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Summary: The family of Jacob through a woman's eyes
Review: A minor figure in the story of the founding of the Hebrew people -- and let's face it, most of the women are minor figures -- gets a vivid reimagining in this mannered but moving novel. The goddesses, rituals, and dreams of the women of Jacob's household come to life as we spend time in their "red tent," the place of monthly seclusion. Diamant takes her time bringing us through Dinah's childhood, and the ways of women (who mingled little with men at this time) become dear to us.When Dinah becomes a woman, and her tragedy (the only part of the story based on the Genesis record) approaches, Diamant's tale is shocking, almost rushed. Everything changes for her heroine so rapidly that the reader is left mourning a way of being in the world that she will never experience again. Part Three of the novel ties some threads together in a rather too predictable fashion -- Dinah meets exactly the people she needs and ought to meet for a satisfying denouement -- but her experience with motherhood is achingly bittersweet, and moved me to tears. There is nothing reverent in this novel, unless it is reverent to a mystery women share and monotheistic religion has devalued. Don't come to this story for an elaboration on a few Bible verses. The premise of "The Red Tent" is that the Genesis narrative hides and elides hundreds and thousands of stories, and makes the remaining ones too simple. If that offends you, you will be disappointed by Diamant's tale. But for those who would like to approach the schematic of Biblical literature with imagination and freedom, "The Red Tent" is a magnificent example of a very rare genre.
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Summary: This is not scripture or non-fiction...
Review: This is a wonderful work of fiction that gives an astute and well-researched peek into women's lives in this time period. I was fascinated to learn about typical relationship practices between husband and wives, the purpose of the red tent, the food preparation, etc. I approached this book with the understanding that this is one author's idea of the life of Dinah. I did not have pre-concieved notions that this book would foster religious education and values. As one who does not avidly read the Bible or attend church, I would say that I would barely have connected this story to the appropriate chapters in Genesis had I not read the reviews and excerpts. In fact, this book made me more aware of the evolution of religious beliefs. I often thought of parallels to The Mists of Avalon with regard to the Goddesses and the female rituals perpetuated by Rebecca and by Jacob's wives. It was a wonderful and sad story.
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Summary: Practically sacrilegious
Review: Having a fascination with the historical culture of the Biblical lands and people, and a great respect for the characters in the Bible, I really looked forward to reading this book. I was disappointed and even occasionally horrified to see the author's treatment of these characters. What surprised me was that I would have expected her to have treated these people--her spiritual forefathers--with the reverence they deserve. (Do we really need to hear about Jacob's wedding nights?) I threw my copy away.
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Summary: a wonderful surprise
Review: I have heard about this book for years and have finally read it. I was thrilled to find it as enjoyable as I'd heard and more. A great insight into life in those times ( the way mentstruation was celebrated and enjoyed - so different today !) and how accepting, even relieved, women were when their husbands took other wives and mistresses. Whilst this may still happen in some parts of the world they certainly dont happen where I come from ( Australia) and I found these stories alone were enough to keep me enthralled. Then of course there is the tragedy and intrigue, the betrayal and love. As a career mother of 3 I cried through the whole first 3 chapters( and all 14 babies) and all the loss and celebration. I cannot fathom how people were once respected for simply having dozens of children and it was wonderful to see(for a change) the love and enjoyment these people got from their daughters and not just their sons. The fact that this was all based loosely on the book of genesis also kept me intrigued and to be honest has piqued my 'agnostic' heart. To all those doomstayers who can help comparing it to the Bible and picking out every inaccuracy, guess what ! I bought this in the 'Fiction' section of my bookshop and guess why ? ITS FICTION. !! I dont think the author at any time pretends otherwise and I think she does a wonderful jobs of loosely interpreting a few ( never confirmed) stories and giving them life in her own way. Bravo !
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Summary: Wow! What a FABULOUS book!
Review: The Red Tent is a midwife's book. An epic tale set in biblical times, this story is about the lives of the women whom the Bible only mentions in passing. Anita Diamant has woven the historical record with beautiful and descriptive narrative along with enough fiction to make her first novel a real winner! I could NOT put it down and when I did, I had vivid dreams often which woke me up only to send me into another long stint of reading... even at 3am! As a midwife, I very much enjoyed and connected with these lovely and wise women and their world and work. I connected with them in an almost spiritual way thanks to Diamant's almost lyrical style. I was drawn into the Red Tent as if sitting among these women as they went about the work of assisting with the birth of a baby or ritually welcoming a new young women among them. I can see how this book might strike some as a little "weird" or "odd" especially if the reader was seeking a book based only on biblical writings. The Bible doesn't say much about these women. It merely mentions them as the historical record focuses on Jacob and his sons and their lives. However, this IS "THE" book for women and young women, especially those on the path of midwifey! What a wonderful read for those of us whose lives revolve around the cycles of women and their bleeding time or birthing time. I absolutely LOVE this book! I hope others will find as much satisfaction as I did while reading it!
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Summary: A Must Read
Review: I loved this book--I couldn't put it down. I read it in 3 days
It had such detail and what is amazing is that the author uses characters from the bible. It is written as if the bible were written by a woman. The characters were so real. It is a fantastic book.
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Summary: One of my favorites
Review: This work of historical fiction kept my interest as I flew through this book. The stories of these women is really interesting and the tale is told well by Diamant. This is one of my favorites!
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Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: This book was terrible! I really thought it would be a good Bible story but incredibly, it was a very poor one. It was good to learn that Jacob was a tender lover but a "sorry" father and leader. Oh, and Joseph had sex with men and was hated by all who worked with him. This was a book of fiction! There was no character development so when people died, I wasn't even sad. Remember, don't read this book if you want to read about God's chosen people; you'll end up wondering why they were chosen!
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Summary: Ok, what wrong with me?
Review: I'm the only person I know who didn't love this book. Even people who I knew would hate it were charmed. I wish I knew why, because I suspect it might be a flaw in my own character that keeps me from fully enjoying this book. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I read Genesis for the first time only a few years ago and I had unfair expectations. I thought "Gee, the story of Jacob would sure make a great novel." Imagine my joy when I found that someone had done just that. So, what it was like to wake up the day after your wedding and find that you married the wrong woman? Did Leah seeth with envy as she watch her sister led her people at their husband's side? How was Dinah looked upon by her tribe after she was rescued by her brothers? You won't find out here, because in the Red Tent, it never really happened that way. In fact very little happened exactly as it was set down in the Bible. The women aren't even followers of Jacob's faith, which must have been horrible PR for his career as God's chosen. The writing was beautiful, but the story seemed a little too close to the movie "Titanic" which I didn't particularly enjoy either. Maybe I just don't like getting in touch with my feminine side. (I'm a woman, by the way.) If I had trouble putting the book down it was because I felt more like an archiologist looking for bits of mangled history than a spellbound reader. Still, I attribute all my critisms to my uncultured tastes and not to Ms. Diamant's sparkling writing. I just happen to prefer the epics of Rutherford and Jennings to this lovely opus.
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Summary: Like reading a biblical trash novel.
Review: Every person I knew praised this book. I thought to myself, why not, and give it a try. I felt that the idea behind it was good, but the literature read like reading a women's trash novel. I actually listened to this book on tape and at times I felt I had a soap opera on. If trash novels and soap operas aren't for you, skip this one.
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