The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

February, 26, 2008
Book suggested by Lori, meeting hosted by Stacy.

This book was scored relatively highly by the members of our group. It is an historical fiction that most of us thought was well-written. Though some of us couldn’t put it down, at least one of us thought it somewhat uneventful especially in the beginning. We all agreed that it was difficult to keep all the characters’ names straight in the early part of the book and were glad to have the page with family tree available to us. We were able to clearly visualize the change in scenery and culture as Dinah moved from place to place.

We appreciated the interpersonal relationships between all of the women in the book, and observed that they had a women-only society within the larger society. Their subculture included a caste system that was clearly depicted in the book. Of course we had a little bit of trouble with the lower status level of the women in those times and were glad we were not living then.

We couldn’t agree with one another on whether or not Jacob knew about, or even ordered, the slaughter of the men. The book led us to believe he was involved, but the Bible does not indicate that. It reminded us of the book The Kommandant’s Girl where we still argue over whether or not the Kommandant would have shot Anna!

We especially liked the ending of the book when Dinah learned that her story would not be forgotten. She was pleased when her niece was able to accurately re-tell many of the events in Dinah’s tragic life. We concluded that, though many things in her life were very difficult to bear, she was content in the end. This was due in part to the acknowledgement she felt when she was given Rachel’s ring. She did find peace, and was not troubled when she died surrounded by her loving husband and others that were dear to her.

We appreciated the author’s creativity in developing a whole story from just a few lines where Dinah’s name was mentioned in the Bible. Overall, we liked this book.

Anita Diamant's website: http://www.anitadiamant.com/