The Red Tent

by Anita Diamant

First off, I have to confess that I wasn't certain what this book was about. I knew it was a fictional account of what could have happened to Jacob's only daughter Dinah. When the book first started out, I immediately recognized the setting from Genesis, in the Bible. When the first inaccuracy appeared, at first I was a little miffed. But then I chided myself and reminded myself that this was in fact, fiction and should be treated as such. So I cast aside any thoughts that this would be Biblically accurate and then I was able to fully enjoy the story.

This book did give plenty of insight as to what life could have been like for the women of the Bible. We so seldom read about the women in the Bible and their daily account. I do imagine that the tediousness of everyday life was correct for the time. The women spent much of their time harvesting, preparing, or preserving food. Times of leisure were not to be had, as there was always wool or flax to spin into threads and fabrics. Life was not easy for women, childbirth often met with death for either the child or the mother. Yet life was well-celebrated by the women in the red tent.

I also have to admit that I was taken aback by the constant celebration of menstruation. The women in this book all generally celebrated their time of the month together in the red tent. Men never entered the red tent, and children did only while nursing. The days in the red tent were a period of time for women to bond with each other and discuss whatever needed to be discussed. The coming of age celebration for Dinah was, um, interesting. But overall, I found the story to be wonderfully told. The celebration of the strength of women was apparent, and it was fun to see how the women would actually be the ones running everyday life while allowing the men to think it was them. I also enjoyed seeing the pattern of life through Dinah and how she approached each crossroads in life with increasing maturity.

This was an enjoyable book for me, and I certainly recommend it for the ladies. I don't think it out of place though to remind anyone interested in this book that it IS fiction. It is not Biblically accurate, but I also don't think it was meant to be. Enjoy it for what it is- a nice work of fiction.

Emma

by Jane Austin

When I first started with this book, it took a little while to get into it. Many of the terms and language took some getting used to, and it also took some time to distinguish which people were being discussed. Was it Mr. Knightly or Mr. Knightly? And when a Miss became a Mrs. sometimes she was still referred to as a Miss. It was a bit confusing. But after a while, I settled in and was able to enjoy the story.

Just as with Sense and Sensibility I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved reading about all the social engagements, and could just see all these well-dressed people parading about the park. And I could completely identify with Emma, and her constant desire to play matchmaker, and then realizing the horror of selecting the wrong match for someone. This novel was fun and engaging, albeit a tiny bit predictable, but that didn't spoil the book for me a bit.

In addition to being a major movie with Gwyneth Paltrow, Emma was also twisted and turned and adapted in a teen version? The movie Clueless is loosely based on Emma, and at one point in the book I though, I know this dialogue, and racked my brain until I stumbled upon the movie Clueless. And after thinking about it, while the movie claims to be loosely adapted, I think they did a fantastic job staying true to the heart of Emma in making the movie- even right down to the Mr. Elton/Elton character.

I truly enjoyed reading Emma, and will certainly continue to make my way through Jane Austin's other books. They are just so engaging and delightful, and worth a few hours on a balmy afternoon.

Children of God

by Mary Doria Russell

I stand corrected. I stand completely corrected. A few weeks ago I read The Sparrow, by this same author, and if you read the review, you saw that I was uncertain about it. My biggest problem with it was that so many questions were left unanswered. Often times, that's perfectly fine for me in a novel- it leaves endings to the imagination. But in this case, it just seemed... unfinished. And there was a reason for that. It was unfinished. Completely unfinished.

The very beginning of Children of God answers a question or two and then continues to answer throughout. We see reason for prior events, and we discover new events that we find we care about immensely. Unfortunately, in this case, I have to say that I cannot say much about this book. Saying much of anything will reveal things about this book that are best left unsaid, and allow the reader to reveal for themselves in due time. I can say that I could not put this book down, not in the least. I can also say that I highly recommend the pair of books together. They go together like peas and carrots, and The Sparrow by itself is seriously lacking. Children of God by itself would lack the emotional drama, not to mention the sheer confusion that would abound. Together they make a complete story that makes one want to rise and give a standing ovation.

And Someone thinks that these books will be added to the household library and read again in the future.