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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
This beautifully written story is told from the perspective of Dinah from the Bible, Jacob's only daughter. It begins before her birth, retelling the story of Jacob taking Laban's daughters as his two wives, and goes all the way up to Dinah's death. (It is clear from the beginning that she is speaking from beyond death to today's reader.) Diamant fills in the blanks from what's in the Bible, particularly in telling us what became of Dinah after the one Biblical story where she is the focus, after which she is not mentioned again.
I appreciated that Diamant was not afraid of deviating from the Genesis text, but not so much that it's unreasonable to think the story could have come to be told the way it's written in the Bible. Clearly she's taken advantage of the fact that the Bible stories were passed down orally for generations before they were written down, and imagines what the actual events might have been. What this means is that even if you know the story from Genesis, the plot will still contain surprises for you.
What makes this book outstanding is the storytelling, both the creativity with the source material and the language itself. Although I wouldn't rate it up there with my very favorites, it was an excellent book that I would recommend to anyone who's not offended by someone taking creative license with the Bible.
I appreciated that Diamant was not afraid of deviating from the Genesis text, but not so much that it's unreasonable to think the story could have come to be told the way it's written in the Bible. Clearly she's taken advantage of the fact that the Bible stories were passed down orally for generations before they were written down, and imagines what the actual events might have been. What this means is that even if you know the story from Genesis, the plot will still contain surprises for you.
What makes this book outstanding is the storytelling, both the creativity with the source material and the language itself. Although I wouldn't rate it up there with my very favorites, it was an excellent book that I would recommend to anyone who's not offended by someone taking creative license with the Bible.
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I love this book to death, but be mindful there is a lot of graphic sex and violence.
I've passed this one along to many of my girlfriends. Diamant offers a glimpse of women's life in biblical times. They certainly don't teach about the red tent in Sunday School.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Red Tent was a wonderful book to read in my first year of motherhood. The framing of the novel as a story told by Dinah, passed down through time, was lovely. It was meaningful to contemplate the shared experiences of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood that connect us to our ancestors. The historical setting, like I always love about historical fiction, helped me empathize with women throughout history who have gone through the same things I recently I did, and who had the same intense love for their children that I do. "Remembering seems a holy thing," indeed.
I also loved the religious angle, from both a pagan and Christian perspective. It was fascinating how the god of Jacob differed so greatly from the gods of Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah, and how their household merged the two faiths.
I did think the final third of the book (Dinah in Egypt) was a little too meandering and less interesting.She does spend years staying inside Nakht-re's house without going outside once. And the part with Joseph in Egypt seemed a bit anticlimactic, given that I most strongly remember this Genesis story for Joseph's role. But the lead-up to why she ends up in Egypt (the murder of Shalem etc. (hide spoiler) ) was fantastic: very emotionally charged and a fitting end to the story of Dinah's mothers.
Overall, The Red Tent was a beautifully flowing tale of ancient women and the power and love their lives held. Let them never be forgotten!
I also loved the religious angle, from both a pagan and Christian perspective. It was fascinating how the god of Jacob differed so greatly from the gods of Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah, and how their household merged the two faiths.
I did think the final third of the book (Dinah in Egypt) was a little too meandering and less interesting.
Overall, The Red Tent was a beautifully flowing tale of ancient women and the power and love their lives held. Let them never be forgotten!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Violence, Pregnancy
Moderate: Slavery, Blood, Grief
Interesting concept with relatively poor execution. Adding a star because this pissed off some of the right people.
The book is divided into three parts. The first is well-written but has a weird tense change part way through. The second and third have a majority of the plot and Dinah's life but felt rushed and ultimately lack the emotional resonance I was hoping for. Most of the characters felt like caricatures to me.
The book is divided into three parts. The first is well-written but has a weird tense change part way through. The second and third have a majority of the plot and Dinah's life but felt rushed and ultimately lack the emotional resonance I was hoping for. Most of the characters felt like caricatures to me.
I reread this book every few years and find myself just as in love with the narrator, the characters and the setting as I did the very first time I read it at 21. Dinah is a heroine you won't soon forget and the end will leave you bereft but grateful. I hate closing this book after the final page, but always look forward to picking it up again.
This was an okay book for me, and I say this only because at the time I was reading this book I was overworked with life and for a book like the Red Tent you need to give it a certain amount of attention. Also I felt as I read the book I could not envision the whole world of the book. But I would still recommend it for others to read, just give it the attention it needs.