First Post of 2017: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

I first heard about The Red Tent a few years ago on Facebook. I did not know much about it, only that it had to do with womanhood. I later found out it was a sort of retelling about the biblical story of Jacob. Only the focus was on his daughter, Dinah. It is a book I have had in the back of my mind for a while but not one I have ever bought or picked up to read. Then a few weeks ago I saw it on the bookshelf of a friend and claimed it as my own for some time so that I could finally read it.

I devoured this book. The simple telling was poetic and intuitive. The narration was beautiful and to the point. I love the voice of Dinah and the telling of her story. I love that she claims her story and wants to share it with the world. This is a rich novel filled with history and ritual and wonder. I found myself not only drawn to Dinah as a person and character, but also to the culture of womanhood that she was surrounded by. The stories of her mothers and the red tent and all that comes with being a woman were captivating. I found myself wanting to be in better touch with those parts of myself and to honor the fact that I am female. I appreciated as well that the stories did not always focus on menstruation and birth, but also on miscarriage and stillbirth, as those are parts of the female narrative that are often overlooked.

The Red Tent is split into three sections and I definitely enjoyed the first two more than the third. However, I did still want to know what happened to Dinah and the third part had some beautiful moments in it as well. I just felt that the book went from being this large scale narrative about the women in her family to being just about Dinah and that took me some time to get used to. In the end I loved the novel as a whole. It is a very complete story and one that resonates on many levels.

I would recommend this book to everyone. Even though its focus is on the rituals of being a woman, Dinah's narrative focuses so much on the importance of one's own story. The book is full of small lessons and reminders. It is full of beauty and appreciation. Although it is based on a biblical story it is not overly biblical in any way, thus people from all walks of life and beliefs can enjoy and appreciate it. This book felt very personal and I am glad it was the first book I read this year. It came to me at the perfect time as well, as books often do, and has left me with much to think about but also with a profound peace. I think the best books do this. They are rare, but The Red Tent is one of them.