Book: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (H, I, W)

The Red Tent is the story of Dinah, the daughter of the Biblical patriarch Jacob/Israel, and her relationships with him, his four wives, and his twelve sons. The novel does an outstanding job of showing the culture and mindset of a patriarchal society in which polygamy was seen as normal and even necessary.

All of the characters are unique and multi-layered, although I found the novelist's depiction of Dinah's brother Joseph inconsistent with the Biblical record. More tellingly, I was surprised that the God of Jacob (and Joseph) was deemphasized compared to the gods of Canaan and Egypt. Since these people's lives were originally recorded in the Bible in an effort to commemorate God's faithful dealings with His people, the omission of meaningful faith in the God of Israel struck me as odd.

Despite these concerns, however, I found the novel both entertaining and deeply satisfying and would recommend it to any interested reader. Grade: A-