The Red Tent

By Anita Diamant,

Book cover of The Red Tent

Book description

In The Red Tent Anita Diamant brings the fascinating biblical character of Dinah to vivid life.

'Intensely moving . . . feminist . . . a riveting tale of love' - Observer

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her fate is merely hinted at in a brief and violentā€¦

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Why read it?

9 authors picked The Red Tent as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I read this for a womenā€™s study class and LOVED it. The telling of a story back in the biblical times from a womanā€™s perspectiveā€¦ sign me up.

This one took me through an emotional journey, blending fact with fiction to the point where I didnā€™t know where one ended and the other began. My heart was put through the ringer. I cried. I laughed. I fell in love. I felt the bond between mother and daughter and the rage of the oppression the FMC went through. It made me take a look at these biblical stories in a wholeā€¦

This book by Anita Diamant deeply resonates with me. Its bold emphasis on women's experiences, including menstruation, stirs a profound connection. The way it upends patriarchal historical narratives made me rethink my understanding of history.

It's not just a book I read; it's a book that prompted introspection and left a lasting impact on me.

From Nadya's list on challenging perspectives.

The Red Tent is about sisterhood and the ways aunties and mothers and daughters support each other.

Itā€™s stunning visually; I read this book almost twenty years ago and can still conjure up the rangy desert and the dusky interior of the eponymous tent. Diamant offers a unique perspective on what was arguably the first Jewish/Gentile love affair, between the Bibleā€™s Dinah, the only named daughter of the patriarch Jacob, and the Prince of Shechem.

It was the first Jewish historical fiction book I ever read and will always have special a place in my heart.

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Book cover of The Ballad of Falling Rock

The Ballad of Falling Rock by Jordan Dotson,

Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: ā€œAre his love songs closer to heaven than dying?ā€ Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard itā€¦

Anita Diamant takes a little-known character in the Bible, Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, and expands upon the one line of text given to give us.

The result is a rich, lyrical tale of women in a difficult time. This story is loosely woven on the biblical one, offering alternative, intriguing views and viewpoint. The red tent itself is a symbol of the unique bonding of women, how they find strength, support, and resilience in each other, a network of supporting roots.

I always thought of myself as a loner, but the older I get, the more Iā€¦

From T.K.'s list on historyā€™s remarkable women.

In my late twenties, I faced a stark reality: history belongs to those who write it. What I had learned in school was simply the history according to the white Christian patriarchy.

The voices of women, as well as people of many ethnicities, religions, and cultures, were silenced. I began to seek out books in which diverse characters were allowed to speak. 

Reading The Red Tent opened my eyes to the possibility of writing historical fiction from the perspective of a woman. As I listened to Dinahā€™s voice in the novel, speaking so honestly about matters of the heart, Iā€¦

This interpretation of the Biblical story of Dinah is beautifully written in the first-person perspective. It exquisitely and vividly invokes a lost and fascinating ancient world. I particularly enjoy Diamantā€™s depiction and celebration of the love between mothers and daughters, all while honoring the resilience and resolve of the female spirit.

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Book cover of Love and Chocolate

Love and Chocolate by Linda Shenton Matchett,

Ilsa Krause and her siblings are stunned to discover their father left massive debt behind upon his death. To help pay off their creditors, she takes a job at Beckā€™s Chocolates, the company her father despised. To make matters worse, her boss is Ernst Webber, her high school love whoā€¦

The Red Tent was my introduction to biblical fiction and made me want to look deeper into the stories of the untold women of the Bible. This sweeping tale of the four wives of Jacob and his daughter, Dinah, brings us an intimate portrait of these long-ago women. Itā€™s a story of love, jealousy, and betrayal built upon the ancient text of Genesis, but the glowing prose and insight into their lives bring us as close to these ancient women as we are to our own mothers and daughters.

From Stephanie's list on bringing women of the Bible to life.

This is a sensual, warm and alive book carrying a profound depth of feminine understanding. It is beautifully written and transports me to another world, with characters who are flawed and wonderful. The concept of women gathering happily to bleed together in a restful red tent while eating honey cakes was, for me at least, groundbreaking. There is real love for the feminine and our ability to bleed, to conceive and birth, and to enjoy sexuality fully. The sexism and cruelty of the age are not shyed away from, and the women handle it with strength, resourcefulness, and dignity. Thisā€¦

From Melanie's list on with spiritual depth.

The Red Tent is a classic, one that was almost required reading for book clubs in the late ā€™90s. In this international bestseller, Diamant retells the Biblical story of Jacobā€™s daughters. Its focus on mothers, daughters, and womenā€™s cycles made the ancient world come alive with its rich, lyrical prose.

From Lori's list on Jewish books you'll ever read.

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Book cover of The Ballad of Falling Rock

The Ballad of Falling Rock by Jordan Dotson,

Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: ā€œAre his love songs closer to heaven than dying?ā€ Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard itā€¦

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