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Book Review of The Red Tent

The Red Tent
reviewed on + 471 more book reviews


Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within a more familiar chapter about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons in the Book of Genesis.
Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoil 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 are to 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 immediate connection.
Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's society.