The Red Tent

I am typing with my oldest, Abigail--who is three, sitting and singing to me. She wanted to type something, so here is her offering: qadsrulkmnnbvcxzf. I asked her what she was writing and she told me, "I'm not writing anything, I'm spelling." :) I thought that was kinda appropo for this months selection.

ANYWAY!!! I just finished, The Red Tent, and have decidedly mixed feelings about it. Though the review is early, I wanted to write while it was still fresh on my mind.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. It was certainly an easy read, and I thought that from the very beginning. It consistantly had the feel of a gathering of women in the Red Tent, gossiping and telling stories. And I love books with that feminine conspiritorial tone--it reminds me of a book on communication by Deborah Tannen, where she said that women talk and share in a spirit to gain consensus and empathy, and I found this true throughout the book. I loved the detail of what life may have been like back in the day, and it's always fascinating to see interpretations of that life based on the author's own background.

But what a sad, angry little book! I guess by the end, I'm supposed to feel some sort of peace, too, because Dinah had made some form of peace in getting on with her life, but I didn't. Hmmmmmmm.

So, I wondered at Diamant's own upbringing--knowing that simply by her faith and biography, she is keenly aware of the Old Testament, traditions, and forefathers--and wondering at her associations with her religion as well as the men in her life. She...almost demonize some of the men of the Old Testament, if that makes sense, and I wondered how truly just that was. I also wonder if there was any resentment on her part from her own subconscious life that came out in her book, via her female protagonist, or if she was just trying to remind the readers that no one is perfect, regardless of how kind history (and scriptures) reflects them. Still, it seems that almost everyone in the book, besides Dinah and the midwives, had something very negative thing about them.

Here's where the decidedly mixed feelings come in...I felt I was reading (argh!!!! There is a word for it that is escpaing me at the moment) history being re-written, and I wanted to say, Cite your Source!!!! Of course, this is a work of fiction, but I'm sure there are people who are now colored by it. Sooooo, this is why I have the mixed feelings. Easy easy to read, but people will now believe that all the women of the past worshipped other gods, had other beliefs and rituals that they clung to even while pretending to honor their husband's god (not that some didn't, I'm just saying that surely...from what we know... there were female believers of El). I dunno...it was really an angry feminine perspective--which, Dinah had every reason to be, but I didn't like the characterizations of some of these historical figures (Rebecca "the Grandmother" springs to mind. I just kept thinking, Really now...) . Once again, I wanted there to be some sort of footnote proving that why "The Grandmother" was sooooooo...weird. I guess that is the beauty of fiction, though. You can paint people in different light and then just say, "Well, I made it up." I also didn't appreciate the fact that Jacob's men were punished simply because Dinah put a curse on them...oh, uh huh.

I do appreciate that Diamant wanted to show how hard life was back in the day, that there were soooooo many dieties to choose from. That there were class levels and cultural differences on so many levels (countrymen, different countries, men/women, children, even girls on the verge of womanhood) that we forget about, here in our comfortable lives. But I think that this book lacked...truth on some level. Maybe that's what it was. My faith and belief did color my perspective as I read this account.

Sooooo, overall: thought it was a great choice for the book club. Very easy to read, I got into it right away. Didn't care for some of the fictionalization of characters that I feel differently about, but did appreciate the overall message of surviving and of the bonds that women have simply because they are women.

:) Laurenda