The Red Tent
by Anita Diamant
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Book Summary Information
Author: Anita DiamantEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1998-09-15
ISBN: 0312195516
Number of pages: 321
Publisher: Picador
Book Reviews of The Red Tent
Book Review: What's all the fuss about.
Summary: 2 Stars
I was unable to enjoy this novel for reasons other than religious.I find the idea quite good but the result is far from satisfactory.Some chapters are literally "bloody",to find yourself in an "Harlequin" novel a little further,only violins and champagne missing,the moon is present for obvious reasons.Then there is the Egyptian part of the novel, with too many inaccuracies. Ancient Egypt is not an every-day thema,but if you are using it in your novel,do some research and get the facts rightSome examples:
-Jacob is placed by Biblical Scholars between 2000 and 1800 B.C.,this corresponds to the Middle Kingdom (11-12th Dynasties)-Southern Kings on the throne in Thebes.Dinah goes to live with Benia in the Valley of the Kings-wrong -the Western shore was used as Royal Burial ground only from the New Kingdom onwards(1540-1070). This is like having Henri XIII visiting President Roosevelt.The name Valley of Kings was invented in the 20th Century, its old name being 'The great Field".The same time-line applies to the occupation of the workers village at Deir al Madinah.
Dinah's son becomes Vizier of Kush:There was only one Vizier during this period and Kush(part of Upper-Sudan) became Egyptian 350 Years later.Dinah is called urgently to deliver a baby in "On"(today's Heliopolis-Cairo) exactly 680 Kms North of Thebes(Luxor).Hopefully the baby was not in a hurry.
The children's hairdo called "sidelock" only applies to Princes and God-Children nobody else.
Dinah's mother-in-law is the daughter of a King's-Scribe,this is a very exalted position,she could not have been allowed to marry a petty King of Shechem,if at all only another "Great King"(Hittite)would have been permitted. Egyptians were very xenophobic and would not even eat with foreigners.From this period date the 1st 'Execration Texts"- pots were ritually broken with the names of foreign Cities or Kings on it- thus magically annihilating their power.
These are some of the most flagrant mistakes.As an Egyptologist and Archeologist I was unable to oversee these errors,They are fundamental-knowledge and not far-fetched.
The novel could have been good but the writer fell short of making it so.
Summary of The Red Tent
Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood-the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers-Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah-the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate connection with the past. Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's society.The red tent is the place where women gathered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and even illness. Like the conversations and mysteries held within this feminine tent, this sweeping piece of fiction offers an insider's look at the daily life of a biblical sorority of mothers and wives and their one and only daughter, Dinah. Told in the voice of Jacob's daughter Dinah (who only received a glimpse of recognition in the Book of Genesis), we are privy to the fascinating feminine characters who bled within the red tent. In a confiding and poetic voice, Dinah whispers stories of her four mothers, Rachel, Leah, Zilpah, and Bilhah--all wives to Jacob, and each one embodying unique feminine traits. As she reveals these sensual and emotionally charged stories we learn of birthing miracles, slaves, artisans, household gods, and sisterhood secrets. Eventually Dinah delves into her own saga of betrayals, grief, and a call to midwifery.
"Like any sisters who live together and share a husband, my mother and aunties spun a sticky web of loyalties and grudges," Anita Diamant writes in the voice of Dinah. "They traded secrets like bracelets, and these were handed down to me the only surviving girl. They told me things I was too young to hear. They held my face between their hands and made me swear to remember." Remembering women's earthy stories and passionate history is indeed the theme of this magnificent book. In fact, it's been said that The Red Tent is what the Bible might have been had it been written by God's daughters, instead of her sons. --Gail Hudson
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