Dinah is a very minor character in Genesis. Her rape, and the consequent destruction of Shechem by her brothers, is told in a chapter - and Dinah doesn't even get a speaking part in it! So if readers remember her at all, they only remember her as a passive and defiled victim. The Red Tent reclaims Dinah, making her stronger and more autonomous. Anita Diamant seamlessly weaves the stories of the Bible, from Leah and Rachel to Joseph, into her own narrative.

I suppose the part I was most disappointed with was that I was expecting the re-telling to make the point, "Survivors of rape don't have to be victims," and build Dinah's strength from there. But instead, no, it wasn't rape but a mutual expression of love, and the story only gets twisted by Jacob's sons. There could have been a lot of power in that re-telling, and I felt like Diamant's solution was kind of bland. But her story was good, and I liked seeing the Biblical characters built up into human personalities with a lot of depth. Interesting and creative read ( )

Another great historical fiction novel. This is a must for women's studies fans. It gives an interesting view of the way women lived during this time period. ( )

Didn't love this like everyone else, did but it was very readable and fun to go to a different time & place. Hard to imagine being able to sit around for a few days ea. month without obligations and it seemed fun with good comraderie. ( )

I have heard so much about this novel that I figured it was about time that I check it out. I wasn't anticipating to be able to actually read the book any time soon, so I listened to the audio version. Dinah is the only daughter of Jacob and this book is written from her viewpoint.

The story begins by acquainting us with Jacob's four wives, Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah. Although Leah is Dinah's biological mother, all of these women provide maternal guidance to Dinah at some point during her life. This book focuses on the relationships that these women built and the traditions that they followed during this time of history.

The red tent was a place that the sisterhood of these women was even more private and intimate. The women were not allowed to enter the red tent until they began menstruating, so when a girl finally crossed over to womanhood and was granted entrance to the red tent, this moment was celebrated until the early hours of the morning to welcome the newest woman into the sisterhood. The red tent was one place where women could be themselves and share their most intimate thoughts and secrets without having to worry about the men in their lives.

When Dinah's life appears to be about as perfect as she can imagine, she is deceived in a way that reaches deep into her sould and destroys all she has known. She decides to leave the only family land she has ever known to start a new life.

This novel brings us through Dinah's entire life. She follows in her mother Rachel's footsteps by learning what is necessary to be a midwife. She develops quite a legeacy from this venture and is seeked by royalty when women are preparing to deliver their children.

As the book closes Dinah reflects on her lifetime, her relationship with her mothers and all that they shared together in the red tent. She remembers all that has happened with her father and brothers and how those events have helped her to develop into the woman that she has become. Although I did enjoy this story, I think that there were too many characters too be able to appreciate the audio version. So if you were going to look into this book I would definitely suggest reading it rather than listening to it. Although the audiobook didn't put me over the top, I could definitely tell that Diamant is a gifted and talented story teller, and I hope to read more of her work. ( )

Just because it was a sort of feminist take on a biblical theme and explores some rituals that are not dealt with much in fiction doesn't make this novel good literature. I was quite interested for a few pages but this interest rapidly diminished. I found it too light for my taste. It was a novelty act not a class act.. ( )