Anita DiamantRecensioni

Great book if you like historical fiction. So glad my mom recommended it!

I read the whole Isaac/Jacob/Esau/Joseph Bible story before I read this. Knowing these stories, plus reading through the family tree in the beginning of the Red Tent meant the book didn't hold a lot of surprises in terms of plot. There was still be at least one big surprise, but I knew who was going to marry whom, who would be betrayed, who would have babies, etc.

Still, this book was a joy to read. Sure, Dinah's descriptions of childbirth were sometimes horrifying and some of the characters she met had only evil in their hearts. But, all in all, this book made me feel happy to be a woman. Dinah's story felt epic and at the same time intimate and true.

If you don't know the stories from Genesis about Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, I think this book will inspire you to go back and read them. It may then spark a debate about whose version of history gets passed down.

Thoroughly enjoyed. It got better the further in I got. Really like the writing style.

A story of two women who bond over difficulties in their lives. A so-so book

Strong first half, faded fast. Too dang bad.

I just LOVED this book. The beauty of sisterhood, womanhood and motherhood were so clearly displayed. Taken from the bible the story follows Dinah the youngest of Jacob's children with Leah and his only daughter. It was a powerful and emotional read.

Kathleen and Joyce meet at Good Harbour on the Massachusetts coast. Kathleen has been diagnosed with breast cancer and Joyce is struggling with her career and her adolescent daughter. Their friendship is the core of the novel and the highs and lows when the two of them are together are joyful. The book is about these women and how they are coping with changes and their families. It was a pleasant read.

An amazing novel based on Jacob's only daughter, Dinah, referenced in Genesis 34...I'm blown away how the author brought real life to the characters. This is very well written and great storytelling!

I've always seen the characters in the Bible as almost perfect unblemished human beings...patient, kind, loving and always knowing and doing just what the Lord wanted them to do. But, in reality, the bit of harshness and imperfections in the character's that are well known characters of the Bible is probably more truth than not. After all, they are human beings, just like you and me.

Speaking in the first person, as Dinah, herself, the author introduces so many characters into the story in such an easy fluid manner. I never once got lost and by the end of the very first chapter, I really felt like I knew the personalities of all four of Jacob's wives, who were, by the way, also his 1st cousins.

Will soon watch the movie, "The Red Tent" to see how it compares to the book and will return to edit my review.

UPDATE: The movie is very lacking! If I hadn't read the book first, I'm not so sure I would have understood everything in the movie.

This story about one of Jacob’s daughter Dinah is plotless mess.
The writing is quite unclear. We are introduced to Zilpah the least important wife of Jacob. Zilpah was only a few months younger than Leah, and after Zilpah’s mother died, Adah gave them suck together. Are we supposed to assume this refers to breast feeding? Or lines like she was good the way milk is good; the way rain is good. What does that even mean? The dialogue flips from biblical lite to current language. “You think the world owes you anything? Don’t get too proud with me, you afterbirth, or I’ll send you back to your brother’s long knife.”
Can we survive observations like “But on that day I was a girl ready for a man.”?
The historical fiction sequences do ring true. In order to finalize Dinah’s marriage to Shalem, Shalem’s father King Hamor puts his hand under Jacob’s thigh and Jacob reciprocated by putting his hand on the King’s thigh. This was a custom of acknowledging circumcision—nothing sexual. When Jacob realizes both Shalem and Hamor are not circumcised, he insists before the marriage can be consummated.
Despite this beloved novel’s reputation and twentieth year reprint, this was a miss for me.

I LOVED this novel AND the audiobook narrated fabulously and on point by the actress Linda Lavin.
This story was just a comfort story to me, a grandmother recalling her life story to one of her granddaughters on the occasion of her 85th birthday. It is one person's/family's story wrapped up in a historical fiction envelope. I loved learning about Addie, the grandmother born in America in 1900 to a Jewish immigrant family in Boston, and how her life as a woman was shaped in and by 20th century events. You get glimpses of this one person's particular life as Addie's remembrances, both good and bad, are shared.

This really is a perfect example of HER-story vs history.
I was very familiar about the biblical story of Jacob/Leah/Rachel/Zilpah/Bilhah and their sons, but not about the daughter of the family, Dinah. And man, what a doozy of a story, especially comparing how Dinah story is prefaced in biblical text as opposed to how the pivotal story of Dinah's life is fictionalized/interpreted/couched here.

I loved how the family life in Jacob's encampment is detailed from Dinah's perspective (rituals, stories, rivalries) as well as how the tale of Dinah's life after leaving her family unfolds.

Didn't finish. Too boring to continue.

The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant is the type of book that draws you in slowly and that you quietly savor. The story takes place in New England in the 1800's. Diamant introduces you to a cast of characters; loners, prostitutes, former slaves, and others and makes them completely human and sympathetic. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Diamant is a master of creating characters you can love no matter how lowly or misguided they may seem.

If you are into discovering characters slowly, by their actions less than by their words, you'll love this story. The story shows different snippets of each characters life and ties them together through vignettes where they interact. The most compelling of these vignettes is an unrequited love between an older woman and an African American man. This story provides most of the suspense that carries you through the novel.

>On the other hand, this is not fast-paced or shocking in any way. It's not hard to put it down and pick it up at will. For me, that didn't lessen my enjoyment or my respect for the author's writing. But if you are looking for the "oh wow!" type of book, I'd steer clear. This was more warm, soothing, gentle - - like a cup of warm hot chocolate on a rainy day. In fact, I'd have loved to curl up with it on exactly such a day snuggled in a nice cozy quilt. Perhaps a little dozing between chapters. Perfect!

Tension/Engaging: 3 stars
Language: 4 stars
Emotion: 3 stars
Character Development: 5 stars
Dialogue: 3 stars
Worth the Effort: 3 stars
Social commentary/theme: 3 stars
Originality: 3 stars

Read my review of Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani.

It's the same book. Ok, not really, but boy did they remind me of one another, and it's so funny that I read them so close together. Both involve an older person relating their personal story to a younger person. Both focus on a young girl in a single city (one NY, one Boston) with an ethnic/immigrant background (one Italian, one Jewish) and their trials with their family, their work, and their love life. There's a feminist slant to both. The time periods are different - - one early 20th century and the other mid 20th century - - but both are focused on how young women struggled to be independent during those periods.

Boston Girl reads very YA to me. And I don't feel like that's a plus. But others will probably find it a great easy flowing and pleasant read. The characters are nicely drawn, and I enjoyed the interplay between the protagonist and her domineering mother. It's easy to like and root for Addie.

Unfortunately, the story didn't really build for me. It was more like a series of nicely related anecdotes with the real focus being to evoke a sense of place and of the immigrant experience in Boston. I lived in Boston for a number of years so I enjoyed the references, but if the reader hasn't been there, I'm not sure you really come away with a feeling for it.

The Red Tent it ain't, but if you are looking for a nice, easy read with characters you can root for, this will fit the bill!

Story of Jewish girl growing up in Boston in the early 20th century. Well written and moving, but it felt like a YA book though it wasn’t marked as one on the cover.

Halfway through this book I realised something - I had read it before. Everything came rushing back and I could not believe that I did not recall reading it previously.

I enjoy the story more when I don't think of it as being based on The Bible versions of these characters - I prefer to hold them distinct, seperate.

The main character, Dinah, is a wonderful voice for this story to be told through. Her story is woven with heavy emotions and experiences, both wonderful and nightmarish.

Favourite line: Rachel's prescence was as powerful as the moon, and just as beautiful.

Love this book

***Few spoilers***In 2014 lifetime miniseries of The Red Tent premiered and I deeply enjoyed it. In 2018 I found the book at my local thrift. In 2020 with more time on my hand due to corona I read it.

I enjoyed about 90% of the novel and the 10% regarding to negative connotation of people of color, ill treatment of women/men/children because of their family or status. Part one of the novel is about Dinah's family how they came to be and were before "puberty" and the pressure of life, greed, and envy corrupted what was a good life and people. Jacob was good in the beginning but I am not sure if it was the attack or social expectations that hardened the man. I did feel sad for the wives in the way they died none peacefully. Bilhah my favorite and understated character did find love but unfortunately it was her nephew. In that time what we now know as incest was not wrong. Jacob married his cousins and their many children are all kin mixtures. The taking and raping of slaves and concubines was common but it would leave many children motherless or raised without love. That and many other factors clearly showed in their lives. Many women today still honor the red tent practices or moon cycles dealing with love, sex, fertility, menstration, and womenhood. I do wish that in today's society women could find common ground and band together because it is hard enough just to be us.

In part two Is about dinah's life after becoming a woman, falling in love, and suffering for the tradgey that comes with misunderstandings, deciet, and lies. She lost, gave life, learned to blossom, love, and move on. In the end of her life it didn't end there. I like to believe we all live on in our loved ones our kin pieces of who we are. The beautiful names really breathe life along with the descriptions of the countries and cities throughout the story. Sometimes there were occurences where father's were impregnating a child who started menstrating and Dinah rightly cursed them. That is pedophilia in our world in theirs I guess men turn their cheek and women shiver in disgust.

Though this book story originated from christianity which i do not practice I enjoyed the tale. Zilipah seemed to me to be asexual in that realm of the spectrum. Joseph could be bisexual or gay.
Compared to the film they made it seem as if dinah was remembered by her family she did not even let herself be known . Instead only the women passed her tale but still I think they deserve to feel bad and know she lives, healthy, strong, and happy. Not even crazy Jacob got to know this but her success was the best revenge i guess. Her mothers never forgot her. I do hope Leah and Rachel found peace they let a man divide their hearts yet he left one alone and other sufferened unable to move. There was no sensoring that women have desries and needs that can be satisfied by them, man, or woman. Either way life is unexpected.

Lots of leassons came from this book. Everyone has a story to tell not all have happy endings or beginnings. I hope it helps anyone who is need of a little guidance.

Addie Baum, born in 1900, is telling the story of her life to her granddaughter in response to her question "How did you get to be the woman you are today?". It was easy to get drawn into her story, especially in the early days when Addie is becoming a career woman. I enjoyed this quiet novel.

I lived all the history in this as well as the concept of sisterhood. Great story!

Historical fiction based on the biblical story of Jacob, as told through the eyes of Dinah, his youngest child and only daughter. In the Bible, Dinah has no voice, but Anita Diamant has provided a voice for her through this imaginative story of her life that offers a convincing portrait of a community of women in ancient times. The titular red tent is a place where women gather for rituals such as monthly cycles, recovery from illness, and childbirth.

For me, this book is a story of empowerment and strength. Dinah lived in a patriarchal society and we see it through her eyes. She would not have been privy to the men’s world, so the focus is on the female relationships and the connections among the women. Fertility, midwifery and childbirth are prominently featured, and Dinah becomes a respected midwife. It effectively evoked the ambiance of an ancient culture. The writing is beautifully descriptive, and the daily lives of the characters seemed believable. This book is filled with engaging characters and multifaceted relationships. While it is based on religious text, there is little formal “religion” portrayed and I did not find it didactic. Knowledge of the biblical story is somewhat helpful, but not required. A family tree of relationships among Jacob, his four wives, and thirteen children is provided.

Themes include storytelling, motherhood, tradition, memory, renewal, and the power of nature. Contains sex, violence (including murder and rape), and graphic descriptions of childbirth. This book helped me appreciate what life would have been like for women in those days and makes me very glad I live in the present time. Recommended to anyone interested in biblical fiction.

Addie Baum is being interviewed by her granddaughter, Ava, about her life. The narrative is told in first person from Addie’s perspective. She was born in the US after her Jewish family emigrated from eastern Europe in the 1890s. It reads as a “fictional memoir” of all the events that occurred in during 1900 to 1985 from one woman’s viewpoint. It touches on the many difficulties faced by women of those times such as limited educational opportunities, marriage and motherhood pressures, and workplace inequalities. The characters come across as authentic and the historic eras are accurately depicted. It is told in a straight-forward manner. Though Addie’s life has its share of tragedies, it is also infused with humor and compassion. I very much enjoyed this story of courage, determination, and overcoming obstacles.

Here's what I wrote in 2008 about reading this: "Memorable, a woman's book. Women gathered in the red tent for the monthly cycle and births. Describes the early tribes of Israel, via the voice Jacob's son Dinah (who is referenced in Genesis). Provides an insight on why they needed multiple wives per man; they were building tribes and infant mortality rates were high!" Apparently this has stayed a book club favorite for years (interesting) and there's no evidence that the ancient Israeli's used menstral tents (although many pre-modern cultures did).

This is the retelling of the Biblical story of Dinah and her mother's Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah. The book focuses on the relationship between the women and their daily routines. When Dinah falls in love with prince Shechem he takes her to bed and the bargains for a marriage. After the marriage, Dinah's brothers sneak into the town and kill every male they can find. Dinah curses her family, and travels to Egypt with her mother-in-law.

This was an engaging, interesting and dynamic book. It was well paced and very interesting. I found the relationship and culture between the women to be fascinating. I would love to read more from this author. Overall, highly recommended.