The Red Tent

Book Jacket Summary:
Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons in the book of Genesis.

Told in Dinah’s voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoil of ancient womanhood – the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers – Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah – the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and giver her gifts that are to sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah’s story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate, immediate connection.

Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich story-telling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women’s society.

Keren’s Review – 7 out of 10 Stars:
This book was suggested by one of the Book Club members. It intrigued me immediately to see another viewpoint of one of the more familiar stories in the Bible – that of Jacob and his 12 sons. As I expected, some of the points of the story that we’re familiar with were slightly different, so as to make the story more realistic. For example, in The Red Tent, Jacob worked for seven months for each of his brides, not seven years. Although some believe that the Bible is “gospel” (sorry to use a bad pun!), but I personally believe that it’s the message behind the stories that’s important, not the details.

One the parts of the story that I truly found difficult to relate to was how two sisters could share the same husband. I don’t have a sister, but I can’t imagine sharing my husband with ANYONE – let alone a relative! Although the author does a good job of making you understand that it was a part of life back then. Families were very important and every part of the family worked hard to provide the best life they could for the group.

I also found it interesting to see how such a young faith, and it’s different customs, were viewed by others. Although they didn’t fully understand it, the women of The Red Tent were able to accept it and blend their old ways into it. To me, it spoke much to tolerance, understanding and learning.

It was horrifying to hear a more detailed story of Dinah and Shechem. Although there is a chapter devoted to it in the Bible, it is told from a distant perspective and no thought is given to Dinah’s role. In The Red Tent, a love match, a city, and a young woman’s view of the world are turned upside down by mankind’s basic faults – jealously and greed.

Except for a section toward the end that I felt was a little slow, The Red Tent did a good job of keeping my attention. It was an easy read (I read it over a weekend) and I truly felt for Dinah and the other women in the book. Although I couldn’t necessarily understand how Dinah viewed the world, because she was living in a different time, I admired her spirit and her willingness to continue.

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