The Red Tent - Softcover

Diamant, Anita

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312195516 ISBN 13: 9780312195519

Publisher: St Martin's Press, 1998

Synopsis

In the Bible, Dinah's life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob and his sons. The tale combines story-telling with a different way of looking at the place occupied by women in ancient Jewish society.

About this title

Review:

The red tent is the place where women gathered during their cycles of birthing, menses and even illness. Like the conversations and mysteries held within this feminine tent, this sweeping piece of fiction offers an insider's look at the daily life of a biblical sorority of mothers and wives and their one and only daughter Dinah. Told in the voice of Jacob's daughter Dinah (who only received a glimpse of recognition in the Book of Genesis), we are privy to the fascinating feminine characters that bled within the red tent. In a confiding and poetic voice, Dinah whispers stories of her four mothers, Rachel, Leah, Zilpah, and Bilhah--all wives to Jacob, and each one embodying unique feminine traits. As she reveals these sensual and emotionally charged stories we learn of birthing miracles, slaves, artisans, household gods, and sisterhood secrets. Eventually Dinah delves into her own saga of betrayals, grief, and a call to midwifery.

"Like any sisters who live together and share a husband, my mother and aunties spun a sticky web of loyalties and grudges," Anita Diamant writes in the voice of Dinah. "They traded secrets like bracelets, and these were handed down to me the only surviving girl. They told me things I was too young to hear. They held my face between their hands and made me swear to remember." Remembering women's earthy stories and passionate history is indeed the theme of this magnificent book. In fact, it's been said that The Red Tent is what the Bible might have been had it been written by God's daughters, instead of her sons. --Gail Hudson

Review:

"Diamant vividly conjures up the ancient world of caravans, shepherds, farmers, midwives, slaves, and artisans . . . her Dinah is a compelling narrator that has timeless resonance."--Merle Rubin, " Christian Science Monitor""An intense, vivid novel . . . It is tempting to say that "The Red Tent" is what the Bible would be like if it had been written by women, but only Diamant could have given it such sweep and grace.""--The Boston Globe""The best fiction reporters create a world and bathe us in its sounds and sights, its language and climate, the intricate relationships among its inhabitants. Anita Diamant has performed this wondrous craft: She has brought forth one of those books that appear effortless precisely because the writer has pondered even the length of breath between each character's words . . . This earthy, passionate tale, told also with great delicacy, is, quite simply, a great read."--Jane Redmont, "National Catholic Reporter""By giving a voice to Dinah, one of the silent female characters in Genesis, the novel has struck a chord with women who may have felt left out of biblical history. It celebrates mothers and daughters and the mysteries of the life cycle.""--The Los Angeles Times""A richly imagined world . . . Paints a vivid picture of what women's society might have resembled during biblical times. Although it is a novel, it is also an extended "midrash" or exegesis--filling in gaps left by the biblical text.""--Jewish Times""[A] vivid evocation of the world of Old Testament women . . . The red tent becomes a symbol of womanly strength, love, and wisdom . . . Diamant succeeds admirably in depicting the lives of women in the age that engendered our civilization and our most enduring values.""--Publishers Weekly""The oldest story of all could never seem more original, more true."--James Carroll, author of "An American Requiem"

About this edition

• Publisher: St Martin's Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0312195516
• ISBN 13: 9780312195519
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320