Customer Reviews: Read 1437 more reviews...
 MAKE THIS A FILM January 2, 2009
Yes, THE RED TENT needs to become a film SOON.
Who will do this?
A great story! December 24, 2008
Let me first state that this book is not for the religiously sensitive, anyone looking for historical/religious insight, or anyone who is easily offended. I think a lot of the negative reviews come from people with certain historical or religious expectations.
However, if you are simply looking for a compelling feminist story, you're in the right place. I'd place The Red Tent along side The Mists of Avalon for both historic and religious accuracy and content- so basically, don't look for it. But if you want a story about women, strong, spiritual, women, this is a great story.
This book touched me profoundly- and it is far more than sitting outside a maternity/labor ward, as on reviewer suggested. There is so much more deeper meaning in this story, and it's not difficult to discover.
This is one of my favorite books. If you liked The Mists of Avalon, you will probably like this one- or vice versa.
 Disgusting SMUT!! December 16, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Although this book is interesting in a historical context, the sex and inappropriate portions far outweigh the good parts of the book. I felt like I needed to go wash my eyes out after reading part of this book. Filthy!
God Bless All The negative Reviewers Who Warned Me Away From From This FILTH! December 11, 2008
1 out of 10 found this review helpful
Fortunately I usually read the negative reviews of a book,as well as the good ones,because as a Christian they often warn of something offensive that I do not want to read. Thankfully,that was the case here with The Red Tent.There is no way that I want to read about men having sex with animals,or to read a blasphemous book that should have never been written.It saddens me to see how so many are so lacking in discernment that they would actually enjoy such garbage,and not find it offensive to God and their own beliefs. Christians have been bought with a very high price,and we are not free to choose to read/see/listen to whatever we desire,but we must adhere to the teachings of Jesus,who warned us to guard our very thoughts. This book sounds like it is on the same level as so many of those sexually explicit trashy non-Christian romance novels,which are nothing more than pornography without the pictures!
So I sincerely thank all those reviewers who shared their thoughtful and often heartfelt reasons for their objections to this book. I thought the premise sounded interesting,as I once read a wonderful fictionalized account of living during the time Jesus walked with men,'The Kingdom And The Crown' 3-book series by Gerald N. Lund ,and I loved it,but I would have been very offended had I read The Red Tent. The reviewers here saved me from making that mistake.
Bible stories from a woman's eye November 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Stories of women in the Bible are few and far between. When they are included, they are often temptresses, harlots, or victims. Occassionally they are heroes. Because of the time and influences of authors and editors, their stories are limited and culled. Anita Diamant examines the life of one of these women, Dinah. In Genesis 34, the story of her rape and the revenge enacted by two of her brothers (of the 12 sons of Israel) is presented, but nothing is ever written about her again. Diamant tells her tale from Dinah's point of view. She begins by telling the stories of the wives of Jacob, which to her are as important as the life of Dinah.
Diamant shows her love of Biblical history and scholarship by presenting the smallest details and showing their importance. She embraces the tone of a woman of the time. She takes every scrap of mention of the women in Jacob's life and weaves a beautiful and compelling tale. She creates characters with spirits. You'd swear they were women you could meet soon, women you could admire and learn from. While reading many Bible stories, I've often be confused by the motives of the characters and wanted to know why they acted a certain way. I knew why the women in the book did everything they did. I still don't understand why the men acted the way they did.
This is a very female story. The title of the book should make that obvious-it's named for the isolation of women during their periods. Every day life is important-cooking, cleaning, weaving, child-rearing. Some of the best writing she does is when she describes childbirth. I rarely get weepy when reading, but I did choke up when Dinah describes the need for a special song or prayer for a mother when she first looks upon her newborn. She also describes the distance women in this time had from Jacob's god and reminds the reader that when this story was written, the world was still polytheistic, ruled by many gods, of which, the god of Abraham was one.
I've read about midrashes, stories that rabbi's wrote to explain the actions of the characters in the Bible or because there seems to be a gap. The story of Lilith as the first wife of Adam is one of these, if memory serves me correctly. I think that Diamant wrote this in that tradition. I commend her efforts and wish that other novels taking on the lives of women of the Bible were so well-written and concieved. This is an interesting one to read with The Handmaid's Tale (Everyman's Library).
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