The Red Tent – Anita Diamant

the red tent

READ FOR BOOKCLUB

Chosen by Rachel

Dinah, daughter of Jacob and sister of Joseph, is a minor character in the Bible, but the author has given her a voice in The Red Tent.

The Red Tent tells the story of the biblical character Dinah, who, in the Bible is raped by an Egyptian prince. Simon and Levi, two of her brothers, avenge Dinah by killing all the men in the city. After that, Dinah is never mentioned again.

“Diamant wanted to give a voice to the character of Dinah as well as her mothers, to break the Biblical silence and give them strength and power and personality.

“Like Biblical stories and a lot of fiction, there is plenty of murder, vengeance, extramarital affairs and familial drama as Dinah’s character is explored and allowed the freedoms of a modern woman.

Death is no enemy, but the foundation of gratitude, sympathy, and art. Of all life’s pleasures, only love owes no debt to death.

“The intriguing aspect of this book was how the author could take this ancient aspect of story telling and turn it into something modern and relevant.  We were not disappointed and infact what it did show is as long as there are people involved, there is drama and adventure, excitement and sorrow; there is a story to tell. The Red Tent is plot heavy and tension filled with full bodied characters. We were all impressed by it.”

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Published 1997
St Martin’s Press
321 pages

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