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Book Review of The Red Tent

The Red Tent
Bonnie avatar reviewed on + 422 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2


With the first words: We have been lost to each other for so long. My name means nothing to you. My memory is dust. This is not your fault, or mine. The chain connecting mother to daughter was broken and the word passed to the keeping of men, who had no way of knowing. That is why I became a footnote, my story a brief detour between the well-known history of my father, Jacob, and the celebrated chronicle of Joseph, my brother... I was hooked on this wonderful book, The Red Tent.

From the back cover: Her name is Dinah. In the bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters about her father...and his dozen sons in the Book of Genesis. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoil of ancient womanhoodthe world of the red tent.

I've read so many books in my life, so very many, it seems, since joining PBS. So many took my breath away at the end, or moved me to such emotion that I had to pause before actually finishing the story. Others caused me to weep as if the story contained within the covers had actually been real and I knew the people personally.

The Red Tent will always now be one of my favorite books. From those first words, the effect of speaking directly to me, sharing a life, never wavered. But oh, those last two pages were perhaps the most beautiful I've ever read when taken in context with the whole story.