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Summary: "The Red Tent" turns the Bible into a soap opera.
Review: I read Anita Diamant's "The Red Tent," with high expectations. In the library where I work, the ladies are lining up to read it, and it is the subject of many book discussions. I just finished reading it, and I am disappointed. As a student of the Bible, I am aware that our patriarchs and matriarchs were flawed individuals with strong personalities. However, Diamant doesn't just humanize our ancestors; she rewrites their story with a feminist spin, and in the process, she distorts the Bible for her own fictional purposes. "The Red Tent" is told through the eyes of Dinah, who was the only daughter of Leah and Jacob. As a work of fiction, "The Red Tent" is not only only a distortion of the Bible, but it is slow-moving. Diamant places a great emphasis on the sexuality of Jacob and his wives. I tired of reading about our lusty ancestors and their love-lives. I also did not see the point of making Rebecca into a shrew and Joseph into a conniving, power-mad leader. For those people who have studied the Bible seriously, these are insulting portrayals. Dinah's story in Egypt, which ended the novel, was an abrupt shift away from the first part of the book. Dinah's character is not interesting enough to carry the final chapters of the novel. Diamant's "The Red Tent," does have a positive message about the ways in which women have supported one another through the ages. However, in spite of its well-meaning feminist message about the universality of female bonding, "The Red Tent" is little more than a soap opera in the desert.
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Summary: The Red Tent
Review: This is one of the best books I have read to date about women. It's a must for both men and women--to discover life as it was and how it relates to women and men of today! It will stay with me forever.
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Summary: The Red Tent
Review: A wonderful, wonderful story! It's readability and strength of its women kept me reading while chores waited, family waited and a beautiful day outside went by. I felt I had been on a journey when I closed the book.
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Summary: So sorry for all you demonized males
Review: I had to chuckle at all the reviewers who are upset that the Old Testment patriarchs are poorly portrayed in this book. I think that is the point. I challenge you to find one Old Testament woman (besides Deborah) who is portrayed in the Bible as anything but a doormat, villain or whore. Ruth? Beautiful story, but major doormat. Rahab? My favorite OT woman but, face it, she's a whore. Esther? Sure, she rescued her people, but hid her faith to do so and only admitted being Jewish when threatened by her uncle. Jezebel? Oh, please! I understand the culture in which these stories were written, but when you are trying to raise a teenaged daughter in the faith, it is hard to find Biblical female role models. Diamant offers an alternative viewpoint.
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Summary: Wonderful and Amazing
Review: Yes, this book may not be exactly in alignment with the Bible-but the author states this upfront. It is an amazing book about women of a different time, their sisterhood and their hardships. One of the best books I have ever read. It might have been better if the author hadn't connected this book to any characters in the Bible-then some of the reveiwers of this text just just RELAX! They worshipped idols because the majority of people did not know about the Christian God and this is extremely early in the Bible (Genesis when it would have taken place) It is an amazing book about women-a voice almost completely left out of the Bible and a refeshing look about "what was really going on" in those times. A MUST READ!
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Summary: Wished I had liked it
Review: I know that I'm in the minority for not liking this book, but here goes... My dislike for this novel did not come from the in/accuracy of the story compared to the Bible, as others have expressed. Instead, I was very turned off by the anti-male tone. Why do we always have to support the battle of the sexes by glorifying one gender over another? I wish Diamant hadn't fallen into this trap. You can say that the male characters were made more human, but I think Diamant went too much to the extreme in making them so dislikable. The main aspect I disliked, however, (and which I'm sure will anger some people) was the amount of detail spent on the recurring pregnancies and births. As a woman, I thoroughly understand that childbearing is a major part of the female identity. I also understand that it was central to the lives of women in Biblical times. Yet, no matter how important it is, I find any story to be dull which spends as many pages as the 'Red Tent' solely on this point. The novel did provoke my thoughts at some points, which was good. However, the story ultimately left me feeling empty. I wish it had been otherwise.
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Summary: Powerful
Review: This story of Women was powerful. I read it in 1 day because I could not put it down. Do not be put off by the fact that it is "biblical" in nature (though for those of us who ourselves are grounded in faith it is that much more awesome). It is a truly wonderful book for everyone to read. I recommend it without hesitation!
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Summary: Excellent and Compelling!
Review: I began this book - our book club's next book - with hesitation. It's set in biblical times and revolves around biblical characters (one in particular) and my knowledge of the bible is microscopic. Yet, as Dinah's story (and the story of her "mothers") unfolded, I found I could not put this book down. I am sure there are historical inaccuracies, but the story, which was set 2000+ years ago, seemed REAL to me. Her story, and the stories of her mothers, cousins, friends and lovers transcended time and touched my heart. What a wonderful novel; a story of our time and of our past.
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Summary: The Red Tent
Review: I recommend this book to all women. It was wonderful. Dinah was such a strong women,(just like her mothers) and went through so much before she finally found love. A great twist on the biblical story. I'm glad I know Dinah now.
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Summary: Bought it for Mother's Day
Review: I purchased this book for my mother for Mother's Day, as it is a great tribute to mothers and the daughters who honor them throughout their lives. While it may rub students of the Old Testiment the wrong way, it gives an interesting look at what life in the time of Jacob and his sons might have been like for the women rarely mentioned. It definitely made me pick up my Bible and review the book of Genesis again! The story of the life of Dinah - Jacob's only daughter - as told by her, opens up many mysteries of the life of women in biblical times. Living in a life ruled by men, Ms. Diamont ably allows us to look into the separate, but equally diverse, lives lead by the women who served their men well; and makes us realize they exerted their own strengths in society. Dinah accepts the role the world offers her and finds joy and tragedy within it. Contemporary ideals are not introduced, which makes the story ring of realism for its setting. My wish is that my mother sees my choice in gifts as the tribute to all she has given me, and the sacrifices that entails, that I mean it to be.
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