Summary from goodreads: Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils 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 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 connection with the past. Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's society.
Stars: 1
I'll start by saying this book is purely fiction so if you get offended easily because a historical fiction book takes some liberties in "facts" from the Old Testament then skip this one. I was assigned to read this for my Old Testament class. I really thought I would like this book. A story from a biblical women's perspective? Count me in, I like historical fiction and interpretations of people that are only recorded briefly. However this book sucks! This is a very graphic novel. There are multiple scenes of birth and blood and sex. And the scene where she gives herself an episiotomy, I almost puked! And the writing and plot is boring and dry. The only interesting part is 200 pages in (total page number is 336) and that ends so quickly. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was an assigned text I wouldn't have finished it. I was so bored that I actually cried because I just didn't want to pick it back up. I don't care about the "accuracy" to The Torah or to the historical period, this book has no plot. Did I mention that it's really freaking boring?
