The Red Tent

This is the JULY 09 book of the month. That book club meeting will be held at 7 pm at Joseph Beth Booksellers on Thursday July 30th.

Anita Diamant's describes her book The Red Tent simply as the historical fiction recounting based on the biblical story of Dinah, who was not given a voice in the bible, but whose story was told by the males in her family -- from their perspective and prejudiced by their political goals with complete disregard for her choice, plans and beliefs.

The Wikipedia entry for The Red Tent synposizes the book and points out that this fictional Dinah was a strong woman who left her family after they murdered her husband and drove her out because they were threatened by who she was. Her voice and her force stayed with all the women of her community empowering them further, despite her absence.

Ms. Magazine wrote a wildly supportive review of the book in a 2001 article, where it pointed out that The Red Tent was a "sleeper" whose publishing success was built solely upon "hand-selling" by independent booksellers who not only read what they sell, but they tell their family members and their customers when a really great story has come along.

Ms. Magazine interviewed author Diamant who said, "The everydayness of giving care, of feeding and clothing families and each other is the center of The Red Tent," she says. "It values that part of women's experience. In the ancient world, we feel the continuity, the femaleness of trying to be pregnant or of avoiding pregnancy, of considering a life in the body, that kind of universal thing. While a couple of love stories do exist, they're played out against the backdrop of the women's culture, the wholeness of it, the valuing of female relationships—sister, friend, mother, daughter—in a way that was separate from the men."

As someone who read this book back in 2001, I can tell you it is an unforgettable adventure story of a character whose courage and ferocity will stay with you for a long time to come.

Update: Every month, I post our book of the month on Facebook. Sometimes, I get one reply, but usually it's not much...This month when I mentioned The Red Tent here was the response:

I started the conversation with: July's book of the month - The Red Tent, Anita Diamant - you can check out the whole list at www.foragingforsanity.blogspot.com

Mary Jo likes this.
Mary Jo said...i LOVE that book...
Hillary W said...that was a wonderful book
Mary Jo said...her writing style is beautiful, artful in her description
Martha C said...One of my favorite books!
Diane S said...Wonderful book and a great reminder of the power of women.
Sue H. said... I enjoyed the Red Tent as well
Anne S. said...The Red Tent is worth finding. Try the library.
Martha recommended: There is a "young adult" novel - The Song of the Magdalene by Donna Jo Napoli that is similar to The Red Tent in that it "Tells the story of Miriam, a young girl being raised by her widowed father in ancient Israel, who grows up to be Mary Magdalene". It too tells a story that we "think we know" from the Bible but when told from a different perspective offers new insights.


Ahhh - all the wise and wonderful women of the world agree : )