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Review: "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant


From Goodreads:  Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood--the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers--Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah--the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate connection with the past. Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's society.

My Thoughts: 
I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book.  I had heard good things about and picked it up multiple times but never got around to reading it.  I really wish I hadn’t put it off for so long because I really enjoyed it.  I loved seeing the story of Jacob and his sons as told by a woman (Jacob’s daughter, Dina) and it was interesting to see that the author didn’t make Joseph into this amazing person.  Joseph was almost one of the many villains in the story which goes against everything I was always taught as a kid which I think is great.  This was a very unique story of women in ancient Canaan and it was so fascinating to see the customs of the time and how everyday life was for women.  I felt like Dinah was such a strong character and I found myself not being able to put the book down because I wanted to see what would happen to her next.  The writing in this book is excellent and made the story that much more enjoyable.  This was definitely an excellent read.  4 stars.

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Comments

  1. AnneOctober 26, 2011 at 7:23 AM

    I have had this one on my bookshelf for a really long time. I hope I find time to read it soon, it sound like a great book.

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  2. Danielle ZappavignaOctober 29, 2011 at 8:22 AM

    This is one of my favourite books. I know it's not the best written, or most literary book in the world, but I just really love the story of the women.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ShoshanahNovember 5, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    I loved this first half of this, although I wasn't a huge fan of how it changed when the story moved to Egypt. It has been several years since I've read it, I think back in high school, so I'd love to be able to go back and reread it.

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