune with the lives and cycles of women. In taking liberties with scripture to write this fictional account of Dinah, Diamant writes beautifully about the inner lives of the women in the red tent, but regrettably fails to capture the aspect of their God, who understands perfectly the intimate enigma of woman. Poignant, stirring, but far from uplifting and sadly unsound in its most baisic structure, "The Red Tent" is nearly there but very far.
Rating:
Summary: An Elegant Tantrum
Review: As a film writer/director who has adapted a number of biblical narratives for television, I can attest to the fact that the most difficult aspect of "humanizing" biblical figures is to remain true to the deepest spirit of their stories. This spirit is vital, because it facilitates self knowledge and awareness of the Divine. It is a spirit of informed compassion, and it is not easily accessible to those who have not come to terms with their own psychological and sociological issues. This novel is entrancing, but the spirit of the work is embarassingly bitter. For one thing, the heroine's relationship to God is almost completely ignored. For another, the author's selective omission of information supplied in the oral tradition belies that she has definitely got an agenda, no matter what the facts. The author has chosen, in an exquisitely subtle way, to sensationalize history and, like an enraged child, spit in the face of her ancestors. After all, any anti-semite can brand Levi and Shimon as "barbaric". A question more to the point: what was their humanity? The novel is bloated with irreverence and what, ultimately, can be satisfying about witnessing a tantrum, albeit an elegant one? The expression of one's creative genius must certainly be lots of fun, and receiving critical acclaim while making a pile of money isn't bad, either. But is any of that worth the risk of betraying the spirit of the Bible, even under the disclaimer that one is presenting "fiction"? Despite all of her (no doubt) good intentions, the author's words captivate but do not enlighten, heal or transform, which is the intent of the Original Author. Of course fictional characters must be "flesh and blood", we can't relate to superhumans; but biblical figures are not fictional characters, they were real people who lived real lives. In order to invite them into the twenty-first century, must they be rendered luscious vamps and heartless thugs? I sincerely regret that I bought this book and warn others not to waste their money. Perhaps it's mean of me to reduce the "stars" the book is earning, but if a person is searching for an uplifting experience, they won't find it here. If they want to understand biblical heroes, they can access a wealth of midrashic lore which is becoming increasingly available in English. I wonder if the author has ever read anything by Amy Tan, who presents ancestral traditions with wisdom, grace and, yes, reverence.
Rating: 
Summary: An Interesting Read but Not That Enthralling
Review: I wanted to love this book, but I can honestly say that I only "liked" it. An interesting concept, well-written in general, but I personally didn't find it that compelling. I understand that it has been lauded as a must-read for women. I may read it again because I'm wondering what all the fuss is about - maybe I missed something???
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