The Red Tent is an attempt to breathe life into the story of Jacob's daughter, Dinah, who is known in an episode in the book of Genesis as a woman dishonored by Shalem and the cause of a bloody massacre. Dinah herself narrates this novel, giving a new perspective on herself, Jacob's wives, and her famous half-brother, Joseph. This is a celebration of women and their work: of life, birth, cooking, cleaning, sewing, gardening, and even dying. The book is interesting though marred by passages that stretch the willing suspension of disbelief, e.g., Dinah directly addresses a contemporary audience, she talks about her own death, and a few similar moments that take the listener out of the tale. Carol Bilger does apt work with what she's given, providing a subdued performance that generally suits the material, which is short on dialog and long on description. The music that ends each side adds to the mood of the story while also letting the listener know that it's time to flip the cassette or change the tape. Having enjoyed a strong readership, The Red Tent in audio should also find an audience. Recommended for larger collections. Adrienne Furness, Maplewood Community Lib., Rochester, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The story of Dinah is one of the most shocking in the Bible. The only daughter of Jacob is raped by a Canaanite prince, and in revenge, Jacob's sons trick the Canaanites and murder them. Here Diamant gives the ever-silent Dinah her own voice, and the story she tells is a much different one, one in which she is not raped but loved by the Canaanite--and then cruelly betrayed by her brothers. This is also a saga of women, of Dinah and her four mothers, Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah, the wives of Jacob, who all raised her. The women of Jacob's family live the most important parts of their lives in the red tent, where women go once a month, where they have their babies, and where they tell their stories. In the Bible, emphasis is placed, above all, on the importance of bearing sons, but as Diamant tells it, "Women wanted daughters to keep their memories alive," and this novel is rich with memory. Diamant is a wonderful storyteller, not only bringing to life these women about whom the Bible tells us so little but also stirringly evoking a place and time. As with the best writers of historical fiction, Diamant makes readers see there's not so very much difference between people across the eons, at least when it comes to trial and tragedy, happiness and love. --Ilene Cooper

A minor character from the book of Genesis tells her life story in this vivid evocation of the world of Old Testament women. The only surviving daughter of Jacob and Leah, Dinah occupies a far different world from the flocks and business deals of her brothers. She learns from her Aunt Rachel the mysteries of midwifery and from her other aunts the art of homemaking. Most important, Dinah learns and preserves the stories and traditions of her family, which she shares with the reader in touchingly intimate detail. Familiar passages from the Bible come alive as Dinah fills in what the Bible leaves out concerning Jacob's courtship of Rachel and Leah, her own ill-fated sojourn in the city of Sechem and her half-brother Joseph's rise to fame and fortune in Egypt. After several nonfiction works on Judaism (Living a Jewish Life, etc.), Diamant's fiction debut links the passions of the early Israelites to the ongoing traditions of modern Jews, while the red tent of her title (where women retreat for menstruation, childbirth and illness) becomes a resonant symbol of womanly strength, love and wisdom. Despite a few unprofitable digressions, Diamant succeeds admirably in depicting the lives of women in the age that engendered our civilization and our most enduring values. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved