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Summary: The red Tent .......Life of Women in Biblical Times
Review: IN the book of Genesis we read a brief paragraph that denotes the life of one of Joseph's one and only sister. Anita Diamant has breathed life into her as well as her mothers, children, and life as it had been known in ancient Mesopotamia and later, Egypt. As a mother and a daughter, this book enthralled me with universal truths. A must read for mothers; a must read for daughters.
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Summary: The Red Tent....ahhh...the smell of it...phew!
Review: I'm not familiar with the Old Testament, nor am I a mother. I have less than zero interest in the female bodily functions of others. I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies and I don't want to. That said, I found this book a chore. It was, in fact, an assignment for my book club. Had it not been, I would have steered clear of it. However, if these topics enthrall you, pick up the book and knock yourself out. None of the women portrayed were deeply drawn. Dinah (pronounced "dee nah") herself was not fully formed. The men were meer stick figures, less than two dimensional. It is, by far, the bloodiest book I've ever read. There is more blood and gore in this innocent novel than in any Steven King horror fest. At best, it's deeply superficial. And finally, I would not want to set foot in a red tent. Ohh...the smell of it. That's what I was left with.
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Summary: I cried at the end.
Review: Normally I shy away from Biblically-based stories, being decidedly a-religious, but I found myself completely engrossed, and finished the book in a few short hours. This book is a touching story about female power, struggling against society, and finding oneself in the end. Brava!
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Summary: Intriguing perspective . . .
Review: I did not know what to think about this book at first. I had heard many good things, but I am not generally a fan of historical fiction, so I almost passed it up. Thank goodness I did not! This novel showed so many biblical events and people from a very "real" perspective. It fascinated me to see things from the eyes of Dinah and feel things from her point of view. What an incredible job Diamant did of making the characters come alive! I was sad when the book ended--I hope she writes more! Some people may find that Diamant's interpretations of biblical events and people do not agree with their own. Hooray, I say! What better way to learn and think and grow? As I read this novel, I kept referring back to my bible to check things out and compare. It was a wonderful reading experience. I enjoyed every moment of this book.
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Summary: A fantastic read!
Review: Dinah is an unforgettable character. This book grabbed me from the first chapter. I enjoyed the author's characterizations of Rachel, Jacob, Joseph and Rebecca. The prose is beautifully written and effortlessly evokes the world at that time. It is a riveting portrayal of the struggles and relationships of women's lives long ago, many of which still resonate in our lives today. I'd recommend this to any lover of historical fiction.
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Summary: New Age, low-brow Feminist, pseudo-anthropological slander
Review: If you like New Age, low-brow Feminist, pseudo-anthropological claptrap, you'll love this book. Otherwise, you will find it a shamelessly romantic hodgepodge of hearsay and mythologies (inexplicably heavy on the Egyptian), inaccuracies and wishful thinking. It does vividly illustrate the wisdom, beauty, and necessity of coming-of-age and birthing rituals for women (the "red tent") and for female community alongside the male brotherhood--although the women who long for this are the first to insist on women in the workplace and mixed seating in the synagogue. In any case, the book is replete with baseless pernicious slander against my ancestors--the Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs of the [Jewish] Bible. It would take 100 other books to correct the errors, omissions, exaggerations, and outrages committed in this one. But who would read them? Ms Diamant has done our people a terrible wrong for the sake of a fad for folk feminism. The high rating this book has gotten by so many readers simply confirms my own opinion that a dangerously anti-intellectual bias is afoot in our own culture.
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Summary: Seeing Red
Review: Reading this book became as tortuous and unfruitful as the many births within its chapters, and the plot was as lightweight and lifeless as the newborns that appeared on practically each page. Diamant's LANGUAGE (a burst of similes and metaphors in the opening pages) is refreshing at first ("they traded secrets like bracelets" and "her words spilling out like water into sand" and "her cheeks...were high and tight on her face, like figs"), and I fairly salivated in anticipation of the remaining text. By the end of the book, her writing had deteriorated to: "One of his tears fell in my mouth, where it became a blue sapphire, source of strength and eternal hope.") By this time, Diamant had also gotten her POV (point of view) mixed up, and the reader was suddenly learning the thoughts of other characters, not just Dinah's. I have other problems with this book. CHARACTERS (particularly Tabea) appeared and disappeared suddenly without much point. Based on Joseph's CHARACTERIZATION, we never would have known he was his parents' favorite had not the narrator, Dinah, flat-out declared it was so. For that matter, most of the characters and their relationships were not rounded out. DIALOGUE read more like an endless history lecture of past events and ancestors. PLOTS (particularly the back-plot of how Jacob deceived Esau of his birthright) were referred to without revealing details. O.K., O.K., maybe the point was for the reader to look it up in the Bible (I was already familiar with most of the story, but I kept a pile of five books nearby to refe to while reading The Red Tent to check on accuracy and historical detail) Most troubling was the fact that the author focused more on the small details of the women's lives rather than allow the reader to experience first-hand the cause-and-effect of the story (e.g., the killings in Shecham). How more effective the long-delayed PLOT might have been had not most of it happened "off stage." That being said, I stuck with the book, found some interesting parts to enjoy, and--most of all--had fun using The Red Tent as a catalyst to dig into my other books to re-read about the origin of patriarchy, ancient female goddesses, scientific creationism, and familiar Bible stories. I know enough not to be smug that I live in post-feminist modern times--we'll always have our badly dysfunctional families.
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Summary: A story of an "everywoman" from the past...
Review: I am not a Biblical scholar, and did not chose to read this book because it was the "story" of Dinah, Jacob's only daughter. I was drawn to this book more for the way it took a minor character from the bible and used her as a pivot to write a thoroughly engrossing story about the lives of women during the time presented in the Book of Genesis. In this book we follow Dinah as she grows up, entering early the company of women due to her being the only daughter of her mother and aunts (all married to the same man.) We watch as she is initiated into the mysteries of womanhood; menstruation, childbirth, relating to men. With the "red tent" as their center, this society of sisters and other women is revealed as the complex and powerful entity that it is, as the women who make it up struggle with using their power within a male dominated society. This is not a feminist book, per se, but it does examine some feminist issues. Mostly though, I just found it an engrossing read, and was drawn into caring about the protagonist and her life and troubles. All in all this is a wonderful book for anyone, man or woman, from any religious background, although I think it will resonate more for women than it will for men.
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Summary: Soup for the Pagan Soul
Review: This book was absolutely the most wonderful book ever written. I think Ms. Diamante should re-write the ENTIRE BIBLE ! Dinah's story was magnificent, sad, joyous, humorous, it took you back the ways of these ancient tribes. This book takes you to the very last days of the matriarchal rule. The days when the Goddess entered the "dark moon phase" of her cycle, and Patriarchal Monotheism began to run amuck. It shows how women dealt with the coming of monotheism. I am glad that Dinah and the other women never embraced the "new god of jacob". I also liked the idea that Jacob and the other men were shown for the true human beings that they were, not the "pious, faultless" people they are made-up to be in the Bible. Take Heart Pagans ! Our NEW AGE has dawned ! The Goddess is back ! and Magick is afoot !
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Summary: BRILLIANT!
Review: I must say that the cover and subject of the book did not attact me, but the good reviews I kept reading and hearing convinced me to read it. I was surprised at how quickly I became immersed in this story. It is a bible story told from the perspective of the woman, Dinah. The characters come alive as she describes her life growing up in the house of Jacob with Rachel, Leah and all her other 'mothers' and brothers. It is a wonderful piece of historical fiction. Highly enjoyable and easy reading -- not as heavy as it may sound!
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