Third Anniversary Special/2002

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Book Review

I love books. I've got so many they've overflowed the shelves and are on nearly every window sill. Grandpa will attest to that. But as much as I love books, sometimes I like the idea of books better than the books themselves. Some of my books were solely purchased for the sake of figuring out how on earth someone could fill a book on THAT? Or, more commonly, I'll get books on topics I'm passionate about & read them to enrich myself or to increase my joy and/or righteous indignation.

More often than not, I read slowly - lingering over a sentence too long or re-reading several paragraphs after realizing that I've lost a key point. Mostly the books go slowly because I let my time get chopped up too much or filled with so many other distractions that I don't ever get a good long stretch of reading in at any one time. But once in a great while I find a book so good that I shun other distractions and devote myself to it without ever realizing what's happened. The Red Tent is that kind of good.

Set in biblical times, The Red Tent shows life through the eyes of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. Dinah is the only girl among Jacob's thirteen children, and her unique place in the family made her the heir of her mothers' stories. Even before her first blood, Dinah would stay in the red tent with Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah each new moon while they had their periods. She was a sort of apprentice at womanhood rather than merely a child. The womanly wisdom of the red tent lingers throughout the story although the practice of monthly seclusion fades when Dinah leaves the family.

Dinah's story contrasts her connection to women as a master midwife with her isolation as a widow who curses and deserts her family for their role in her sorrow. Despite strong bonds with her mothers, she finds herself alone in a world which has turned sour to her. The Red Tent takes the hardships and joys often found in biblical tales and applies them to fill out the neglected stories of women.

In the chapters of Genesis dealing with Jacob's family, Dinah is mentioned only twice - first only in passing (Hey, by the way, he had a daughter, too!) and then later as the sister whose rape & seizure incite her brothers to go on a killing and looting spree. According to the Bible, her rapist both "seized her and lay with her by force" and "indeed was really in love with the girl." With characterizations like that, no wonder I don't use the Bible to seek spiritual enlightenment! There are already enough domestic violence victims thinking their batterers are really in love with them; we don't need that fallacy spread in the name of spiritual wisdom & peace.

In keeping with her theme of writing only believable characters, Diamant rethinks the man who is so strangely portrayed as both loving and raping Dinah. In Diamant's story, the man seems more complete and Dinah more capable than either are portrayed in Genesis. The reaction of Dinah's brothers, of primary importance in the Bible account, remains just as horrid, but it too is amplified into a more vivid scene and is shown as a catalyst for Dinah's future actions rather than simply for those of the men.

The Red Tent is refreshing and simple. It picks up the biblical account of Jacob's family and breaks it open to get at the stories hidden inside and to elaborate the stories which were not yet clear. Between her dynamic flowing style and the timeless appeal of her story, Anita Diamant has crafted a written work of art. If the Bible read like this, I'd be a big fan.