Red Tent by Anita Diamant (1998, Paperback)

Anita Diamant did her research before writing this book and it is obvious to the reader. Her writing style is vivid and strong, bringing the reader with her to a place and time some of us are only familiar with in the Bible. The main character of the story comes straight from the Bible and her name is Dinah. This is her story woven by Diamant as if Dinah had told it. Do not look for a sanitized version of life in Dinah's time, because you won't find it here. You will find the story of strong women, their love for Dinah and each other, jealosies, rape, violence and the sanctuary of the Red Tent. Life wasn't easy and the people weren't always innocent. Diamant didn't gloss over this and some may find it hard to read about. Others will find this book hard to put down. I did. I bought it for several friends, my two sisters-in-law, and my daughter. I also lent it to my mother. We found we couldn't stop talking about life then and how it related to life now, both secularly and spiritually. The Red Tent touched all of us and opened up a generational dialogue. What better recommendation is there?