Qué belleza de libro. Me quedo sobre todo con el final, precioso y redondo y con el significado de la palabra madre. La que te trae al mundo pero no solo ella, también las maestras que encontramos a lo largo de nuestra vida, las amigas, las mujeres que te quieren. Es cierto que hay muchísima presencia masculina y la mayoría de las cosas giran en torno a los hombres. Aún así, se respira la sororidad, el apoyo y el amor entre mujeres. Me he sentido abrigada leyéndolo, y con esa sensación me voy.

Without a doubt the most fascinating novel I've ever read about women's cycles. Period.

Okay, I really struggled through this book. I loved reading from the perspective of a woman in the Old Testament. That part was great. I have been told many-a-time that I am an individual who CHOOSES to be naive and for that reason, I didn't like the way the author portrayed some of the characters--some of my heroes--from the OT. There were just some disturbing things in there--like Jacob masturbating--(there is worse than that in the book, believe me) that I thought were AWFUL. In the end, Joseph is portrayed as a selfish, illiterate tyrant who hated his younger brother Benjamin and who willingly slept with Potipher's wife. Terrible! So for the most part, I just didn't like it. I did manage to read the whole thing, and enjoyed reading about Dinah making the most of her life and incorporating things she learned from her mothers. I loved getting to know Zilpah and Bilhah better..but that's where it ended. If you are at all familiar with the OT, don't read this book!

This is an epic tale based on the Biblical character Dinah and her life. I found the story very moving, and much credit goes to the author, Anita Diamant. I think she is a great storyteller, a la Barbara Kingsolver and John Irving. Although I was familiar with Dinah and what happened to her from having read her story in the Bible, Ms. Diamant's story is much richer and complex. Though I should add that some religious people, especially those who believe Bible to be literally true, may be offended and I can see them accusing Ms Diamant of distorting the "truth."

Warning: the following reveals some details from the plot.

I was surprised how much I was taken in by Dinah and felt emotionally connected to her, e,g., when she dislikes Rebecca, I did too; when she curses Jacob, I was cursing him with her; when she was moved to tears with grief or happiness, I was on the verge of tears myself. I think the credit goes to Ms. Diamant for developing her characters, especially, but not only, Dinah, in a manner that I totally found believable and it transported me from my world to that of Dinah.

Even more surprising to me was that I found myself being envious of the close, nurturing relationship that the women share in the book, especially when they are in the red tent (birthing or menstruating). It's rather sad that men have nothing equivalent and what passes for "male bonding" is, in my opinion, quite pathetic and immature in comparison (beers and football? Gimme a break!). And may be it's even sadder that, as far as I know, now there is nothing remotely like that for women either.

There is a strong theme of Goddess worshipping and celebration of the female power in the story. The contrast between Jacob's masculine god and Dinah and her mothers' gods/goddesses is quite stark and it left me wondering just how our modern world might have been different had the masculine Judeo-Christian God not supplanted the Goddess pantheism which had existed for thousands of years before.

Bottom line: this a story that very much appealed to me on an emotional and intellectual level. Highly recommended!

This novel follows the tale of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob barely mentioned in the Old Testament. In the Hebrew Bible, she is seen as a young girl who a handsome prince took advantage of, and that the following slaughter was the result of her family defending her honor.

I went into this book solely expecting a rich, entertaining story and that's what I got. I never read the story in the Bible, so I didn't have any expectations in regard to being accurate.

I learned much from this book and I could picture the vivid scenery. The way it was written was just so beautiful. Scenes that I would have otherwise found awkward were handled tenderly with grace. This family saga is a tribute to women and mothers everywhere, even those we have forgotten. I saw some reviews saying how this book treated men poorly and two-dimensionally, but I disagree. Dinah treated her male relatives with respect, and her later hatred of them was for personal reasons only- not just because they were men. The reason the men weren't as fleshed out as the women is simply because Dinah did not know them as well. She was surrounded by women, so that's what would have stuck with her.

It seems the more impressed I am with a book, the less I have to say about it. Overall a beautiful, sad story about womanhood and family that I whole-heartedly recommend.

n  ”In the red tent, the truth is known.”n

4.5 out of 5 stars

For Jews and Christians alike, the name Dinah probably doesn’t register high on the radar of important biblical figures to know. There’s the usual suspects such as Cain, Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph that most people are familiar with. But mention the name Dinah and all you’ll probably get is a blank stare. If you asked me a couple of weeks ago who she was, I would have said,

“Dinah? Who in the world is Dinah?”

n  ”My name means nothing to you. My memory is dust.”n

In the Bible and the Torah, Dinah is the only daughter of Jacob and his first of four wives, Leah. She’s also the sister of Joseph (along with a Duggar carload of brothers), and the niece of Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife. She’s only a part of one chapter of the book of Genesis and given one measly little speaking line, but essentially she’s the cause of her brother’s massacre of every man of Shechem, Egypt because she was supposedly defiled by the prince.

But what If Dinah wasn’t an innocent victim at the mercy of her brothers. What if there’s more to this story? Who really is the real Dinah?

n  ”You come hungry for the story that was lost. You crave words to fill the great silence that swallowed me, and my mothers, and my grandmothers before them.”n

That is the question Anita Diamant tries to answer in this book, and holy guacamole does she do a good job. Just the sheer fact that she could take one chapter of the Bible with a character who hardly speaks and could create an absorbing, fully fleshed out story from it will never cease to amaze me. So often, the woman of the Bible are either forgotten entirely or created to be the victim. They’re never fully realized, due to the abhorrently patriarchal nature of the time period or their stories simply not being passed down through the generations makes it extremely hard to piece together who they really were. And yet with great effort and understanding, the author manages to create the life Dinah could have lived, from childhood to old age, in a way that is respectful and exciting at the same time.

We see Dinah grow up with her mother Leah and her mother’s half-sisters Rachel, Zilpha, and Bilhah in the red menstrual tent where women go when they’re on their “monthly gift”. The author does so much more than tell us who these women are; she fully fleshes them out and gives them real, distinct and differing personalities. Leah’s the practical no-nonsense one who gets the job done; Rachel’s the beauty of the bunch; Zilpha is the spiritual, slightly insane one, and Bilhah is the quiet, meek one. Their intense bonds and rivalries with each other felt so real as I was reading about them. Sometimes, when an author is writing about a group of women, they can kind of conglomerate them so it seems like they all have the same personalities in the end, but the author manages to make each woman her own distinct character. She even gave all of Dinah’s fourteen (!) brothers distinct personalities, which is a feat in of itself, considering how many of them there are.

Another thing I liked about this book was the strong female characters and relationships that are developed throughout this book between them. Whether it’s Dinah’s relationships with her mother and aunts, the mother/aunts relationships with each other, friends between friends, the bonds between them are strong and sure. It’s so rare nowadays to see strong female relationships with one another, since it seems that all authors want to do is pit them against each other. The line of work Dinah is in, midwifery, is especially relevant when it comes to talking about this.

n  ”Until you are the woman on the bricks, you have no idea how deaths stands in the corner, ready to play his part. Until you are the woman on the bricks, you do not know the power that rises from other women- even strangers speaking an unknown tongue; invoking the names of unfamiliar goddesses.”n

Fertility and midwifery play a huge role in this book, since Dinah and her Aunt Rachel are both in that profession. If you’re a mother, or about to become a mother, this book might make you see things in a whole new light.

I also really, like REALLY, loved the writing. I haven’t had much luck with writing styles in books lately, as I’ve been caught in a sea of purple prose that I can’t seem to get away from. And ironically... this book has some purple prose in it!! But I think what sets this book apart from the other books I have read is that it’s used sparingly and in a way that it doesn’t really call attention to it. The other books I read used it so much and so often it was like the author was trying to out-purple all the other books with purple prose into it. Either that or I was so entirely transported to ancient Israel that I didn’t give a darn. I like to think it’s the latter, teehee!

One quibble I had with this book was the insane insta-love that happened between Dinah and Shalem, the Egyptian prince she falls in love(?) with. Now don’t get me wrong, young love is a powerful thing I’m sure. But when you’re uttering something like THIS

n  ”Leaving the next morning was like dying. I thought I might never see him again.”n

about a man you only have glanced at EXACTLY ONE TIME, you might have some problems. I think in this case, the author was trying too hard to sell us on the romance of Dinah and Shalem so that it would justify Dinah’s story. The romance read more like something out of the diary from a melodramatic teenage girl than a women’s fiction book. I liked her romance with Benia a lot better.

(Another quibble I had with this book was the whole blip about Reuben and Bilhah gettin’ it on. Not that I’m against older women/younger men relationships. And Reuben was my one of my favorites out of Joseph’s sons, and wanted poor Bilhah to be happy. But the fact that they’re aunt and nephew..... No. Just no. I know historically incest was a thing, but ew.).

This book is a mastery of historical fiction, and just shows that the littlest things from history can spark big ideas. Now if you’re a staunch believer in the Bible or the Torah stay away from this book. It’ll probably piss you off more than make you love it. But if you want a book that has strong relationships, even stronger characters, beautiful language, and an insight into one of the forgotten women of history, pick this up.

I’m sure Dinah will be glad to share her story.

i can't remember the last time a book made me cry. (Midrash, gotta love it) ;-)

the only people i have ever met, who actually believed Dinah was "raped" (as recorded in the Bible) have been men...

granted, that might say something about the circles i tend to move in (hasidic) and our propensity for personal interpretation of the scriptures (to an embarrassing degree, at times) but any woman, rebbetzin/wife/mother/sister/otherwise, which i have discussed this story with (speaking of the scripture) mirrored my smirk right back at me, and said the same as i did "i bet she fell in love.. i bet she wasn't raped at all"....

the conversation quickly turning to "women as possessions of men", "unmarried women's bodies belonging to fathers", and of course: sex with a virgin, equals rape.....

men being the ones who were working as scribes through the years, and "Word of G-d" or not, it wasn't HaShem who was dotting every yod and crossing every dalet for the past 2 thousand years, so who even knows what really *did* happen to Dinah, seeing as *all* of her story (except the small, horrible, little blurb) had been left out of sight for so long.... and what she might actually say for herself today, if she were here to ask... well, read the book.

This book is my exception to the rule book. Generally I will be tying on my sneakers good and secure, and heading for the hills at great speed if anyone threatens (recommends) me with a tale of female bonding, sisterhood and lovey-dovey fuzziness. At first glance I would have interpreted this as a sort of biblical version of the First Wives club or some other story where all the ladies band together in order to achieve some sense of self and self worth and to high five each other and sing songs and shout like Annie Lennox about how sisters are doing it for themselves. Listen.... you can hear the gentle pitter patter of my feet... that's me running.

This book however broke through my carefully constructed (and partly naturally acquired) barrier of cynicism, vitriol, bitterness and scoffing. I even stopped squishing kittens and stealing candy from small children in order to sit down and read it. I've given it five stars and I mean it sincerely.

I don't know if it is the combination of female trials and tribulations, a reminder to treasure our mothers and to remember our past that made me love this, against my will, but something about this book broke the barrier and it has been on my shelf for a good ten years and it has been read at least three times since it arrived.

The story, whilst loosely based on the biblical tale of Dinah and the formation of the tribe of Israel is liberally adapted to shape Diamant's requirements and woman's perspective (if not a feminist one). I'll overlook any potential biblical inaccuracies as I'm not exactly a staunch believer, what with archaeological excavations general disproving a tranche of the contents anyway. Apparently Dinah is mentioned only once in the bible. This bit of information features in a number of reviews and has now become a proto fact in its own right although admittedly I am too lazy to open my much under-thumbed copy of the good book and check to see if this in fact true. Dinah is the only daughter of Leah, a child of Jacob, suckled by her mother aunts, Zilpah, Bilhah and Rachel. The story of her brothers Judah, Reuben, Simon, Levi, Zebulun, Dan, Gad, Asher, Benjaman and Joseph - there may be others but I forget. Her life is one of quiet anonymity amongst her male counterparts until she visits the city of Shechem and becomes the wife of Shalem. A bloody feud ensues between the sons of Jacob and the men of Shechem and Dinah is robbed of happiness, status and eventually the son she carries as she flees to Egypt.

The male characters are under developed, flattened out and distant; this is clearly something that a number of people picked up on, but isn't that how many of the contemporary female characters would have seen their menfolk during the Early Bronze Age in the Near East? Distant authority figures who visited their women's pallets for the procurement of pleasure and children and who visited the kitchens for sustenance. These people were not engaging in erudite conversation or political banter. Women were possessions, men possessors. Because of this it might be assumed that women would have created their own tight knit and highly dependent society.

This is a book about women and probably will mainly appeal to women- I'm not saying men can't or won't read it but rare is the gentleman who wants long descriptions of menstruation or child birth, unless of course he is a gynaecologist. I think generally though this book made me think about my own relationships with other women. Do I take my mother for granted? How well do I know her story? What will my legacy be? And most importantly should I now wonder what my legacy as a woman will be or in the 21st century should I discount this and think only of my legacy and story as a person?

Engaging and graphic---the way in which Prophets are described/likened to be in possession of the human condition is nothing orthodox. Themes of murder, blood, procreation, deification and betrayal along with worship of idols are utterly prominent in Diamants "The Red Tent." Symbolism of the red tent is unto a clandestine abode where only women are allowed (whose guarded wisdom is power).

The actions by Prophets and their followers are not what one would customarily think are apropos. Idols (e.g. golden calf) are clearly indicated and treated in a fashion which flags what the divine sees as opposed to a mortal reconciliation. Asks much of the reader and also of a person imbued with undaunted faith. The maternal forces may be equated to the first female physicians.

"Their song was unlike anything I'd ever heard, and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end, as though Joseph were tickling me with a stalk of grass...they sang the words in unison, yet somehow created a web of sounds with their voices."
---Anita Diamant

Writing like this creates---in the mind “On the morning I entered this grove, a cloud descended over the tent of Sarai (Sarah)...a golden cloud that bore no rain, nor did it cover the sun. It was a cloud that is seen upon great rivers and the great sea, but never before in a place so high. And yet the cloud hovered above the tent of Sarai while Issac knew me and I became his wife. We spent our first days as husband and wife under that cloud, in which gods were surely present"...creates viscerally rich scenes which air lift and drop the reader into the red tent.

The symbol of the tent is powerful. It serves many as a respite, hospital and birthing suite. Within Mothers of Prophets share a "geschenk" far beyond the value of money and things done to those here are illicit habiliments from a time when blindness and ego prevented ascension. Most auspicious read.

I've had this book sitting on my bookshelf for years. I bought it from the bargain priced bin at a local bookstore. At this point, I didn't really know what the story was about but the cover was captivating and the reviews made it seem worth reading. Plus, I loved buying all.the.books at the time so I brought the book home and gave it a new home on the shelf.

Overall, I really enjoyed the first person narrative. The Red Tent was told by Dinah, and she shared her story and the stories of those around her. I enjoyed the story from a female perspective. It was a story of love, friendship, coming to womanhood, forgiveness, identity, loss and survival. I didn't connect with Dinah as much as I did with Leah and Rachel. I enjoyed reading about the challenges and triumphs of being a midwife in those days.

The men were presented in a one-dimension, shallow manner, and the Bible [from what parts I have read] portrayed the men with more compassion, etc. For me personally, this isn't a deal breaker because from what I understand, the woman spent most of their time together so how would they be able to share many intimate details and experiences from a mans perspective? I will say this.. when Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah did spend time with Jacob/their sons, I did feel like the mens/boys thoughts and ideas WERE SHALLOW and LACKING DEPTH ... so I do agree with many of the critics on this piece. I finished the book feeling a lack of connection, empathy/sympathy for the men of the story because of the way their side of the story was handled.

The overall details and descriptions of what went down in the actual "Red Tent" were very interesting. I can not speak to historical accuracy on how much of it was an accurate portrayal. I will say that as I become older, my instinct has been to embrace my womanhood and not view it as a monthly annoyance. I have begun to practice relaxing more and taking it easier during this time, just as the woman did in The Red Tent. I've also read from many, many sources about the new/full moon cycles. How about that!

I can't say if it was the midnight hour, the ending, or nearing my time of the month, but when I got to this quote, the floodgates opened and I couldn't stop crying. I was an emotional wreck and I just put the book down and felt so much love as I looked at my son sleeping next to me, and gave thanks for being alive, gave thanks for being blessed to become a mother, and finally prayed for the chance to welcome another soul into existence after 1.5 years of trying unsuccessfully.

n  “Egypt loved the lotus because it never dies. It is the same for people who are loved. Thus can something as insignificant as a name-two syllables, one high, one sweet- summon up the innumerable smiles, tears, sighs and dreams of a human life.”n

This is exactly the type of book that leads me down my "rabbit hole" of adventures. I have inherited several copies of the Bible from relatives, so I'm going to go back and read the stories again from the Bible since The Red Tent is fresh in my mind. I'd like to learn the differences, and hopefully some similarities between the two.

A little disclaimer. I was raised Catholic however I have only read pieces of the Bible, and I can only recall the overall summary of some of the major figures. My thoughts and feelings on The Red Tent are based on my overall interest in Historical Fiction and the time period, and my previous knowledge base of these figures in the Bible.

This was a very compelling read, and I don't have enough words to describe how beautiful the writing is. Anita Diamant wove a very intricate and poignant story that captivated me, and I think I'll be moonstruck for a while!

The "Red Tent" follows the life of Jacob's daughter, Dinah, who's a minor character in the Book of Genesis. Diamant pretty much expanded Dinah's story and it's told from her POV. As her story unfolds, you will get to witness the lives of her mothers: Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah, as well.
For a woman in the times of Genesis, life can be pretty scary. Back then, women had very little power. Their main function in society was to get hitched and produce heirs for their husband. The red tent is the one place where these women have their own world and their own power. You really won't get to see the red tent in the second half of the book, because Dinah is no longer with her mothers. Nevertheless, the memory of the red tent lingers throughout the book. Dinah constantly looks back at the red tent with nostalgia and longing, and so did I.

I don't want to expound on the plot further and trust me, you will be better off reading it. "The Red Tent" is like an acknowledgement for all the untold stories, for the forgotten characters, and for the struggles deemed unnecessary. Most of us do not experience great glories and victories in life, rather, most of us gather our joys and small pleasures where and when we can-- and the rest of the time, we do what is necessary to survive. Dinah, does no less and does so with honor. Even minor characters have a story worth telling-- reminding us of the internal, silent, and unsung glory that can occur inside each of us as we live our lives as best we can.

I was hoping to like this book. I thought it would flesh out more possibilities in the story in interesting ways. I was disappointed. Instead of reading about pastoral Middle Eastern women of 1700 B.C., I found myself reading about liberal and enlightened 20th-century Western women, who just happen to be herding sheep in 1700 B.C. The men, of course, are timeless two-dimensional caricatures of ape-like males who molest children, have sex with the sheep in the fields every night, lead poorly, stink horribly and eat everything. (Except for the one hero-man in each generation who looks gorgeous, treats women like equals, falls head-over-heels in love, and is amazing in bed the first time, and every time) The book is heavy-handed from beginning to end, making sure you know exactly how the author feels about male-female relationships and god-worship and not letting go at any point. By the time the women get together to rape the 12-year-old girl with a goddess statue in a disturbing coming-of-age ceremony (her best friend had earlier been banished from the community for not taking part in the ceremony) and it is treated as a “beautiful moment”, I’d had more than enough.

I always finish books. At the very least, I figure that I have to do the book justice in a negative review, so I read every word until the bitter end. But I had to speed-read this book after page 200, something I probably do no more than once every 100 books I read. It was just that agonizing. I’m usually considered a liberal and even a feminist, but this book was so heavy-handed it became unbearable, and the lack of historical accuracy in favor of preaching 20th century values took away the one thing that could have made it interesting. If you really really like feminism, Goddess-worship, and the mocking of men and want to see those three things shoehorned into every chapter of your book, then this is a great read for you. Otherwise, I really, really wouldn’t recommend it.