I was encouraged to buy The Red Tent over a decade ago on a day trip to York. I liked the idea of the story, but found the angst-ridden woman on the front cover deeply off-putting. So the book sat on my shelves gradually disappearing into a far and dusty corner. Then, during one of our Covid lockdowns, I had a purge of my books (yes, I am one of those heathens that doesn't keep everything they've read!) and waved it off to a local charity shop.
Cut to 2022 and my February holiday finds me trawling the secondhand bookshops and thrift stores of the Lincolnshire Wolds to find another copy. Why? As if to punish me for the temerity of giving away a book, my historical fiction bookclub at the London Writers' Salon have decided we're all going to read it. Copy eventually secured, I finally have no choice but read the bloomin' thing, angst-ridden woman and all.
The Red Tent is written from the perspective of Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah, and half-sister to Joseph of technicolour dreamcoat fame. Like many people who have read the story of Jacob in the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament I barely remember Dinah. The focus was firmly on Jacob, his father-in-law and his sons. But Anita Diamant's approach to the story is firmly female-focused.
One of the ways she achieves this is to base the first half of the book around the red tent of the title - a place where the women of Jacob's tribe retire and rest while menstruating. With no artificial hormones to alter the natural rhythm of the women's bodies they bleed at the same time, following the cycle of the moon.
Far from signalling an exile from the menfolk for being unclean as I'd assumed, the red tent was often a relief for the women. They knew that for 3 days out of every 28 they would not need to fetch water, cook, wash clothes nor clean the camp. The men had to manage for themselves. It was a chance for the women of the family to talk, plan and even plot. It was interesting to pause and wonder what it might be like to spend 3 days in a tent with the women in my family...
If you are very familiar with this story from Genesis /Bereshit you will recognise that Anita Diamant has adapted it to suit her needs. Religiously significant events such as Jacob wrestling with the angels get a brief mention, Jacob marries Leah with his eyes open, and Dinah's relationship with Schechem is very different. And, while Dinah slips, unnoticed, from the bible story amidst murder and mayhem, Diamant creates a fascinating future for her.
I very much enjoyed the female-centric telling of this familiar story. It showed that women had more power than one might imagine in that era, but makes it clear that there were firm limits. Diamant does not shy away from describing in detail how vulnerable women could be at the hands of men - whether their own husbands or complete strangers.
Living in an increasingly homogenised world as we are in the 21st Century I particularly enjoyed immersing myself in an era where traditions, customs and even flora and fauna was very localised. When Jacob and Esau's family meet it's clear that they are effectively from two different cultures, and there is a wonderfully realistic scene where the women are comparing lives, clothes and trying not to suck their teeth at the way their sisters-in-law season the food!
If you're one of the few people in the world who has not yet read this book, I totally recommend it. I enjoyed being drawn into this very different world. Diamant gives us a slant look at familiar characters, and a detailed, believable and enthralling story to hand on to friends, family (or even your local charity shop)!
Do read: if you like a historical novel featuring strong women who took what power they were given and ran with it!
Don’t read: if you’re expecting biblical or historical accuracy (while the red tent did exist in some cultures, it was not necessarily used by Jacob's tribe).
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