Historical Fiction/Religious Fiction - 3.5 stars
Considered a modern classic, The Red Tent is the story of Dinah, only daughter of Jacob. In the Bible, her life is merely mentioned within the Book of Genesis. Anita Diamant brings all of the biblical characters in the story of Jacob to life.
Told in Dinah’s voice, the book tells of ancient womanhood, the rituals and the difficulties in the red tent. It centers on Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah - the four wives of Jacob. They each love Dinah as her own, and they teach her skills and develop her gift for midwifery. The story moves on to when Dinah marries and tragedy befalls her new life, bringing a curse down on Jacob's house that cannot be reconciled.
While the characters may be familiar, the story of the women of Jacob and their propogation of pagan beliefs was a little too mystical for my taste. Diamant's writing was very reminiscent of The Song of Hannah, as was the abundance of sex and the license taken with the Biblical story. In the end, however, I enjoyed the fact that these people were real people, not just characters in a story. This book brought these people to life, and I did enjoy it.
