The Red Tent--20th Anniversary Edition

September 15, 1997
A minor character from the book of Genesis tells her life story in this vivid evocation of the world of Old Testament women. The only surviving daughter of Jacob and Leah, Dinah occupies a far different world from the flocks and business deals of her brothers. She learns from her Aunt Rachel the mysteries of midwifery and from her other aunts the art of homemaking. Most important, Dinah learns and preserves the stories and traditions of her family, which she shares with the reader in touchingly intimate detail. Familiar passages from the Bible come alive as Dinah fills in what the Bible leaves out concerning Jacob's courtship of Rachel and Leah, her own ill-fated sojourn in the city of Sechem and her half-brother Joseph's rise to fame and fortune in Egypt. After several nonfiction works on Judaism (Living a Jewish Life, etc.), Diamant's fiction debut links the passions of the early Israelites to the ongoing traditions of modern Jews, while the red tent of her title (where women retreat for menstruation, childbirth and illness) becomes a resonant symbol of womanly strength, love and wisdom. Despite a few unprofitable digressions, Diamant succeeds admirably in depicting the lives of women in the age that engendered our civilization and our most enduring values.

The music of Palestine opens this historical novel about the tribe of Jacob in the Book of Genesis. Told by Dinah, daughter of Jacob, The Red Tent--the place where women are sequestered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and sickness--takes us inside the lives of these early Jewish families. Carol Bilger narrates with a warmth and melodiousness that echo the rhythm of the musical interludes that separate chapters. The story told by Diamant is dramatic, but Bilger never overplays her reading. Instead, she allows the story to shine. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine