The Red Tent

Definitely not my usual style, but this was recommended by a nurse taking care of me in the ER, so I figured I’ll give it a shot as a “hey thanks for saving me.” It’s a BEAUTIFUL story of women and traditions, and how we tell and live within each others stories. Dinah is a child who only earned a mere mention in the Bible, outshone by her brothers, including Joseph, Benjamin, Simon, Levi, etc. The author picks up on this, and winds a tale of a smart, emotionally complex girl who grows up within her circle of Aunties and mothers, and becomes her own self through trials and tribulations. Some joyous, some tragic, some in-between. I cannot recommend it enough. It’s just beautiful.

Stories of women in the Bible are few and far between. When they are included, they are often temptresses, harlots, or victims. Occassionally they are heroes. Because of the time and influences of authors and editors, their stories are limited and culled. Anita Diamant examines the life of one of these women, Dinah. In Genesis 34, the story of her rape and the revenge enacted by two of her brothers (of the 12 sons of Israel) is presented, but nothing is ever written about her again. Diamant tells her tale from Dinah's point of view. She begins by telling the stories of the wives of Jacob, which to her are as important as the life of Dinah.Diamant shows her love of Biblical history and scholarship by presenting the smallest details and showing their importance. She embraces the tone of a woman of the time. She takes every scrap of mention of the women in Jacob's life and weaves a beautiful and compelling tale. She creates characters with spirits. You'd swear they were women you could meet soon, women you could admire and learn from. While reading many Bible stories, I've often be confused by the motives of the characters and wanted to know why they acted a certain way. I knew why the women in the book did everything they did. I still don't understand why the men acted the way they did.This is a very female story. The title of the book should make that obvious-it's named for the isolation of women during their periods. Every day life is important-cooking, cleaning, weaving, child-rearing. Some of the best writing she does is when she describes childbirth. I rarely get weepy when reading, but I did choke up when Dinah describes the need for a special song or prayer for a mother when she first looks upon her newborn. She also describes the distance women in this time had from Jacob's god and reminds the reader that when this story was written, the world was still polytheistic, ruled by many gods, of which, the god of Abraham was one.I've read about midrashes, stories that rabbi's wrote to explain the actions of the characters in the Bible or because there seems to be a gap. The story of Lilith as the first wife of Adam is one of these, if memory serves me correctly. I think that Diamant wrote this in that tradition. I commend her efforts and wish that other novels taking on the lives of women of the Bible were so well-written and concieved. This is an interesting one to read with The Handmaid's Tale (Everyman's Library).

The Red Tent by Anita DiamontOne of the more popular historical fictions of the past few years, THE RED TENT by Anita Diamont is the story of one of the lesser known of Jacob's many children, Dinah. Dinah is only mentioned in a few chapters of the book of Genesis. However, while her brothers took a more prominent role in the Old Testament, in THE RED TENT the character of Dinah is given prominence. Her story is told in epic-like fashion that spans several decades, starting from her childhood with her four mothers and her father Jacob, to her days as a woman living in a foreign land. The story of Dinah is the story of what it was like to be a woman thousands of years ago.I am not an expert in the history of this time period, nor am I an expert of the Bible. I cannot say whether any of the historical facts are accurate, and whether Anita Diamont followed the bible (she obviously didn't, if she decided to extrapolate and create a fictional life about Dinah, daughter of Jacob). THE RED TENT, however, is more of a celebration of being a woman than it is a story of a biblical character from the bible. While most of the stories in the bible are focused on strong men, it is refreshing to read a story about a biblical character that is female and who overcomes many hardships to create a life for herself. THE RED TENT was not my favorite book read in 2002, but I can say that it was one of the more unique and interesting books read that year.

I really enjoyed this historical novel! I loved that Anita Diamant mentioned a number of topics that we as modern day women might find hard to understand such as polygomy. But even as a modern woman, I could relate to a number of topics - loss of a child, loss of a pregnancy, in kindness as due lack of status as a woman. But I can also relate to the finding of true love with Benin.

Questa è una versione tascabile di qualità di questo romanzo classico moderno. Non manca nulla nella produzione. Per quanto riguarda la storia, credo che tutti dovrebbero leggerla per comprendere le differenze nella vita comunitaria in passato rispetto agli esseri umani che ora operano più come individui soli, specialmente in termini di femminilità e di come le donne che lavorano e vivono a sostegno di altre donne creano una società di supporto per tutti. Il libro è eccellente, il film è stato ben fatto anche se ovviamente differisce dal romanzo scritto in alcuni modi significativi, e il movimento di "Red Tents" è uno che tutti dobbiamo considerare per riparare le parti rotte delle nostre società moderne. Consiglio di leggere il libro e poi di guardare il film.

It was impossible to not get completely immersed into Dinah’s story. I felt like I lived an entire lifetime with her and I wept when I finished her story as though I parted with a lifelong friend.These are not the type of books I read but I was intrigued and delved into it as I’ve taken an interest in underdeveloped stories of women mentioned the bible. Anita Diamant is an exceptional author!I am not overly familiar with the bible so I found that for the first little while I was flipping back the family tree provided at the front of the front of the book to stay on track. I can see how so many names could be confusing. By the middle of the book they are ingrained in your memory. Looking forward to finding more similar stories!

This stunning and beautiful novel sparkles curiosity, expectation and admiration to the unique character of the novel. It gives a turn around to the main carácter which history has ignored. Present a brave, determined woman who worked in silence, pondering thoughts in her heart.I fell in love with this woman who touched muy heart in different ways making me feeling more proud of being a woman.😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄

I have bought so many copies of this book over time for gifts to my friends and it is just wonderful to read this.

Anita Diamant has an amazing sensibility to how communities of good, happy and selfless women function, she has an amazing prose, a very strong story and lovable characters. Every woman who wants to reconnect with her feminity should read this.