Rating: 
Summary: Unenlightening
Review: The problem with this book is that it takes too long to read. Oh, I don't mean it's a long book or anything: it's only 320 double-spaced pages. Normally, you could knock off a book like this in about three days. What takes so long is that you always find yourself avoiding it; looking for something else to do. Like mowing the lawn or watching TV or something. Or clipping your nose hairs. Go ahead and laugh if you will, but when you get to be my age, this nose hair thing is a real problem. My wife actually had to buy me an electric trimmer. You turn the thing on and it makes a little buzzing noise and you shove it in your nose and twirl it around. The point is, I found myself doing things like grinding away at my nose hairs rather than read this book. It's the story of Dinah, very minor Old Testament figure in the story about Jacob. The biblical story has her "defiled" by a member of some local ruling family, which caused her family, Jacob's family, to exact brutal revenge. In the novel, this turns into more of a modern-day love affair, with Dinah willing to marry the guy, but, true to the times, Jacob's family kills them anyway. The novel is Dinah's complete story, including the stories of her mothers and aunts. I like the premise of the novel: the Bible would seem to be a pretty good place to mine for historical fiction. And the fact that the author changed the central plot around a little doesn't bother me a bit. It's fiction, by goodness; we expect if not desire this kind of thing. But the writing is so pedestrian and so shallow that it is very difficult to remain interested. The first third of the book is about Dinah's mother and aunts--her "mothers," as she calls them, because they all were married to Jacob, and because they all had a hand in raising her. It is written in the first person by her, so she obviously wasn't around for this part of the story, and she relates these events in a the very dry, narrative-summary style. She tells of an event, then shows us what her mothers had to say about it, instead of showing us the event itself. It kind of makes your eyes swim. The pace picks up a little bit when her own story begins, at least to the extent that she shows us events as they occur, but the problem here is that there is nothing new. Oh, she shows her family living in tents, and raising goats and animals. The town she first visits is dusty and large, to her provincial eyes, and there are jugglers and other strange personages roaming around. She describes the Egyptian town she finally ends up in pretty well: there are artisans and masons, and she also gives us a good idea of the food and drink available there. And this is good, but it doesn't take that extra step. One gets the sense that she didn't do more than the most rudimentary research into these times; most of what she relates are such things as one could have imagined right off the top of his head. There is just not enough detail. There is no insight into religious matters either, which is something one might reasonably expect when reading a fictional account of biblical events. For example, Abraham's story is briefly commented upon by one of Dinah's mothers thusly: "What kind of mercy [God's] is that, to scare the spit dry in Isaac's mouth? Your father's God may be great, but he is cruel." This is the extent of it. Now you can think whatever you want to about the Abraham story, but you can't deny that there are many interpretations of the meaning of this event. The rather biased, twentieth-century, Marxist view presented here adds nothing. The circumcision thing left me scratching my head also. When Jacob had his first son, all the mothers were horrified that he was going to perform this rite. So was I, for that matter. Which led me to wonder, how in the heck did this become a custom in the first place, 4,000 years before Christ? But nope, no light is shed on this. We learn nothing. In the end though, the overriding disappointment here is the writing style, which is grossly sentimental, humorless syrup. The main characters, all of whom are women, seem to do nothing other than run to each other kissing and hugging and tasting each other's tears and celebrating the love they have for each other with song and dance, especially while they give birth to babies, zillions of them, in events which are described in excruciating detail about every third page of this witless mind-deadener. It is a great relief to be done with it.
Rating: 
Summary: An amazing work of historical fiction
Review: This book is the best book I have read in the last 10 years. I envy Diamant's creativity in taking such a small character from the bible (Dina) and turning her into such a multi-faceted character. What a joy to read!
I wonder why she decided to paint some of the men (like Joseph and Jacob) in such a bad light when they are perceived as such strong men in the bible. This book taught me so much about life in biblical times and made me want to learn more about the bible and that is a wonderful thing. Many thanks, Anita!
Rating: 
Summary: Not necessarily a "Christian" book
Review: While I thought this was an extremely good book, I wouldn't consider it a Christian book. Yes, it deals with Biblical times and SOME of it may be fact, but alot of it is fiction... It's a good read if you can remember that.
Rating:
Summary: Not for me!
Review: No man should really consider reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Separate the Tent from the Bible
Review: Dinah of the Bible was only mentioned in passing, but Diamant has taken her and given her a face, a personality and the trappings of being human. The Red Tent is a richly detailed look into the lives of Dinah and all those who surround her - from her father Jacob who was almost sacrificed to God, to her brother Joseph who was sold into slavery in Egypt. The familiar stories woven into what might have happened behind them. As a Christian, it was a delight to identify key happenings of the Bible in this novel and visualise the tale from another perspective. Read it even if you are not a believer. Of the hundreds of books I've read this year, The Red Tent is among the handful that will be treasured, recommended and be read again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: An insult to the Bible
Review: I am unaware as to exactly what research Ms. Diament did before writing this book. Very little of it is reflected inside it. Every ritual described, including the red tent itself, is pagan. Jewish women at no time were obligated to live in a seperate residence from their husbands; the only restriction being against marital relations. There is no evidence, in the Bible or elsewhere, that Jacob's wives worshipped pagan gods. Aside from the fact that the entire premise of the book is false, the characters depicted bear no resemblence to the biblical personalities. If Ms. Diament was interested in writing a book about ancient Canaanite society, then she should have done so. Giving these Canaanite women the names of Jacob's wives and children insults not only those righteous people, but also all those who believe in the Bible as an authentic source, not merely a malleable history subject to anyone's interpretation. If you want to read a book about the matriarchs, read Orson Scott Card's "Sarah" (the first of three; "Rebekah" was just released). He gives a version which is based on Biblical facts, but expands the story.
Rating:
Summary: Unique portrayal of an old story
Review: This book is a lovely portrayal of the oldest story. Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, was heretofore referred to in the Bible in only one chapter, which tells the story of her trip to Shechem and subsequent affair with Shalem, one of its nobles. It is a brutal, violent passage (Genesis 24, I think) and not very pleasent. This book is an imaginative retelling of Dinah's story, from a what-might-have-happened perspective. It begins with the story of her four mothers: Leah, her biological mother; Rachel, her aunt, who trains her for midwifery; Zilpah, referred to the in Bible as Rachel's handmaid; and Bilhah, referred to as Leah's handmaid. In this book, however, Zilpah and Bilhah are the biological sisters of Leah and Rachel, unacknowledged by their pig of a father, Laban. All these women are the wives of Jacob. It tells of their lives before Jacob, after Jacob, and up to Dinah's birth. At that point, the story shifts to her. She is the only daughter of four women, the mothers of a combined eleven sons: Reuben, Simon, Levi, Naphtali, Issachar, Judah, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, although the last of the boys Dinah never knew. In a world so populated by men, Dinah's mothers pass their histories to her, including things she was too young to know. This book contains all that history in accompaniment and counterpoint to Dinah's own. When her history separates from theirs, however, it contains solely hers; it does not presume to know theirs. This book tells the "true" story of the events in Shechem. It is not much different from the Biblical account, but it tells the human story, with the true human emotinons so often lacking in the Bible. That is one thing that is of note in this book: it never really deviates from scripture. That is, it doesn't alter what is written there. It exacerbates it, adds on to it, makes it more interesting, adds what it may have "left out" but never changes what is there. This is an excellent, very interesting, well-written book.
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Summary: The Red Tent: not just another "women`s novel"
Review: This book is one of the most fascinating reads that I`ve encountered in the last 5 years! I suppose that I am kind of its target audience. After all, I`m female, I love the Bible and history, and I like learning about women in different cultures. But there`s plenty in this story to interest you no matter what your gender and personal likes [though it does help if you`re into anthropology a bit]. It`s all about an ancient Hebrew woman called Dinah, who is mentioned briefly in the Biblical book of Genesis. Diamant fleshes out her tale quite extensively, giving us both an individual woman`s life story and a well-researched view of an ancient women`s culture which celebrates every stage of the life cycle. The most vivid and well-written section, I feel, deals with the history of Dinah`s mother and aunts, which segues into an account of her idyllic childhood spent under their tutelage. Each family member has a special quality or skill which she emulates, and she evantually becomes a talented midwife like her aunt Rachel. In Dinah`s world, menstruation is not a shameful secret or galling inconvenience, but instead is celebrated as a joyful entrance into womanhood. It also obtains one`s admission to the Red Tent[although Dinah, as the only girl in her family, is allowed to stay there from childhood]. There is a role for every female in Diamant`s ancient society. Dinah, Rachel, and Dinah`s friend Meryt are midwives; her mother Leah is a skillful weaver and baker;Werenro is a singer and mystic. There are disturbing forebodings of how these matriarchal ways will be eliminated and absorbed into the male culture, as in the story of Werenro, raped and mutilated because she serves female deities. But there are also signs of hope that the original kinship among women will be regained. The male characters in the novel also must undergo rites of passage and of emotional growth: for example, Joseph, Dinah`s half-brother, has to deal with his sense of displacement in Egypt and with bitterness toward their father and brothers. The story is amazing in its ability to get one both loving the characters and enjoying the historical details: kind of like a combination of Alice Walker and Mary Renault. My only major beef with the plot is that the transition from Dinah`s former life in Palestine to her new one in Egypt is a little too neatly done: would`nt it have been more of a financial and emotional struggle? But this certainly does not deter from the overall message of the book. Definitely worth reading and re-reading.
Rating:
Summary: God Works in Mysterious Ways--Dinah is Proof
Review: That's exactly what the book is--a journey. It is a timeless one that each and every woman makes, no matter what the culture or the time. Understanding traditions that are different from our own was difficult, even back in Bible times. Share Dinah's journey from girl to grown woman, loved family member to outcast, and back to loved family member once again. This is a book to treasure and a book to share with everyone you know.
Rating:
Summary: Superb Retelling of A Familiar Story
Review: Upon finishing The Red Tent, I was struck by the strong similarities it had with The Mists of Avalon. The most obvious similarity is that both books retell a familiar story from the point of view of a (previously) minor female character. However, I thought that the strongest links between The Red Tent and The Mists of Avalon were those that make them successful fiction. Both books have vivid settings, realistic characters, strong dialogue, and an epic scope that is respectful of the original source material. Still, The Red Tent should not be seen as a ripoff of The Mists of Avalon. Instead, it is a stunningly original work that shares many characteristics with other successful retellings of old myths. Those who are familiar with the original tale and those who aren't will find a fascinating story that is worth reading.
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