Rating: 
Summary: Dreadful--deserves a negative star rating!
Review: I read this book after being told that it was a wonderful feminist story (I'm a women's studies professor). Please! It was dreadful---so poorly written that I could not bring myself to finish it.
I also found myself incredibly annoyed with Diamant's obsession with menstruation and birthing (and I say this as a specialist in the history of gynecology!). Diamant seems to feel that menstruation and birthing define women. How anti-feminist can you get?! Lots of women don't have menstrual cycles and never reproduce---does this mean they aren't really women? As an historian, I also found it inaccurate (I realize it's a novel and so it shouldn't matter that Diamant doesn't seem to have any understanding of women's lives in the biblical period but the book was so poorly written, the characters so lacking in definition that I found myself overly critical of her historical ignorance).
I find myself wondering why this book receieved so much attention. I would never recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: A Brilliant Read
Review: Ms. Diamant has brilliantly brought to life historical men and women of the Bible. Her colorful personification of the characters makes these men and women as interesting as if they were alive in the present day. Once the characters are clarified in the reader's mind and the relationships between them are understood, these men and women come to life and the reader begins to understand the thread that binds them together.Ms. Diamant is accurate in her portrayal of the characters and their stories as told in the Bible. It is a wonderfully written story of Dinah and her history as well as her voyage into womanhood and beyond. It was an interesting read and it was over far too soon.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, even for the biblically ignorant :)
Review: I'm certain that there are tons of well-written reviews of this novel already. However, I wanted to add that this novel holds interest for those who are unfamiliar with biblical text. The lives of women in Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Levant are detailed exquisitely. The difficult transition that women had in giving up some of the power and status granted them by indigenous beliefs for the new monotheistic beginnings of Judaism would make for heated discussion.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome insight into biblical times
Review: What a fascinating read. Not an arresting page-turner, but very compelling, and a great view into what life was like during Ruth's time. I recall it vividly 1-year-later, which is an amazing feat for me -- and I would recommend it to anyone curious about life "back then" or rusty (and interested) in Bible stories.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome, empowering new look at ancient women
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed The Red Tent. I've not grown up with religion, so my enjoyment of the book was not at all hindered by feeling that it was sacrilege. I thought this novel was a very moving, creative, and empowering attempt to tell the story of what life might have been like for women caught in the fold between pagansim and judaism. This is a great book for people who are interested in learning more about positive female rituals and becoming more comfortable with women's natural bodily rhythms and functions. This book celebrates the beauty of the goddess in every woman, while also appreciating the strong, wise, and competent aspect of our natures. Read this book and create your own Red Tent and celebrate the first moon blood of every girl in your life.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Read!
Review: An intricate and intriguing tale of one family's history. Left me skeptical but left me in awe of human exsistence. The tale of this family's life could never sound more true. It was very fufilling more and I had tears rolling down my face as I was finishing the last pages.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful!
Review: i must admit to being agnostic and shamefully ignorant of the bible, and was afraid this novel would be beyond me. not so. this is a novel i would recommend to anyone, and have already! it is breathtaking. thank you, ms. diamant!
Rating:
Summary: A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing
Review: Anita Diamant's book purports to show the Biblical story of Jacob and his sons through the eyes of Dinah, who is shown exclusively as a victim in Scripture itself. I am very taken with the idea of telling the story from a new point of view, and I find the notion of female bonding in a "red tent" appealing in some ways.
Unfortunately, Diamant shows that sometimes knowing a little is far worse than knowing nothing at all. Diamant is aware that the Jewish tradition of midrash has allowed Biblical stories to be reinterpreted through the ages. However,this should not be interpreted as a license that anything goes. I am shocked that Diamant has made a rapist (Shalem=Shechem) into a hero, that she is openly scornful of the worship of El (i.e.,the Jewish G-d) throughout the book (idolatry is treated with great respect,however), and that she imputes to our ancestor Jacob a dalliance in beastiality. I'm no prude, mind you, but surely there must be some limits indicating respect for the Biblical text. Indeed, the hallmark of midrash is that it ties interpretation to the text, even as it alters the meaning. Diamant never really shows how her reading could be remotely plausible.
The other problem is that Diamant's work just doesn't ring true historically. In Red Tent, the idolatrous wives are scornful of Jacob's G-d. In fact, it is monotheists who are scornful of idolatry - idolaters have great respect for the gods of others, especially those of their husbands. Thus Jacob would have been scornful of the women's idolatry, but they would not have had a problem with his worship of El. Though we can't know for sure, it is likely that women spent time apart from their husband during their menstrual cycles. These had nothing, however, to do with the lunar cycle, and it is inconceivable that it was an opportunity for fun and relaxation, as Diamant imagines. And by the way, shortening Naphtali to Tali is clearly wrong as it destroys the sense of the name (Tali is,in fact, a short form of Avital).
Diamant's book would be fine, I suppose, if you read it without knowing or caring about the Bible story. However, as Diamant herself has put the story front and center, it must ultimatley judged against it. I would love to see a creative, feminist reading of the Dinah story. Sadly, Diamant's work falls far short of this worthy goal.
Rating:
Summary: Periods during the Biblical Period
Review: If you love to read about the woman's cycle -- this book is for you! If you like to read a Biblical story twisted beyond recognition -- you'll also love this book. Although the author is a talented writer, I hated the subject... Other than the biblical names, almost nothing matches the Biblical stories. I was extremely upset on the author changing the Almighty God to a heathen God...
Rating: 
Summary: Well written, but disappointing
Review: This is a well-written, easy to read novel. Because the author's style is not complex, this novel is very good entertainment. All of that being said, I was sorely disappointed in The Red Tent. I was expecting an historical novel based on the book of Genesis in which the theology was consistent with that expressed in Genesis, and in which the basic cultural aspects of the story were consistent with those put forth by theologians and historians. Instead what I got was a subtle, post-modern mishmash of radical feminism, new-age deism, and animism. It's ironic that the familial relationships portrayed in the story are more akin to 21st century suburban New England than the Canaan that existed 4000 years ago. The plot should in no way be considered to be anything more than a fanciful interpretation of the story of Jacob's tribe from the book of Genesis. In fact, it inspired me to think of a modern equivalent in which President John F. Kennedy was running the USA by taking orders from the Pope. Hmmm, there may be a decent novel there. . . Of course, this is fiction, and the story is crafted well. But if the reader wants a story that better reflects the message in Genesis (or the Torah), he would be better served by the novels by Francine Rivers about the matriarchs.
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