The Red Tent

Skylar Burris

Rating: really liked it
The Red Tent is (very) loosely based on the story of Dinah in Genesis, and it is a book that is very easy to read. Dinah's tale is one that deserves fleshing out; in the Bible it is an interesting though undeveloped and uncertain chronicle. The author does a fairly decent job of developing her female characters, but her male characters are largely flat, stereotypical, and unnecessarily negative.

In the Bible, the characters of Jacob and Joseph are more well-rounded; they are humans with both faults and virtues, moments of greatness and of pettiness. In Diamant’s novel, we largely see only one side to these men--the downside. We never get any sense that they are worth caring about, that there is any emotion within in them that we, as readers, can relate to. The narrator states that Jacob was devastated by Joseph's reported death, but we have no reason to believe it, since the author has neither developed nor depicted any love or affection between them. Although Diamant seems to be developing something interesting in the nature of Judah, she quickly drops the matter.

The author unnecessarily, I believe, alters some segments of the Biblical narrative. She even suggests that the significant, divine naming of Israel (a true milestone in the Jewish story) was nothing more than Jacob's cowardly choice to change his name so as not to be associated with the slaughter in Schechem. When Rachel steals her father's household idol in the novel, Jacob seems both to know and yet not to care (at least for a long time). In the Bible, however, he thinks no one among him has taken it, and he basically says, "If anyone took it, let him die," in effect unknowingly cursing his beloved wife, who does die later in childbirth. Had Diamant not altered this point, it might have made for some wonderful pathos in the novel.

Despite being written by a Jewish author, The Red Tent is in many ways an expression of a growingly popular modern neo-paganism, which incorporates the myth of the universal, goddess/Mother, feminist ideology, and a sort of body/self worship. I don't complain that Anita Diamant made some of the characters pagan; it is clear from the Bible that many early pre Israelites were, and of course, the Israelites themselves were always sliding back to idol worship. But in The Red Tent, Jacob appears to be the only monotheist in the world (and even his monotheism is on shaky grounds). What is more, polytheism almost seems to be portrayed as a healthy, feminine alternative to the somewhat deranged patriarchal religion of Jacob's fathers (an idea that does not comport too well with the actual historical treatment of women in cultures that embrace polytheism and goddess worship).

Embee

Rating: really liked it
I was at Border's Express one day searching for a little something to curl up in a chair with for an extended period of time. When I was approached by a clerk asking me if I needed help with anything, I KNOW, WEIRD!, right? Customer service? Who knew it even existed anymore? Anywho, I made my desire known to the saleswoman and she points me to this...

I immediately think to myself, "Oh crap! a religious book!" I know I'm taking a chance at offending the church goers among you, but let's not throw stones... Think totally oppressed religious upbringing, among the most offensive group of hypocrites you can imagine and perhaps you can cut me some slack... Okay, so back to the book.

Being the 'uber-polite, can't imagine offending someone to their face' type of woman that I am... Just consider it a given that I would've bought the book no matter how much it cost. Quite simply because I knew this gal would be ringing me up at the register and I just couldn't allow her to think I didn't trust her judgment, especially after asking for her advice!

So I schlepped home with my 'religious' book... And you know what? I LOVED it! What an amazing story of the courage, determination and resiliency of women. Hey, just try to imagine what it would be like to be thrown into a cramped tent, with a plethora of other menstruating women, in a time when tampons had yet to be invented. The hormones alone in that one tent, make it completely understandable as to why the men steered clear and thought it best to risk their lives in the dessert in search of food, even if the 'food' ate them first!

Seriously though, this book will make you proud to be a woman. I recommend reading it while you have your period... It'll make you cry.

There are so many other books I've read that I'd like to mention, but this post is already long and I haven't yet gotten to the good part...

Gracielou

Rating: really liked it
In Hebrew literature, there is a form called Midrash which in essence is an exegesis on Hebrew texts. Even though I'm not Jewish, I would personally categorize this book as Midrash.

Why? Because Anita Diamant does not stray from the Jacob/Dinah story in the bible one whit. Many people who read this book and then go back to the biblical texts are surprised to find that there are household gods and concubines and that Jacob used some rather superstitious means to breed spotted goats, that Rachel claimed having her period to hide the gods hidden in the sacks from her father Laban and that Dinah must have been of some importance because she is one of the few women who gets mentioned more than a few verses worth in the Pentateuch.

Diamant uses her vast knowledge of the history of her faith and that time to flesh this story out in very real ways never perverting the original text. And in doing so she weaves a story of women and their bond with each other in a time and a place that is difficult to understand in our modern world but at the same time is fascinating. These characters linger with you long after the book is finished.

Ahmad Sharabiani

Rating: really liked it
The Red Tent, Anita Diamant

The Red Tent is a novel by Anita Diamant, published in 1997 by Wyatt Books for St. Martin's Press. It is a first-person narrative that tells the story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob and sister of Joseph.

She is a minor character in the Bible, but the author has broadened her story. The book's title refers to the tent in which women of Jacob's tribe must, according to the ancient law, take refuge while menstruating or giving birth, and in which they find mutual support and encouragement from their mothers, sisters and aunts.

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.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز ششم ماه سپتامبر سال1999میلادی

عنوان: چادر قرمز؛ نویسنده: آنیتا دیامنت؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م

این رمان داستان گیرای «دینا»- دختر «لی» و «حضرت یعقوب» و خواهر «جوزف (حضرت یوسف)» را به تصویر میکشد؛ کتاب با اشاراتی که به کتاب پیدایش (نخستین بخش انجیل عهد عتیق) دارد، درباره ی زندگی زنان عهد عتیق است؛ «چادر قرمز» داستان مادران، دختران، قابلگی، عشق و زندگی در سرزمین بیگانه را، بازگو میکند؛ داستان «دینه (دینا)»، تنها دختر «حضرت یعقوب»، از همسر نخست ایشان «لئه (لئا)» است؛ نویسنده میگویند: رمان «چادر قرمز» در مورد شخصیتهای مقدسی همچون «راشل و لیا» است

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 17/09/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 14/08/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

Alejandro

Rating: really liked it
Are you ready to go into the Red Tent?


JACOB’S DINASTY: THE REALITY SHOW

We have been lost to each other for so long. My name means nothing to you. My memory is dust. This is not your fault, or mine. The chain connecting mother to daughter was broken and the word passed to the keeping of men, who had no way of knowing.

Disfunctional family falls short to describe Jacob’s household.

Nowadays, it would be easily a high-rating TV reality show!

Jacob, a weak man put into the stressing place of being a patriarch of his race, manipulated by his scheming mother and later by his insidious sons.

Leah, mostly a good woman BUT willingly played her role in a mean scheme to marry her sister’s boyfriend.

Zilpah and Bilhah, with a image of “not killing a fly” but they make surgical comments with the sharp edge of a knife, whenever they can.

Simeon and Levi, a couple of homicidal psychos, which they don’t hesitate to kill every single man in a settlement when those men were even unable to defend themselves or even selling one of their own brothers to slave traders.

Rebekah, a mother who doesn’t hesitate to favor a son of hers over the other or throwing out a granddaughter from her tribe.

Good thing that God already did a flood to rid of all the bad people! Geez!


THE FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME FOR DINAH

If you want to understand any woman you must first ask about her mother and then listen carefully. Stories about food show a strong connection. Wistful silences demonstrate unfinished business. The more a daughter knows about the details of her mother's life - without flinching or whining - the stronger the daughter.

It’s odd that in many descriptions about the book, The Red Tent, it’s mentioned that one of the intentions is to denote a different scenario for the “rape” of Dinah, and while obviously I am not a Bible Scholar, one thing that I did was to read what my Bible says about the brief mention of Dinah on it. And as I understood, indeed Dinah was a fleeting line in the middle of the huge recollection of stories in the Bible, but it was clear (at least to me) that she wasn’t raped, and clearly her brothers were a bunch of psychos (with the exception of Joseph, of course).

Besides, Dinah's brothers were clearly psychos but also men of short vision, since if they were so greedy, they could take the "rape" of Dinah into their own economical benefit, and therefore, instead of asking a massive circumcision, they could ask for better lands, with water's supply and a real potential to farm and to pasture, so they could gain something tangible out of their "ruined honor".

What they gained killing every single man in that fortress? Nothing!

Psychos and stupid! Very bad combination!

Clearly, there are several versions of the Bible and all of them are subject to translations and interpretations. My bible is the MacArthur Study Bible, basically since I wanted to have a bible with footnotes and additional info to give a deeper understanding about what’s shown in the Bible.

So, I don’t discard the scenario that my Bible’s version isn’t as many others. But taking is account that the Bible (any version) has been subjected to editions, censorships, exclusions, translations, etc... so who can say what really happened?

It’s amazing the vision of Anita Diamant, the author, of choosing Dinah, an ephemera, easy-to-forget Biblical character and to develop such rich and complex story around her, to expand her original Bible’s fifteen minutes of fame to her deserved epic legend about her.

Because it’s really unfair to see how the twelve male offspring of Jacob became nothing less than THE patriarchs of the Twelve Tribes of Israel...

...and Dinah? Oh, just the daughter who was raped, having barely a paragraph and disappears from Bible’s records.

When you think about Dinah’s role in the middle of Jacob’s direct offspring, it’s clearly odd that the Bible didn’t give her a better position, since she was the only girl between several boys, it was obvious that if God would think in somebody as special in that generation, it has to be Dinah and not the boys.

But again, it’s no shock that the Bible (or rather the people who manipulated it) gives importance (in the most cases) to men’s stories only and if a woman was ever mentioned, she must be guilty of something and/or playing a discreditable line of work.

It’s amazing that nowadays there are still women in the Catholic’s faith (and to be clear, I am in this religion, but I am open minded and I like to question stuff) since it’s unfair that a woman who goes into the service of God, her highest chance to climb in Catholic Church’s chain of command is to be a Mother Superior, that it’s barely one upper step from being a Nun, BUT a man? Pftt! He can be potentially the Pope!

Certainly one of the best things of Anita Diamant’s approach to Dinah’s story is that while she is clearly a likeable character, she isn’t perfect, with or without justifications, she has a dark side in her soul... but don’t we all? And the story isn’t a blind feminist propaganda or a men-hating pamphlet, since if you are objective in your reading experience, you will find in the book, as many sins made by women as by men, but also great women as great men... as in real life.

And at last...

...Dinah won’t be a forgotten Biblical paragraph anymore!

Now, not only women but also men will be able to get inside of the Red Tent, to learn Dinah’s story, to keep her legacy, to celebrate her life, and to share it with others.

Sammy

Rating: really liked it
My mom got me this book for Christmas mainly because she wanted to read it. I read the summary on the back and I was intrigued, but wasn't intending to pick it up right away until my mom demanded that I read it as soon as possible so she could read it. So I did. I read it in a day.

I'm a fast reader no matter what, but give me a good book, I'll finish it faster than usual. This book was good. Excellent. I was drawn in with the first word. There were stories within stories and I was able to follow each and every one of them and become absorbed.

Diamant's writing took me back to this time period, and instead of pointing out all that was bad and raw in a time we often look back on as savage and uncivilized, she points out and embraces everything that was wonderful. Or at least she writes in such a way you look at it as completely normal and okay. I was also surprised how much these people embraced womanhood, when often when you hear about those times it's all about how women were submissive and cursed, born only to be slaves to men. But the women in nearly every culture Dinah passed through were respected for the most part, and held some sort of power. This is not the time when men began stepping on the women. Something happened between then and now that changed the view of womanhood to be ugly and wrong.

Speaking of the women, the one problem I had was that the women the first third of the book was dedicated to, just ended up disappearing. We were lead to fall in love with these women, only to have them later have them fall off the radar. It's not a huge flaw, because Dinah has to lose them as well, and they fall of her radar as well and we do learn what happened to them in the end, but still...

Other than that one small, but understandable flaw, this book was fantastic. Dinah goes on an amazing journey and it is told beautifully in her voice. Diamant has a wonderful gift as a storyteller. Do yourself a favor and sit down with this book, you will hear Dinah speak and you will feel the gritty, dirty, wonderful world she lives in. Don't let the fact that it was taken from the Bible deterr you. Diamant writes in such a way that if you are familiar with the Bible things come up and you're like, "Hey!" But, if you're not religious at all, she writes so that you aren't shut out from a special world, you are welcomed and embraced and the story is still just as wonderful.

Jen

Rating: really liked it
Anytime a work of fiction targets a Judeo-Christian audience, it's hard to rate. Should religious doctrine be taken into account, or should we judge it solely on it's merits as a good story? Because I think some of the more negative reviews of The Red Tent are in regards to its biblical inaccuracies.

Let me start by saying that if you're a moral conservative who believes in the Old Testament, I'd advise caution before reading this book. That's not to say you shouldn't read it; just be aware beforehand that this is a story - nothing more - written by someone who has taken biblical names and accounts and re-formed them to suit her literary needs. Don't look at this as a history lesson from the Bible, Ok? And if you're easily offended, you will be. Facts are changed, beloved Old Testament patriarchs are turned into pagan brutes, and bizarre sexual rites & bestiality are accepted parts of the culture.

If you can accept that this is a story and not religious history, though, then I would recommend you read this book. The narrative is rich and compelling, and the sex, though frequent, is not overly graphic. Dinah's story will draw you into her world, and cause you to experience her wonders, her heartaches, and her joys over the course of a lifetime.

What I thought would be the most repugnant aspect of the story - arranged marriages & women's treatment overall in that society - is actually kind of candy-coated by the author. The women are happy, most of them desiring their husbands, and as a sex they are given far more power and respect than I think is historically accurate - though granted, I'm no historian. No doubt this is due to the author's mother-goddess philosophy, which saturates every aspect of the narrative.

So to sum up: don't assume that if you go to Temple or Church you will love this book. If you are aware of what you're reading,though, then I think you will enjoy this well-crafted tale.

Will Byrnes

Rating: really liked it

Anita Diamant - image from her site

The Red Tent offers a female perspective on the biblical tales of Jacob, father to the twelve tribes of Israel, and his family, people with some serious issues, who would be right at home on HBO, with copious quantities of blood and betrayal to hold one’s interest. Dinah was the only daughter of Jacob. It is through her eyes and her retelling of others’ tales that we see the world of that time, the social organization within the family, how they related to other cultures, the roles of men and women. I found it moving to the point of tears as the end neared.

The Red Tent of the title was a room of their own, where women could commune without having the male sorts leaving their socks and Cheetos crumbs all over the place. Diamant takes liberties with the story as told in the bible, (a rapist in the bible is a love interest here) which no doubt freaks out biblical literalists.


Rebecca Ferguson and Iain Glen as Dinah and Jacob - from the Lifetime series

Midwifery is core to the women’s experience, pointing out, ironically and tragically, the existential threat posed by pregnancy. This dovetails well with the great need of the time to attend to cycles of nature to ensure survival. The women even find themselves menstrually in synch. No coincidence that the bloodiness of birth and monthly cycles takes place in a red-colored space.

Dinah’s secrecy about her own story in the novel reflects the omission of a female perspective from the tales and history we know from the bible. Her eventual ability to share her story realizes a dream of a more equal telling.

The Red Tent offers an interesting and informative tale with engaging characters, particularly appropriate for female readers of most ages, and enlightening for us guys as well.

The book was made into a soapy two-part miniseries on Lifetime.

=============================EXTRA STUFF

Links to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pages

A 26-page preview from Picador

A pretty interesting article on how the book, which struggled at first, found its audience en route to becoming an international best-seller, sparking a reimagining of biblical tales - Jewish Telegraphic Agency – August 1, 2017 - How ‘The Red Tent’ invented a new kind of fiction by Erika Dreifus

Michelle

Rating: really liked it
This was a very compelling read, and I don't have enough words to describe how beautiful the writing is. Anita Diamant wove a very intricate and poignant story that captivated me, and I think I'll be moonstruck for a while!

The "Red Tent" follows the life of Jacob's daughter, Dinah, who's a minor character in the Book of Genesis. Diamant pretty much expanded Dinah's story and it's told from her POV. As her story unfolds, you will get to witness the lives of her mothers: Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah, as well.
For a woman in the times of Genesis, life can be pretty scary. Back then, women had very little power. Their main function in society was to get hitched and produce heirs for their husband. The red tent is the one place where these women have their own world and their own power. You really won't get to see the red tent in the second half of the book, because Dinah is no longer with her mothers. Nevertheless, the memory of the red tent lingers throughout the book. Dinah constantly looks back at the red tent with nostalgia and longing, and so did I.

I don't want to expound on the plot further and trust me, you will be better off reading it. "The Red Tent" is like an acknowledgement for all the untold stories, for the forgotten characters, and for the struggles deemed unnecessary. Most of us do not experience great glories and victories in life, rather, most of us gather our joys and small pleasures where and when we can-- and the rest of the time, we do what is necessary to survive. Dinah, does no less and does so with honor. Even minor characters have a story worth telling-- reminding us of the internal, silent, and unsung glory that can occur inside each of us as we live our lives as best we can.

Rachael

Rating: really liked it
My frustration with this book stemmed primarily from the depiction of the various characters. I liked the writing, I liked the way Diamant addresses the contemporary socio-cultural issues, and I thought the characterization was quite vivid--I just didn't agree with the way the characters were presented. Yes, the people in the Bible were real people with varied flaws and gifts, but I didn't like the portrayal of so many of them as petty and conniving. And I especially didn't like the sexual depictions in this text. While I fully recognize that there's going to be some of that in any story about a man with four wives and 13 children, I really didn't like the way it was handled or presented--it was much more about lust than about love or following the Lord's commandments.

Chrissie

Rating: really liked it
It doesn't matter at all what is fiction and what is history in this book - it is just as lovely to imagine what it would be like if such a custom as "the red tent" did exist. I have now finished the book. WOW! Diamant truely moves our emotions. The beauty of birth, the sorrows AND wonders of aging, the horror of injustice - elements that are a part of all lives. The ending of the book is so beautiful and profound. What exactly is it that we want to reap from our lives? What hurts most? To be totally forgotten, isn't that the cruelest fate? For me this was a central point of the novel! What do others think?

The "red tent" did not really prevent hatred or jealousy among women. Remember how Leah and Rachael continued to feel towards each other. They merely controled their emotions. In the red tent they slept on opposite sides of the tent. However their emtions remained. They were quick to charge at the other as conflicts arose. I would say that life itself taught the women to love each other. It was each womean's struggle through life that taught them to forgive each other. Remember that Leah gave to Dinah (via Judah) Rachael's lapis ring.

Furthermore, it was not only Dinah but also Benia who understood the significance of this act. Many readers disparage Diamant's characterizations of the men in the novel. Some say the men characters are "flat". I think this is wrong because she gives them insight and tenderness too. Men and women do see things differently. We do act differently, but that is not to say one is weaker or less capable or less worthy than the other.

I also loved how different characters were allowed to be different. From birth people are just plain different. What a bore if we were all the same!

I loved the book because it taught me a bit about biblical times and it gave me a lot to ponder. I want to read more about biblical times and customs. That is what a good book will do.

Heather

Rating: really liked it
While I enjoyed the parts about midwifery and wish that a place like the Red Tent really did exist, I think that the author got the story all wrong. She turned all the men in the book, including men like Jacob and Joseph, into sex crazed, egotistical, superstitious bigots. I think she took WAY TOO much creative license and basically re-wrote the bible to her liking. In some part she didn't even try to be historically accurate with what the bible says.For example, she says that Joseph and Potifar's wife were lovers for a long time till he got caught, when in the bible it clearly says that Joseph ran away!
Also, much of her focus is on Goddess worship, which many of the people would have practiced in that time. But I think it does a great injustice to Jacob to say that he wouldn't have taught his wives about Jehovah, and a greater injustice to think that Rachel and Leah would have continued to worship idols even after they had learned about the one true God.
Anyway, while I didn't like the author's take on the story I did really love idea of the Red Tent and the birth stories. It made me wish that we had more rituals in our culture that celebrated a woman's coming of age. I LOVED the way a girl was initiated into womanhood when she got her period, and how bleeding each month and being pregnant were looked upon as a great privilege rather than an embarrassment and hassle. It is sad how we as women don't treat our bodies as the amazing gifts that they are.

angela

Rating: really liked it
I read this years ago, so I’m not comfortable giving it a review. I did enjoy the book, I know that.

Erin

Rating: really liked it
What of me? Did he mention me? Did he repent of what he did to me?
He said nothing of you. Dinah is forgotten in the house of Jacob.

*2018 Re-read *

Recently I watched the 2014 two part episode of this book starring Minnie Driver, Rebecca Ferguson, and Iain Glen. Like any good reader that has read a book years before a screen version(and Goodread) appears, I wanted to see how my memory has held up and if this book still has that "wow" factor that I recall.

Although I still would consider this biblical fiction one of my favorites, I have to be true to my profile criteria and re-adjust a 5 star to the 4 star it deserves. Translation: While it won't be placed in my casket, I definitely would still recommend to other readers. The female relationships are the very core of this story and Anita Diamant does a stunning job of breathing new life into the Leah/Rachel/Jacob drama in the OT book of Genesis by focusing on Jacob and Leah's daughter Dinah.

We have been lost to each other for so long. My name means nothing to you. My memory is dust. This is not your fault, or mine. The chain connecting mother to daughter was broken and the word passed to the keeping of men, who had no way of knowing. That is why I became a footnote, my story a brief detour between the well known history of my father, Jacob, and the celebrated chronicle of Joseph, my brother. On those rare occasions when I was remembered, it was as a victim. Near the beginning of your holy book, there is a passage that seems to say I was raped and continues with the bloody tale of how my honor was avenged.

But what happened to Dinah? Well, that was where I do notice(the second time) The storyline really accelerated, but still I felt satisfied with the ending. As per the series, well it kept the core, added a few dramatic moments and didn't add quite so much genealogy of Jacob's family.

Joe Krakovsky

Rating: really liked it
I did not finish reading this book because on a personal level I found it too disgusting. It doesn't even deserve the 1 star rating, but being as the author seemed to have done a lot of research I will give her some credit for that. To use a phrase so much in vogue right now, I found it very offensive on various levels.

To begin with, it seemed that the book centered around the menstrual period of women. Yes, I know it is a fact of life, but come on, do you have to be so uncouth? I lose a lot of respect for authors who feel that by writing about such basic human things that they are somehow being truthful and honest. Can I deal with life? Sure, but that isn't the point. When I was in Basic Training in the Army we still had the old wooden barracks with the row of toilets with no privacy between them. In high school we had swimming in PE were we swam nude. However I'm not going to write about the guy who digs in his nose and eats snot! 
 
On another level of disgust was the treatment of the men. Boy, if I wrote about women like that I would have militants threatening to burn down my house. But I guess double standards are ok if you are politically correct.

Probably the most offensive of all to me was the degrading portrayal of holy men of the Bible as being 'human' like you and me. Well, you know what? Not everybody is a pervert, just like not everybody is a murderer, or a thief. The story line was utter nonsense. Ignoring the atheist viewpoints for the moment, the holy men were different and that was what set them apart. If being a sinner like everybody else was ok, why were they chosen or singled out for blessings? Because they were cool? Attacking or poking fun at the ancient prophets of several of the world's religions is never a good thing, especially in this day and age.