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.