The red tent is the place where women gathered during their cycles of birthing,
menses, and even illness. Like the conversations and mysteries held within this
feminine tent, this sweeping piece of fiction offers an insider's look at the
daily life of a biblical sorority of mothers and wives and their one and only
daughter, Dinah. Told in the voice of Jacob's daughter Dinah (who only received
a glimpse of recognition in the Book of Genesis), we are privy to the fascinating
feminine characters who bled within the red tent. In a confiding and poetic voice,
Dinah whispers stories of her four mothers, Rachel, Leah, Zilpah, and Bilhah - all
wives to Jacob, and each one embodying unique feminine traits. As she reveals these
sensual and emotionally charged stories we learn of birthing miracles, slaves,
artisans, household gods, and sisterhood secrets. Eventually Dinah delves into her
own saga of betrayals, grief, and a call to midwifery. "Like any sisters who live
together and share a husband, my mother and aunties spun a sticky web of loyalties
and grudges," Anita Diamant writes in the voice of Dinah. "They traded secrets like
bracelets, and these were handed down to me the only surviving girl. They told me
things I was too young to hear. They held my face between their hands and made me
swear to remember." Remembering women's earthy stories and passionate history is
indeed the theme of this magnificent book. In fact, it's been said that The Red
Tent is what the Bible might have been had it been written by God's daughters,
instead of her sons. - Gail Hudson

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