For me, this is a book that is hard not to like. Last month, I and some friends here in Goodreads agreed to read the Bible for 12 months. Most of us are now on the seventh book, Judges and so far, my favorite is still Genesis. The reason is that there are just too many interesting events in it and so many unforgettable characters whose stories can be told and retold many times but we will not be tired hearing about them.

One of these stories is that of Isaac and Sara who have two sons, Esau and Jacob. Jacob steals the firstborn title from Esau with the help of Sara. Later Jacob meets Laban, the businessman. In Laban's place, there are 4 single women: Rachel, Leah, Zilpah and Bilhah. All of these become Jacob's wives giving him his 12 sons and only one daughter: Dinah. Her name is only mentioned ONCE in the Bible. Diamant took interest on her name and thought of all that could happen to her. She did not change anything in the backdrop story. She only extended and expanded what she thought could have been the untold story and she did it beautifully.

It is an easy read. Something that you can do while in a busy Starbucks outlet listening to rich kids discussing their term papers and school projects. I finished the bulk of this book the other night while waiting for my daughter from her band practice. This could have earned more stars from me had Diamant been more descriptive in her narration. I also felt that she put too much emphasis on her female characters. All the male characters were delineated with secondary roles which are all flat and unfeeling. This made the rampaging and horrendous mass murder committed by Simon and Levi in the palace too unbelievable to get any sympathy from me for Dinah. I thought that the life-long curse and her going back to the palace is too melodramatic that I felt like watching an corny movie hoping to get an Oscar nomination for an overacting aspiring actress.

Overall, I liked it. Not jumping up and down though.

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 disagree with those who don't think it matters whether the content is truth or fiction. Historical fiction influences contemporary thinking about the past, and for that reason it does matter whether it is accurate or not.

While this novel is careful to show much negative about being a woman in the Biblical times portrayed, it casts an overall positive light on the sharing and caring that occurs in “the red tent,” whether this place is real or only imaginary. I think this novel creates a mirage of the beauty existing inside the “red tent.” It’s a beautiful image, but it’s not reality.

Yes, it feels good to imagine the power that women within their sphere had in the times portrayed. But women with their periods and when pregnant and while giving birth were viewed as “unclean.” By whom were they viewed as unclean? By men, by the authors and creators of the Bible.

Women readers, who are the primary readers of this book, The Red Tent, come away with a positive feeling about the idea of the red tent. Some readers take it as fact that the red tent was historical reality. While I admired Dimant’s writing five-stars worth, I had so many other criticisms that my three-star rating represents an average, a compromise of conflicting views.

My closing thought is this: I don’t want to see women make up historical fiction stories about the Bible that make the Bible more palatable. The Bible was and remains a story written by men, where women had no place really in “their” world. And perhaps, as Diamant suggests here, men had no place in their world, the world of women, but this was a world that had no historical voice. Again, I object to retelling of Biblical tales that make the Bible more palatable to women today.

I just....couldn't get into it. I didn't form an emotional connection with any of these characters and I simply got bored and stayed bored for the rest of it. I really wanted to like it because it's been so highly recommended from multiple people in my life! I'm disappointed that I didn't but moving on!

I read this years ago, so I’m not comfortable giving it a review. I did enjoy the book, I know that.

Okay, so I knew before I read this book that it wasn't written for my demographic. I'm an adult male. This is a woman's book through and through. With that disclaimer in place, take what I'm about to say worth a grain of salt: I really didn't care for this book.

The Red Tent is the "Fried Green Tomatoes," "Steel Magnolias," or "The Notebook" of the Old Testament set. It tracks the life of a quaternary character in Genesis, Dinah, from before her birth to after her death. Diamant takes massive, but necessary, liberties with the story. There simply isn't enough in the initial account to tell a bedtime story, let alone a novel. She expands Dinah's life into an ensign for the lives, loves, and losses of women everywhere. (And if that sounds a little melodramatic, that's because the novel itself strikes that melodramatic tone).

Diamant writes in a beautiful voice, and develops stirring and evocative passages describing both the internal and external environs of Dinah's life. She immerses the reader in a very foreign culture and world, and does so without pandering or over-explaining the culture--all the while refraining from the obtuseness or clumsy colloquialism that is often found in this type of novel.

The major themes of the joy of menstruation and child birth, the origin of life in the shedding of blood, drench the pages of this novel (if you'll excuse the pun). As a man, I simply can't identify with this theme. But besides my ability to "sync my cycle," as it were, my biggest problem with this book lies in the story itself. Dinah's one or two verse mention in Genesis is so brief and so vague. Diamant's artistic license creates a story that is just not believable. Dinah is like Forrest Gump; she's there for every major event, she meets all the important people, and it just seems all a little too convenient. Additionally, Diamant disregards the biblical narrative of the events actually described to such an extent that the very nature of those events is nearly unrecognizable.

Diamant also makes mistakes in this novel: first she alternates between an extremely awkward 2nd person voice and a 3rd person voice. Secondly, the book, despite being crammed with drama after drama and event after event, was poorly paced. Too much description of the unimportant things, not enough of the ones that affect the story.

Overall, The Red Tent is not a book for me. I can't identify with the themes of the book, and the shortcomings in the writing are substantial enough that I'm unable to bridge that gap.

There was nothing wrong with The Red Tent, however, I wasn't all that moved by it. I put off reading this book for a few months—biblical books or topics of religion just aren't my thing (religion and certain factious groups have been responsible for starting more wars and fighting in this world than anything, but that's my opinion and a topic for another day).

The writing is sound. The biblical facts seem accurate—not that I'd know much about it. I've only read bits n pieces of the Bible (shhh, that will be our little secret).

I didn't enjoy it, so I'm not recommending it, however, that doesn't mean don't read it. I'm just one little reader in a world of readers.

Great read!!!

I did not finish reading this book because on a personal level I found it too disgusting. It doesn't even deserve the 1 star rating, but being as the author seemed to have done a lot of research I will give her some credit for that. To use a phrase so much in vogue right now, I found it very offensive on various levels.

To begin with, it seemed that the book centered around the menstrual period of women. Yes, I know it is a fact of life, but come on, do you have to be so uncouth? I lose a lot of respect for authors who feel that by writing about such basic human things that they are somehow being truthful and honest. Can I deal with life? Sure, but that isn't the point. When I was in Basic Training in the Army we still had the old wooden barracks with the row of toilets with no privacy between them. In high school we had swimming in PE were we swam nude. However I'm not going to write about the guy who digs in his nose and eats snot! 
 
On another level of disgust was the treatment of the men. Boy, if I wrote about women like that I would have militants threatening to burn down my house. But I guess double standards are ok if you are politically correct.

Probably the most offensive of all to me was the degrading portrayal of holy men of the Bible as being 'human' like you and me. Well, you know what? Not everybody is a pervert, just like not everybody is a murderer, or a thief. The story line was utter nonsense. Ignoring the atheist viewpoints for the moment, the holy men were different and that was what set them apart. If being a sinner like everybody else was ok, why were they chosen or singled out for blessings? Because they were cool? Attacking or poking fun at the ancient prophets of several of the world's religions is never a good thing, especially in this day and age.

My apologies to Anita Diamant. This book is good, in the sense that she takes an interesting concept (a bit of the bible) and expounds upon it. And, in all fairness, she wrote well. Alas, this was just NOT my cup of tea. No sir.

Here I'd like to throw in a disclaimer that I am not one who finds the Bible holy. If I were and then I read this book, I'm thinking I may have been offended. So, be warned if you think you are getting biblical fiction that is... unoffensive? All I can say about this is there's a whole lot of sheep humping and Jacob jerking off early on in the book. Then again, there's bestiality in the bible... so, whatever. Be warned.

Why didn't this book float my boat? For the same reasons it made me VERY VERY thankful I live in modern times.

1. The red tent - refers to a place the woman all go when ill, giving birth or menstruating. Dear GOD. I can think of nothing worse than having to spends DAYS in a tent with a bunch of ill, birthing and/or hormonal women. (Yes, I went there. That's one of my problems with women - those hormone surges can be MAD unpleasant.)

2. Birth - Thank heavens for medical care! Now, I have nothing at all against midwives, in fact, I think women who labor and give birth at home (as long as they are healthy enough to do so) are kick ass. Honestly, all the birth without epidurals and such... women are tough. That being said, I would have perished along with my son in the red tent. So, thank you medicine for epidurals, c-sections that a mom can survive, and for great neonatal care. Woot.

3. Call me old fashioned, a prude, whatever, but I dig this thing called monogamy. I enjoy not having to share my husband. I can't even fathom "sharing" him with my sisters (of course, I have no sisters, but still!!! NO FREAKING WAY!)

4. I also dig that I don't have to have "relations"* with family. I have no brothers, either, and while my cousins are all very nice people, I don't want to "know"* them like that. EVER.

5.uh.


*"relations" and "know" tweak me when describing sex. as does calling a penis or vagina his or her sex. I don't know why, but it does. They were used appropriately in this book, because some of the alternatives just wouldn't fit and honestly, are not much better.

I had to read "The Red Tent" for a book club I was in a few years ago. I agree with an earlier post that decribes it as chick-lit masquerading as historical fiction. It also seemed to be two different books - one set in the desert with Jacob, biblical super-stud, and his wives; and the other one set in ancient Egypt. There were all sorts of things that irritated me about this book, including:

1. Descriptions like how everyone loves Rachel because she smells like water. What kind of water - pond water? Dishwater? Bilgewater - like this book?
2. The ritual stuff with the onset of menstruation - perhaps my memory is playing tricks with me, but I seem to recall a weird segment that sounded like some Tantric-drumming-circle workshop in the mountains that a co-worker described to me years ago, which included a dildo carved out of stone (the bit in the book, not the drumming circle the co-worker attended). If this segment was historically accurate, well then all I can say is: "Them was the bad ol' days."
3. The episiotomy scene.
4. The latter portion of the book, where the main character (Dinah?) has gone to Egypt, gets a job working for the Pharoah, gives her baby to him and his wife to raise as their own - then all of a sudden we gallop forward and her kid is grown up and she's only vaguely regretful that he never knew she was his mother then marries some Egyptian dude and is the local midwife, using all that great knowledge gained in the red tent - the rest was so boring and unmemorable that I confess I have indeed forgotten it.

Overall, this book felt a bit like "Daughter of Fortune", set in some historial period where the women suffer, suffer, and suffer some more until the end, when tempered by their miserable experiences, they live happily ever after delivering babies or healing people with Chinese medicine.

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.