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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
for the record, i'm not religious and i know very, very little about biblical texts or stories. initially, then, i was hesitant about the red tent. i was worried that the religion would be heavy-handed, and that's just not something that i look for when choosing a new book. i'm so thrilled that i took the plunge with this one! i read it for the first time a few years ago, but this reread has convinced me that it must be one of my favorite novels. the prose is lush, the characters are raw, the narrative is compelling. it is a shame that we lose track of leah, rachel, zilpah, and bilhah in the last third of the book - they were the characters that i fell in love with first, and their absence leaves a gaping hole for us and for dinah - but this is a story of loss. more than that: it's a story of humanity. the sheer strength and resilience of women is the thread that ties this entire novel together. i am proud to number myself among them.
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
Honestly, it took me forever to get through. I know a lot of people liked it, but it was laborious for me and I didnt get into it until the last 75-100 pages. My mother read it before me and she liked it, but it feels like a labor of love to get through.
I was entirely engrossed in this book and when I finished I felt like I emerged from biblical times. Anita Diamant wrote a transfixing novel, how a woman would have lived in her surroundings in ancient Canaan , Thebes, and the Nile River (referred to as the great river).
This was when wealth was judged by your livestock, and dowry must be paid for a bride. The shift to Egypt described redolent scents of lotus and incense, and oracles told by reading entrails.
The story of Dinah made you believe everything about how her life would have been.
Wonderful book!
This was when wealth was judged by your livestock, and dowry must be paid for a bride. The shift to Egypt described redolent scents of lotus and incense, and oracles told by reading entrails.
The story of Dinah made you believe everything about how her life would have been.
Wonderful book!
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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:
Yes
I thought the first half of [b:The Red Tent|4989|The Red Tent|Anita Diamant|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405739117s/4989.jpg|1041558] was very compelling. I liked the focus on the female relationships - a complex web of love, teamwork and jealousies - and enjoyed seeing the story behind the story we know. My favourite parts were near the beginning when we learn about Leah, Rachel, Zilpah and Bilhah growing up and becoming Jacob's wives, and their subsequent forays into motherhood.
Unlike some readers, I had no problem with the female-centric feel to the novel. In fact, it seems like a funny and strange criticism when considering that this book sets out to offer a female perspective on a story that pretty much ignored women for centuries. I think [b:The Red Tent|4989|The Red Tent|Anita Diamant|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405739117s/4989.jpg|1041558] might not work for you so much if you're reading as a fan of the biblical story and don't want to explore perspectives that change the way we view certain characters. As a nonreligious reader, though, I really enjoyed it.
Well, that is, until Dinah moves to Egypt and things became... mostly uninteresting. The truth is that, for me, Dinah's character paled in comparison to all the different and interesting personalities I found in the four sisters. I really like first-person narratives that focus on other characters - everything from [b:Wuthering Heights|6185|Wuthering Heights|Emily Brontë|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388212715s/6185.jpg|1565818] to [b:Tiger Lily|7514925|Tiger Lily|Jodi Lynn Anderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329681513s/7514925.jpg|9720811] - because it offers an up-close account whilst also viewing a number of characters equally. So I liked this book more when Dinah's narrative was not about her, but about her mothers.
The second half grew boring and tiring, and I honestly struggled to finish. It's a shame because I really loved the earlier chapters.
Unlike some readers, I had no problem with the female-centric feel to the novel. In fact, it seems like a funny and strange criticism when considering that this book sets out to offer a female perspective on a story that pretty much ignored women for centuries. I think [b:The Red Tent|4989|The Red Tent|Anita Diamant|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405739117s/4989.jpg|1041558] might not work for you so much if you're reading as a fan of the biblical story and don't want to explore perspectives that change the way we view certain characters. As a nonreligious reader, though, I really enjoyed it.
Well, that is, until Dinah moves to Egypt and things became... mostly uninteresting. The truth is that, for me, Dinah's character paled in comparison to all the different and interesting personalities I found in the four sisters. I really like first-person narratives that focus on other characters - everything from [b:Wuthering Heights|6185|Wuthering Heights|Emily Brontë|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388212715s/6185.jpg|1565818] to [b:Tiger Lily|7514925|Tiger Lily|Jodi Lynn Anderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329681513s/7514925.jpg|9720811] - because it offers an up-close account whilst also viewing a number of characters equally. So I liked this book more when Dinah's narrative was not about her, but about her mothers.
The second half grew boring and tiring, and I honestly struggled to finish. It's a shame because I really loved the earlier chapters.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The first half was better than the second.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No