The Red Tent

By: Anita Diamant

Narrated by: Carol Bilger

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable contribution in modern fiction: a new perspective of female life in biblical society. It is a vast and stirring work described as what the Bible might have been had it been written by God's daughters instead of sons. Far beyond the traditional women-of-the-Bible sagas in both impact and vigor, The Red Tent is based upon a mention in Genesis of Jacob's only female offspring - his daughter, Dinah.

Author Anita Diamant, in the voice of Dinah, gives an insider's look at the details of women's lives in biblical times and a chronicle of their earthy stories and long-ignored histories. The red tent of the title is the place where women were sequestered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and illness. It is here that Dinah hears the whispered stories of her four mothers - Jacob's wives Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah - and tells their tales to us in remarkable and thought-provoking oratories.

Familiar passages from the Bible take on new life as Dinah fills in what the Bible has left out - the lives of women. Dinah tells us of her initiation into the religious and sexual practices of the tribe; Jacob's courtship with Rachel and Leah; the ancient world of caravans, farmers, midwives, and slaves; her ill-fated sojourn in the city of Sechem; her years in Canaan; and her half-brother Joseph's rise in Egypt.

Skillfully interweaving biblical tales with characters of her own invention, the author re-creates the life of Dinah providing an illuminating portrait of a courageous woman and the life she might have lived. A new view of the panorama of life in biblical times emerges from the female perspective, and the red tent itself becomes a symbol of womanly strength, love, and wisdom.

The Red Tent is one of those extremely rare publishing phenomenons - a little promoted, but dynamically successful book (over 250,000 copies sold) that owes its success to enthusiastic word-of-mouth endorsements. Now, for the first time, this sweeping saga, which has struck a chord with so many modern-day women, comes to life as a much-anticipated audiobook.

Don't miss Anita Diamant at the 92nd Street Y.

©1997 by Anita Diamant (P)2000 by Audio Renaissance, An Imprint of Renaissance Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Book Sense Book of the Year Award Winner, Adult Fiction, 2001

"The oldest story of all could never seem more original, or more true." (James Carroll, author of An American Requiem)
"Carol Bilger narrates with a warmth and melodiousness that echo the rhythm of the musical interludes that separate chapters." (AudioFile)

Sparked an Interest of Life During Biblical Times

The Red Tent brought to life what it must have been like to be a woman in the times of Jacob and Joseph in the Bible.

The love the main character had for her mothers and other women reminded me of the love and blessing of mine.

The narrator seemed a little too playful for me in the beginning, but I stuck with it and she did a fine job of reading after all.

Lack of conversion from CDs

I have lowered the performance based on the laziness shown in not converting the so called chapters of the book, really they should be labeled discs or tapes since they have nothing to do with the actual book chapters but are more likely the disc or tape they were on when originally put into digital format.

The details of food and clothing during that time period.

I enjoyed this book and the narrator really helped bring me into the storyline. The characters were familiar from biblical readings even though the story took on new tidbits that didn’t align. I would recommend this audio book!

The inner life of the feminine bond

Within the cultural constraints of the earliest biblical story telling women create their own story. The male involvement in the story of women is at the borders. It is the female experience that is essentially elevated. Would have preferred a richer mature voice to tell this story to support its historical tone possibilities and make it less Lifetimesque.

Dinah's life

Quite a wonderful but tragic story of life. Emphasis on the cruelty and loving nature of humankind

Best Book Ever

I am so taken by this entire story. There are literally no words for me to express how vividly and beautifully this tale is woven. I loved each and every minute of this book.

love loss and God makes it right I love how she made the story and it was amazing

nothing was bad about this story it made me think how wemans shared there stories beautiful

Touching Story

The flow of the story was amazing. I love the religious aspect. It was a remarkable story of courage.

Worth the read

This story is one that you will want to continue until the end wondering how it will all turn out, though upon hearing the outcomes you’ll be reminded of stories of the Bible. It has some racy parts so be prepared. The story and the development of the characters was very interesting and captivating.

A Great Read for Women's History Buffs

One of my favorite courses in college was "The History of Women". This course explored the role of women beginning with Eve and went right through until modern times. One of the most interesting areas was exploring women of the Bible. We learned that the cycle of the earth/cycle of life were very much worshipped by women and respected by men until the onset of the "One God". As women were forced to worship the "One God" they forgot their past and no longer felt proud of their roles as women, their monthly cycles or their ability to bring forth new life. Instead they were made to feel ashamed.

The red tent was the place where women would gather when they were menstruating. It was a time to relax and discuss women issues. They were secluded from men and younger girls and older women would attend to the daily chores. It was also where they would go when giving birth or tending to the sick. As I read the story of Dinah and her mothers, I was somewhat envious of their times in the Red Tent and their rejoicing at their ability to be the ones to bring new life into the world.

The audible version was very well done. I only downloaded it as a "2" but think from now on I will download at higher versions to get a richer sound. The music was distorted at this level and the voice somewhat tinny. Still, the narrator did an excellent job and I was completely immersed into Dinah's world.