The Red Tent : A Novel
1 journaler for this copy...
Amazon.com: 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 who 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
"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
I rented the audiobook of 'The Red Tent' from AllEars audiobooks in Saratoga, CA. Started listening to the book today.
Whoa. Graphic sex on the first disk!
I think the only reason it startled me so much was because it's a Biblical story.
I think the only reason it startled me so much was because it's a Biblical story.
Finished the audio book this morning.
This was a fascinating retelling of Genesis and the saga of the women in the life of Jacob and Joseph. I have to admit, I was a little grossed out by the sex - I'm a prude, after all, and having love-making in every chapter is just too much for me! - which was explicit. It was prettily described, though. The whole book is very poetic and has a rhythm as steady as the flow of the Nile.
I would love to know what sort of research Diamant did in preparation of this novel. What did she read/see to learn about the Canaanite gods, customs, and womens' lives? What's true and what's made up?
Obviously, the Bible figures prominently in the story, and at times the author takes great liberties with the events of Genesis. Jacob's courtship of Laban's daughters is greatly changed; it was quite interesting to compare this interpretation/variation to the Rachel and Leah portrayed in Orson Scott Card's novel about them.
I have to admit, some of the rituals described as part of the red tent were gross and freaky. But it was interesting to see how the revolutionary religion of Abraham/Isaac/Jacob fit into the larger pagan world, and how even the own women in the family may have paid it little heed.
This would be a 10-star book were it not for the sex, which is squicky.
This was a fascinating retelling of Genesis and the saga of the women in the life of Jacob and Joseph. I have to admit, I was a little grossed out by the sex - I'm a prude, after all, and having love-making in every chapter is just too much for me! - which was explicit. It was prettily described, though. The whole book is very poetic and has a rhythm as steady as the flow of the Nile.
I would love to know what sort of research Diamant did in preparation of this novel. What did she read/see to learn about the Canaanite gods, customs, and womens' lives? What's true and what's made up?
Obviously, the Bible figures prominently in the story, and at times the author takes great liberties with the events of Genesis. Jacob's courtship of Laban's daughters is greatly changed; it was quite interesting to compare this interpretation/variation to the Rachel and Leah portrayed in Orson Scott Card's novel about them.
I have to admit, some of the rituals described as part of the red tent were gross and freaky. But it was interesting to see how the revolutionary religion of Abraham/Isaac/Jacob fit into the larger pagan world, and how even the own women in the family may have paid it little heed.
This would be a 10-star book were it not for the sex, which is squicky.
