This was a beautiful story. The setting was vivid and the plot was thorough and well written. I especially liked the pagan rituals the women practiced for everything. It is amazing how the women viewed menstruation as a trait of power as opposed to how women view menstruation nowadays. It is often referred to as a curse. This story has definitely left an imprint in my mind. It was inspiring to read about how they made ovens from the clay of nearby rivers to bake homemade bread.

“The other reason women wanted daughters was to keep their memories alive.”

The Red Tent tells the story of the family of Jacob of Israel from the perspective of his only mentioned daughter, Dinah. As I learned from other reviews, Dinah is only mentioned once in the Old Testament, so obviously this book takes a lot of artistic liberties. But regardless of whether it is the true story of Jacob’s family or merely a true story that could have happened in this ancient culture, The Red Tent is a powerful glimpse into ancient womanhood.

In case it isn’t clear yet, this book is not a light read. It addresses many difficult topics, and I was frequently infuriated by the way that people treated each other, whether because of their gender or because of their beliefs. So it may not exactly be an entertaining read, but it’s a book that will expand your perspective on humanity and culture. Basically, it’s good for you. The two themes in this book that I was most affected by were these: (1) the role of women and their relationship with men, and (2) the role of family beliefs and traditions—and how the stubborn belief that one’s family customs are better than another’s can lead to harm and destruction.

Now, I wanted to discuss a couple of the most common critiques that I’ve seen in other reviews for this book:

(1)tYes, this book is female-centric. But please don’t tell me that this book isn’t intended for you because you’re a man. Just think how many women read the Bible—one of the most male-centric books ever written. It's FILLED with man after man doing important things and then the occasional mention of a woman’s name, usually in regards to who she marries or gives birth to. Saying that this book isn’t for men is like saying that the books Uncle Tom's Cabin and Roots: The Saga of an American Family aren’t for white people. The point of reading is to learn about the world through a new lens. I’m a straight white female, but I like to read books about men or women, about straight or LGBTQ+ characters, and about characters of all different races. Why? Because I want to learn. I don’t understand the circumstances of every person on this planet, but I’d like to expand my worldview as much as I can. (Really, it's fine if you didn't enjoy the book. It's a tough one to get through. But it's NOT because it's a "woman" book.)

(2)tYes, the men in this book are underdeveloped and flat. However, I don’t consider that a narrative weakness. Dinah hardly knows her father at all; in fact, at one point near the middle of the book, it’s stated that Jacob couldn’t quite conjure up what Dinah’s face looked like. The separation between the affairs of men and women were so strong that, just as the men in the Bible have close to nothing to say about the few women who they mention, the women in The Red Tent don’t have a deep and layered view of their men.

The main point of this book, I’d say, is to give voice to the ancient women who have been silent for millennia—the women who were forgotten, except by each other. I highly recommend this book to everyone; because, regardless of how historically accurate the small details are, this book is something we can all learn from.