The Red Tent (edition 1998)

This book was a gift from a long lost friend. She was a tall strong girl who is a midwife and ironically so is one of the main characters in the story. ( )

Women in America have no idea how fortunate they are to live here. ( )

I almost discarded this book as 'chit lit' but I'm so glad I didn't. Even though 'the red tent' itself and much else of how people lived in early biblical times seems to be fanciful, it makes a thoroughly good read and, after a slow start, the narrative becomes compelling. ( )

recommended for: all women who might possibly enjoy a historical fiction novel

I thought that I would hate this book but I really liked it. I was not familiar with the bible stories on which it was based. This book is told from the point of view of the women mentioned in the bible and I was not interested in the religious aspect. But I really felt involved with these girls and women and their families over time. I enjoyed the story and really empathized with so many of the female characters. I do love stories told about very long ago where the human qualities of the people then are so recognizable among the people of today. I wasn’t as admiring of the last part of the book (Dinah in Egypt) as the earlier portions. It felt rushed and not as well developed, but perhaps I felt disappointed because I found that many (although not all of) those parts of the story so sad. ( )

The Red Tent is a novel of biblical times detailing the imagined lives of Rachel and Leah, two wives of Jacob (both true biblical figures) and, subsequently, the imagined story of Dinah, the daughter of Leah, also a true biblical figure. The "red tent" of the title refers to the tent the women of the tribe remain in while experiencing their "time of the month" or while giving birth.
Rachel (Dinah's aunt), Leah (Dinah's mother), and later Dinah herself, all become midwives, helping other women who are delivering their babies. This is a novel written by a woman, about women, and for women.
The novel is actually two books, each connected by the familial bonds of the people involved. The first, the story of Rachel and Leah, is the shorter of the two. The second is the story of Dinah. Here is where the true novel begins. Dinah, just barely a woman, meets an Egyptian prince, Shalem, a handsome man of wealth and status and falls in love with him. He returns her love, and for a time the two engage in merry lovemaking. As was the custom of the time, Shalem's family attempts to "buy" Dinah from her family, making what appears to be a very fair offer. The king goes out of the city to Jacob's tribe and offers a hansom dowry.
Jacob is against the marriage and initially demands that all the men in the kingdom be circumcised before he is willing to give his consent, thinking that no one will do this. However, the men in the Kingdom agree to this demand. After the circumcisions have taken place,
Jacob’s sons sneak into the palace and kill all the men while they sleep, including Dinah’s betrothed. Dinah, now pregnant, is hysterical and curses all of her family, leaving never to return.

Dinah escapes to Egypt with the Prince’s Mother. When the baby is born it is taken from her in order that he might grow up as an Egyptian prince. He is even given a new name, an Egyptian name, and Dinah is forbidden ever to call her son by the name she originally gave him.
Dinah has no option but to accept what is done to her. Dinah eventually finds happiness when she marries a local carpenter and works in a village as a midwife. ( )