Rating: 
Summary: A Spectacular Book, But Clearly Not For Everyone
Review: This novel blew me away, and I think that most people would react that way. However, if a very loose interpretation of the Bible, or someone taking liberties with Biblical history will offend you, do not read this book. Otherwise, read on. The Red Tent is the story of Dinah, Jacob's daughter. She narrates in a beautiful poetic voice that is all at once a familiar friend. Her story, while heartbreaking, is also a celebration of what it is to be female. She begins telling us about what happened before she was born, how Jacob came to have four wives, how his sons were born. Her focus is on the wives and their tradition of abiding in the red tent during menses. While they are there, the woman bond and after she, the only surviving daughter of Jacob, is born, she spends much time there with her mothers, learning female traditions of midwifery. Her story is familiar, yet not the same as in the good book. Diamante's story is breathtakingly imaginative. Leah and her sisters come alive in this novel. While reading it, you are in the red tent. The characters are completely believable, the story utterly compelling. We follow Dinah throughout her life. Her pain and her pleasures come alive. I highly recommend this book. Don't be intimidated by the Biblical history aspect of it. This novel comes alive from the first page and you won't be able to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: You must read this book!
Review: "You who come to me with hands and feet as soft as a queen's, who are so free with your tongues....who want to hear my story" ...thus begins the story of Jacob's only daughter Dinah. I was very skeptical when I received this book, it looked too "touchy feely" for me. I was hooked after the prologue. The story of Dinah and her four mothers was so engrossing I finished the book in less than two days. There is sorrow in the Red Tent (the women's tent), there is death, there is love and joy. The prose is moving, the story compelling and the end will make you laugh and cry at the same time. Read the book!
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Book!
Review: I am not a spiritual person. I received this book as a present. i started reading it and couldn't put it down. It really gives you a good description of women in Biblical times without getting all caught up in the "history" of the actual Bible. Every turn of events was surprising and shocking. I did not want it to end. I wanted to continue the story of Dinah. I then gave it to a friend and she called me to tell me she is totally completely caught up in this story and she cannot work but to read this book! Thanks for a great read.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for all women
Review: This book moved me deeply. Although - as some reviewers have complained-- it is not always faithful to the biblical accounts -- it is a wonderful STORY. I was amazed that Ms. Diamant could take a footnote and weave such an involved piece of work.
Rating: 
Summary: Great story, but not the *real* one
Review: As a student of the Old Testament, I was anxious to read Anita Diamant's midrash of the story of Dinah. While interesting, I was quite concerned at how much she meddled with the basic facts. This meddling does not involve "filling in the gaps," but actually changing them in many instances. Although my reading of the "rape" of Dinah is similar, in that Dinah was not an unwilling partner, many of the other well-known Biblical stories changed the plot line significantly. Joseph seen as arrogant in Egypt? Very possible, but the OT text makes abundantly clear that he did NOT sleep with Potiphar's wife. Rebecca as a female shaman struck me as just plain silly as well. Although the Biblical narrative is quite clear that the Israelites often faltered between God and the local gods, having Rebecca appear as an oracle in her advanced age was pushing it a bit much. With all this said, I still found the book to be engrossing. It is at its best when the women are together, in sorority taking care of children, attending births, and gathering in the red tent together in the days when natural light was the only light, and cycles were synchronous, allowing the women to gather. This apsect of speculative historical fiction was believable and allowed the reader to get to know these women, their hopes, sorrows and foibles. If you are a serious student of Biblical history, this book is not going to do it for you. If you would be upset by the meddling with the known facts, buyer beware. If you want to read an engrossing account how life *may* have been in the times of the patriarchs, The Red Tent will satisfy.
Rating:
Summary: Diamant makes up for what the boys left out
Review: This was a compelling read--easy, interesting, and thought provoking. Historically, it's plausible and that means that the "willing suspension of disbelief" is effortless. As I went through the Bible reading about Jacob and family and compared that with what Diamant wrote, it raised more questions. How much more could we understand if only we had a better perspective on what the distaff side of the equation experienced? Want food for thought? This is THE book.
Rating:
Summary: I can't wait for her next book
Review: This is a wonderful book for those of us who want to read a great story and not for people who are looking to read a bible story. I dont think this book should be placed in a religious category because this book is more about women and history. It made me think about being a woman today and given birth in a sterile hospital room and the dangers of birthing babies throughout history. I also loved the relationship of women as sisters, daughters, mothers, wives and midwives. I can't wait for more from Anita Diamant.
Rating:
Summary: A Blessing on Your House, Ms. Diamant
Review: Take a minor Biblical Character and give her life. Her name is Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah, sister to Joseph. The Bible tells us she was raped and that her brothers murdered the men of Shechem in revenge. Anita Diamant tells us the rest. "We have been lost to each other for so long," begins Dinah. "The chain connecting mother to daughter was broken and the word passed to the keeping of men, who had no way of knowing." Dinah tells us her story and of her mothers: Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah. The men of the Bible are there but they are supporting characters. The Red Tent is one of the most compelling narratives I have ever experienced. I laughed and, yes, cried with Dinah. I stretched the last twenty pages over three days, not wanting to say good-bye. In the end, I felt that I had met a woman who blessed me with her story; who told me things usually reserved for a woman's ears.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning novel
Review: The Red Tent is an incredibly moving novel. If you grew up in Sunday School and were told again and again the sketchy, mysterious, beautiful, terrifying stories from Genesis, you will delight in the way Diamant explores these characters and events (Abraham nearly murdering Isaac, Jacob wrestling with God, Jacob being "swindled" by Laban and being made to marry Leah before he could marry Rachel whom he loved...) This novel explores what daily life was like for these people, what Dinah's brothers (Reuben, Judah, and all who will be the 12 tribes of Israel)were like, what it might be like to be one wife among many. Additionally, her exploration of the way women experience their bodies (their sexuality, their reproductive lives) is deep and true. After reading the novel, I went back and read through the parts of Genesis that her novel explores with new eyes. For me, those stories will be all the richer now that I can imagine in such detail the lentil stews and all the details of the lives of these semi-nomadic people. It's truly a stunning novel.
Rating:
Summary: Buy two books, one for you and one for a friend.
Review: I was captured as soon as I read the first page. I found this book fascinating and breathtaking. The description of women and their daily life and responsiblities in such ancient times was wonderful yet heartwrenching. And of course we always knew the relationship between Leah and Rachael had to be more complex than any childhood Bible stories ever expressed. I bought this book on a weekend away with my old college girlfriends. I contiuously recommend this book because of it's uniquely feminine point of view of an otherwise masculine world. It has wetted my appetite for more! The concept of the Red Tent continues today in my life by the yearly retreats with my college friends. Buy two books, then call a friend!
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