The Red Tent

Rating:
Summary: A New take on an old story
Review: Don't read this book if you are looking for bible study. But if you want to read FICTION, then it's a good read. It uses the bible as a launching point, not as a resource that must be closely followed. It is an imaginative, colorful exploration, not intended to have any claim of accuracy. As such, it succeeds. If you like this book, you should also read The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: I love everything about this book! My female friends and family love it as well. Not that men will dislike it, but they may not relate to it as women do. It is an old story told from a new perspective - the women's perspective! Anita Diamant explores our most primal experiences as women, our strength as individuals and the power of our sisterhood. She has written this story with such style and grace you feel as if you have stepped back in time. Today, more than ever we all need the red tent!

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I've read the Red Tent twice! That's how good it was. I'm waiting with bated breath for another of Anita Diamants book's. Being named after such a heroic woman made me proud. She brought to light many unanswered questions, which I have used frequently. I now understand so much more of my heritage and am proud not only to be a jew, but to be named Dina. I highly recommend this book to woman and men of all ages and think that this book gives us an explanation of bible theories, without the difficult wording.

Rating:
Summary: A Refreshing Take on an Old Story
Review: I liked the point of view of this book, and the very rich description, but did not find it so compelling that I couldn't put it down. I was less concerned with what would happen than with the narrator's perspective. I liked the lesser (female) characters of these age-old tales being given center stage, and look forward to Diamant's next book.

Rating:
Summary: Fellow Men...READ THIS BOOK!
Review: I totally disagree with the comments that claim this is a male-bashing book. On the contrary, it is uplifting to hear the voices of the matriarchs as REAL people, who cared about life, nurturing, and real feelings. Let's face it, the MEN of that era weren't exactly sensitive types as they built their patriacrchal society... guys! And we're still trying to get over it. They did wonderful things and thought up some wonderful philosophies, but women were not exactly part of the process according to the texts. I found this deeply moving book exciting to read, and it had me in tears on every other page. PLEASE GIVE IT YOUR TIME, and I dare any man who cares to look at a woman again in the same way as before the book. It should open your eyes to their heritage in a way you never imagined, and realize what many of them still go through thanks to ours. Thank you, Ms. Diamant! (By the way, I bought this as an e-book at PeanutPress.com for my PocketPC, and it was worth it!)

Rating:
Summary: Rebuttal to May19th Review from Seattle
Review: I would like to take a moment to address some of the complaints made in the May 19th review. I did not experience THE RED TENT as male bashing. It's intent was to take a female view of the major women of the Old Testament and to breathe life into them. It is "over endowed" with a female viewpoint as a counterbalance to the bible's male view. Women in the BIBLE were often hardly more than property, so it is not too surprising that a fictionalized female character from this period might see men somewhat differently then we do. The BIBLE does portray Laban as a pretty disagreeable character, but in this book Jacob is portrayed as a tragic figure, not a negative figure. He is not the cause of the terrible massacre, but assumes the guilt of his tribe. Until then he is a respected male figure in the book. The women have their weak points as well. Rachel is vain, and the grandmother, Rebecca is a formidable figure of both arrogance and power. Isaac's trauma as a child, being nearly slaughtered by his own father, was treated with compassion. Diamant has Dinah speak of this trauma and how it left Isaac with a stutter for the rest of his life. Some of the women are weak in a way that makes them disagreeable. The carpenter husband of Dinah, Benia, is a truly admirable and loveable male figure and her young husband, the prince Shalem, slaughtered at the hands of her brothers, is as gentle and romantic a young man as you could want.

As to the continual reference to pregnancies and childbirth, I believe this had a deliberate intent. During biblical times, childbearing is what gave women power. It is natural to assume that women of that period would indeed be obssessed with their own ability to bring children into the world - especially women of strength who would be able determine ways to use that ability to some advantage. The very nature of the Red Tent, was that it bonded women in a way that as a group gave them more leverage. Their "mysterious" ways were kept from the men who were somewhat fearful of their rituals and knowledge of childbearing. This was a woman's main source of power in a life that was in many ways powerless. Being a mid wife was as close to a career as a woman could have and it commanded respect from everyone. You have to remember that men and women did lead very separare lives at that time. Another source of power, still "mysterious" to men, was the role of a priestess and ordainer. Rebecca had this role down to a science in order to insure her place of distinction in the ancient world. I present these ideas as a difference of opinion to the previous reviewer, who is of course entitled to her opinion. I had my book group meeting last night and our book of discussion was THE RED TENT, so these themes were very much on my mind and I felt compelled to respond.

Rating:
Summary: A Bible Bodice Ripper
Review: Well written, well researched, but what an absurd spin on the tale of Dinah in the Book of Genesis and the circumstances surrounding the defending of her honor by her despicable Father and Brothers in the face of her long suffering Mothers. Frankly in my estimation, this is just an example of blatant male bashing! I am a woman reader, and I might add very well liberated and in suport of female causes but lets give men some credit rather than always depicting them as heartless predators. In attempting to develop a strong female character in control of her life in a primitive period of history, Ms. Diamant, struggles eloquently to plead a plausible case but fails to do so with any reasonable semblance of acceptance. If the author persues the use of the Bible for her future works, she certainly has a lot of fertile ground to work with. I'd be very interested in her rendition of the Story of Eve. Sorry can't give the same praises to this one as your other reviewers.

Rating:
Summary: A Blue Ribbon for The Red Tent
Review: Passion! Betrayal! Greed! Envy! Sex! Murder! Yup, it's the Bible -- only this time told from the rarely heard women's perspective. Gripping and well-researched. Loved every single sentence. A book all men should read.

Rating:
Summary: too politically correct
Review: As several other reviewers mention, our congregational book club chose this book as its next subject. I found myself continually weeping at many descriptions, I also felt myself being manipulated by the author. I felt as if Diamant had an actual list of current women's issues (rape, abortion, marital abuse) which she needed to work into the plot. While she is a talented writer, the book might have seemed less contrived had I not begun to take note of and list these various contemporary women's issues to see how many of them she would eventually weave into the story. Yes, I learned a great deal about life in that time and I believe that the book was well researched. Nevertheless, be warned that you will notice every current PC topic in here and most of the men are w/o redeeming qualities. I still think it's worth reading and I'm glad I did.

Rating:
Summary: Walking in such different shoes
Review: I evaluate so much of what I read by Atticus Finch's standards--I want what I read to help me step into another [person's] shoes and walk around in them. The Red Tent allows a reader to do just that. We plunge into a world of remarkable sensuality and unrelenting activity. We live and breathe what it means to be a woman in Biblical times, and in so doing we think long and hard about what it is to be a woman at any time. Right now. In addition, this novel is compulsively readable. Evocative and clear, Diamant's prose does what good writing should do. It takes us into the hearts and minds of its character, and it takes us to places both foriegn and familiar. We breathe sighs of recognition and of awe.