Product Description

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible her fate is merely hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the verses of the Book of Genesis that recount the life of Jacob and his infamous dozen sons. The Red Tent is an extraordinary and engrossing tale of ancient womanhood and family honour. Told in Dinah's voice, it opens with the story of her mothers - the four wives of Jacob - each of whom embodies unique feminine traits, and concludes with Dinah's own startling and unforgettable story of betrayal, grief and love. Deeply affecting and intimate, The Red Tent combines outstandingly rich storytelling with an original insight into women's society in a fascinating period of early history and such is its warmth and candour, it is guaranteed to win the hearts and minds of women across the world.

'If you don't read it you'll be missing out' Eve

'I genuinely fell into this rich and colourful world and Dinah and Leah have stayed with me as ancestors and sisters brought to life by Anita Diamant's imaginative novel' Maureen Lipman

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2119 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Anita Diamant's The Red Tent is an epic celebration of womanhood, written for women everywhere, regardless of their status, creed or colour. It is the story of a woman whose life was blessed by great love and torn by tragedy, of the lessons she learned through her own experiences and those of the women, and men, whose lives she touched. Diamant has chosen as her leading lady a woman whose name alone conjures up echoes of mystery, passion and betrayal. The Red Tent is the fictional tale of Dinah, whose life, like the majority of women in the Old Testament, merits only a passing mention. It is the men in Dinah¹s life that history has remembered: her famous father Jacob, his dozen sons and especially her brother, Joseph and his technicolour dreamcoat. Not religious? Don' t worry, this biblical character and the story Anita Diamant has woven from the merest hints, will appeal to all.

Strangely, even though Dinah lived her life several thousand years ago in a culture far removed from almost all of the women who will read this book, her story is as relevant and fresh as any written in recent years. This novel is as compelling for its female take on the grand themes that transcend time--birth, death, love, hate, betrayal and forgiveness­-as it is for its meticulously researched and hugely fascinating picture of everyday life as an early Jewish woman. The book's title refers to the tent where the women retired each month to pass their menstruation, and the descriptions of their time spent celebrating this fundamental rite of womanhood, and other daily customs make this a most original and inspiring book. In an age when gender and family traditions are becoming more and more diluted, The Red Tent honours women and their many and varied roles in life. Carey Green

Amazon.co.uk 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
'If you don't read it you'll be missing out' Eve; 'I genuinely fell into this rich and colourful world and Dinah and Leah have stayed with me as ancestors and sisters brought to life by Anita Diamant's imaginative novel' Maureen Lipman

Customer Reviews

An excellent book!
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant is an account of the Old Testament story of Jacob and Esau. The story is written from the female perspective and it gives an insight into the life of women during biblical times as not seen before; daily life, life inside the Red Tent at the new moon and the upbringing of children. Running alongside this is a wonderful story which keeps the reader riveted. I would recommend this book to all.

A BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY WITH HISTORICAL ROOTS
'The Red Tent' derives its narrative from the Old Testament story of Dina, the archetypal rape victim whose misfortune triggered the downfall of her family's patriarchal dynasty. From this rather depressing misogamist myth Anita Diamant writes a compelling and genuinely touching love story.
When I first picked this book up I expected an intense and intellectual trawl through biblical history. This was never the case and I was absorbed from the outset. Diamant uses history to engross her reader, the incredible marriage of Jacob to four sisters and the resulting jealousies and trials such a domestic set-up would create are recounted tenderly and plausibly, there is something soothingly voyeuristic amidst the difficult relationships between the women and their one husband.
I particularly loved the narrative surrounding the red tent itself, the home of the menstruating women of the tribe - how wonderful to remember such a time when women were so in tune with each other that they bled together every full moon. And paralleled with the patriachal leadership of the age Diamant creates an intruguing world of male leadership subserviant to the wonders of women, their bodies, their births and their secrets. I lost count of the number of births in this novel, but was again fascinated by the insight provided into the skills and reverence of midwifery.
In 'The Red Tent' Diamant defies the testament story of Dina's rape, instead revealing her relationship as a seductive and wonderful courtship destroyed from the outside by feuding brothers and an overly proud father. A brave incision into a male dominated history and religion.
Reading the details of the early childhood of Joseph, the fertility problems of Rachel and her handmaid sister and of Jacob leading his Israelite tribe was a treat and a new and welcome angle to this ancient story. Perhaps Diamant has presented Jacob harshly in this version of the tale, seeming sometimes cruel and the maker of some mightily disastrous decsions. But this is a woman's story and at last, in the guise of an enchanting novel, Diamant questions the wisdom and motivation of the men at the heart of modern Judaism and Christianity.
Successfully entwining history with myth this book is a delight, a fine curl-up on the sofa novel with a high feel-good factor and a blatant dose of girl-power.
I enjoyed this book because it raises questions without beaking seriously from the traditional Old Testament version whilst maintaining a terrific tenderness and thirst for love that the heroine Dina so truly deserved.
Read this, then pass it on to your girlfriends, they will thank you for it.

Excellent
This has all the hallmarks of a great novel - plently of interesting characters, a great story, and most of all, it makes you look at the world differently. Don't be turned off by the 'biblical' side - it is a good read that you will want to return to again and again. It tells the story of a minor character in the bible, describing in detail the lives of women at that time. It really is a book about women, men feature as minor parts, and it deals with all aspects of womanhood. You will never see the bible in the same way again, whether you are a believer or not. You cannot miss this great novel. I just wish she had already written a dozen more.