SYNOPSIS:
The
red tent was a place designated for the women in this biblical story to
congregate during their menstrual cycles, times of birth, sickness and healing.
Only women are allowed in the tent and during the time spent there, they shared
experiences, spoke of traditions and discussed all matters of importance.
Dinah,
the daughter of Jacob [Israel], tells her family’s familiar story from her own
experiences and from the experience of others that she learned while in the red
tent.
REVIEW:
Sounds
interesting enough right? Especially when you consider that the only record we
have from that time period is from a male perspective. But see that is the problem
with a synopsis; they are written to sound interesting. You can’t get enough
information from a synopsis to know what else may be lurking between the
covers. So please, don’t judge a book, as I did, by the synopsis on the cover -
judge it by its reviews.
The
author was too easily sidetracked with lurid sexual references and often lost
sight of the forest through the sleaze (thank you Hitch). I am not going to
argue about whether or not the Bible is a romanticized record of what actually
took place during that time period or if these stories are even true or based
on parable. My issue with this book is that this new look into this story from
the Old Testament adds little to the progression of humanity in comparison to
it’s male perspective counterpart.
Within
this story the author had a unique opportunity to express her thoughts and
feelings regarding the good and bad that takes place when progress interferes
with tradition and she totally blew it. She took so much time setting up the
story to explain the complicated relationship that evolves around families,
especially between mothers and daughters and when the time came to really drive
the idea home, she just put her pen down and walked away. This approach made
the fictional part of the character Dinah seem flat with no depth worth holding
onto. Dinah began the story as a girl filled with potential and possibility and
by the end had evolved into a creature of circumstance rather than choice and
that just bothers me about people in general, especially women.
In
the end, the book receives a 1-star rating because I had a hard time absolutely
hating a book that prompted me to pick up my dusty old testament and read the
ancient story for myself. If The Red Tent is a reflection of what the Bible
would read like, if women wrote it, I am eternally grateful, that men were the
scribes back in that day. Not because I think the men had a better handle on
reality but because this women’s version tried to stretch truth in all the
wrong places. But perhaps the book really wasn’t that bad and I’m just mad
because this was the first book I’ve
purchased in a really LONG time and I would have liked it to be better than
what it was.
GIVEAWAY:
So, if you are still interested in reading the book, let me know by leaving a comment on this post sometime before midnight on April 11, 2011 (that's one week). I’ll send you my copy to keep! (if more than one person requests the book I’ll
use Random.org to choose the winner.)
Oh and if you don't want a copy, you can still leave a comment - just let me know you are not interested the giveaway. :)
Gwenevere
