The Red Tent: A Novel

Amazon.com

The red tent is the place where women gathered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and even illness. Like the conversations and mysteries held within this feminine tent, this sweeping piece of fiction offers an insider's look at the daily life of a biblical sorority of mothers and wives and their one and only daughter, Dinah. Told in the voice of Jacob's daughter Dinah (who only received a glimpse of recognition in the Book of Genesis), we are privy to the fascinating feminine characters who bled within the red tent. In a confiding and poetic voice, Dinah whispers stories of her four mothers, Rachel, Leah, Zilpah, and Bilhah--all wives to Jacob, and each one embodying unique feminine traits. As she reveals these sensual and emotionally charged stories we learn of birthing miracles, slaves, artisans, household gods, and sisterhood secrets. Eventually Dinah delves into her own saga of betrayals, grief, and a call to midwifery.

"Like any sisters who live together and share a husband, my mother and aunties spun a sticky web of loyalties and grudges," Anita Diamant writes in the voice of Dinah. "They traded secrets like bracelets, and these were handed down to me the only surviving girl. They told me things I was too young to hear. They held my face between their hands and made me swear to remember." Remembering women's earthy stories and passionate history is indeed the theme of this magnificent book. In fact, it's been said that The Red Tent is what the Bible might have been had it been written by God's daughters, instead of her sons. --Gail Hudson

Book Description

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood-the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers-Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah-the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate connection with the past. Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's society.

Customer Reviews:

Loved it!.......2007-10-10

It was the read for my book club and I was surprised of how much I enjoyed it. At the begining it was hard to keep track of all the characters and what was going on but if you stick with it you won't be able to put it down. I would have never picked a book inspired on the Bible not becuase I'm against it but It sounds boring. This is book was not boring at all.

The Red Tent.......2007-10-10

I highly recommend this book to those who are fasinated with Bible stories. It brings to life, a little known person of Biblical times. Along with all of the rest of the persons that we have heard about and read about.

A story for women of all ages!.......2007-10-09

I have a hard time getting into a lot of contemporary literature, but I just LOVED book! I've read it twice -- first in my twenties before I had children and then later in my thirties after having my first child. In my twenties I was enchanted by the first part of Dinah's story -- her childhood and relationships with her various "mothers". Then, later, as a mother I was moved by Dinah's story after giving birth and her bittersweet relationship with her own child. Maybe I'll read it again in another 10 years...

So much more than expected!.......2007-10-07

I donated my first copy of The Red Tent to the Goodwill without having read a single page. Because I'm not one to give to much thought to the bond I share with other women just because we're women, and because I don't have sisters or share a deep connection with many women in my family, I assumed this book was not for me. Years later, however, I decided to give the The Red Tent a shot; and it turned out to be a page-turner.

The Red Tent offers a thought-provoking emotional read . . . An amazing story of strength, love, survival, loyalty, and betrayal. I cared about the characters from beginning to end (regardless of whether I could relate my own experiences to theirs) and found myself so full of sorrow at one point I actually put the book aside and sobbed. Colorful images, beautiful descriptive language, realistic fiction . . . a inarguably well-written novel with immense depth. Highly recommended!

The Red Tent.......2007-10-05

It was an excellent book. I really enjoyed it. It did follow the Bible somewhat but then it is fiction, based on some facts.

Anita Diamant's the Red Tent: A Reader's Guide (Continuum Contemporaries)

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The Powerful Women of our Past

Anita Diamant's the Red Tent: A Reader's Guide (Continuum Contemporaries)
Ann Finding
Manufacturer: Continuum International Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0826415741

Customer Reviews:

The Powerful Women of our Past.......2005-07-12

This was a great read, I had bought it about a year ago and never actualy read it.
Went on a road trip this summer, read it in three days. I could not put it down the story had me enraptured by the world that Dinah lived in, that I had to follow her to the end.
It shows a side of biblical times that has gone untold for too long. It is good to see the strength of women in times where stories of women went untold.

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THE TENT (H)
Al-Tahawy
Manufacturer: AUC Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9774244737

Book Description

The Tent is a powerful and beautifully written novel about a group of women whose lives are dominated by an often absent patriarch and his brutally abusive mother. Told through the eyes of a young girl, the lives of the Bedouin and peasant women unfold, revealing their private sufferings and the intolerable heaviness of their existence. Set against trackless deserts and star-filled night skies, the story provides an intimate glimpse inside the women's quarters, their pastimes and preoccupations, and their stories and songs.

The invisible tent;: The war novels of Ford Madox Ford,

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The invisible tent;: The war novels of Ford Madox Ford,
Ambrose Gordon
Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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LOT 2 NOVELS GOOD HARBOR & THE RED TENT
ANITA DIAMANT
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WJGD8C

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a finely wrought look at a neglected bit of history
Promising premise, lousy development
Revisiting the Japanese invasion of China
Exquisitely Beautiful and Elegantly Wrought
A lot of smoke and mirrors, to get to an obvious point

TENT OF ORANGE MIST: A Novel
Paul West
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II

ASIN: 0684800314

Amazon.com

Paul West deftly illuminates the plight of intellectuals and artists during the Japanese occupation of China in this story of a young woman who must transform herself completely in order to survive. Scald Ibis, the properly-reared daughter of a Chinese scholar, is forced to work as a prostitute in a bordello as she changes slowly and painfully from girl to woman. When her father reappears in her life, she must deal with his inner demons as well as her own. A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction.

Customer Reviews:

a finely wrought look at a neglected bit of history.......2004-08-31

During the Sino-Japanese conflict before WWII, Japanese soldiers kidnapped thousands of young women, putting them to work as sex slaves for their officers. Paul West tells the story of Scald Ibis, an intellectual 16-year-old held captive in her own home in Nanking. Scald Ibis becomes the favorite concubine of Hayashi, the colonel who runs the Tent of Orange Mist, as the bordello comes to be known.

West's strong, finely wrought prose is at once tender in its texture and cruel in its lucidity; his characters are delineated vividly, with power and psychological depth. "The language thrilled and appalled him," the narrator says at one point. When West's pen traces appalling circumstances, the thrill is not mere sensationalism-it is sensation itself, technique and emotion joining forces to scale the reader's spine.

This fictional glance at a neglected episode in history is a profoundly moral book, as well as a rare aesthetic pleasure.

Promising premise, lousy development.......2002-10-07

There are some persons that you find very interesting the first time you talk with them, but during the succesive conversations their appeal does not increase, on the contrary, they become more boring and boring and boring.

Well this book follows the same pattern with each chapter you read. The line could be summarized as follows: A young Chinese girl is forced to become a prostitute for the officals of the Japanese Army during their invasion of Nanking. The father of girl finds out and kills her Japanese pimp.

On the other hand, the 300 pages of the books are just used by the author to show that he knows a lot of vocabulary. Sadly it is used most of the time to take the reader to the arms or Morpheus, not to develop a storyline. Now if you suffer from insomnia that might be a good reason to buy the book.

Revisiting the Japanese invasion of China.......2000-12-06

THE TENT OF ORANGE MIST is one of the current novels that attempt to describe the horrors visited on the Chinese remaining in Nanking, during the Japanese invasion of 1937. The arbitrary anarchy of the Japanese is visited on anyone in the way, as families are slaughtered, women raped, buildings burned. Scald Ibis is the daughter of an intellectual family who failed to escape. She finds herself alone in the house where she grew up, as the Japanese turn her home into a comfort house. Regardless of the atrocities visited upon her young body, Scald Ibis determines to survive. When she finds her father hiding behind a chimney, she resolves to save them both, using her feminine wiles to turn herself into a giesha. She also makes up stories for the other girls about a priest she had studied in school, Sandro Somatti, S.J. The chapters devoted to the adventures of Sandro seem to dilute the power of the story for me. But seen in context, these chapters do add to the sense of unreality that surrounds this comfort house. I found this book to be less of a satisfying read than some others on this topic.

Exquisitely Beautiful and Elegantly Wrought.......2000-12-01

The art of decadence, which reached its zenith in late nineteenth-century French literature consists in transforming artificiality and repugnance into the stuff of heady pleasure. In decadence, the whole must serve each, individual part. In this sense, decadence is just the opposite of classicism in which the opposite is true and each part must be pressed into service of the whole. The pleasures of decadence, however one wishes to view them, and, no matter how artificial they may be, can be extraordinarily exquisite. In The Tent of Orange Mist, Paul West shows that he is truly one of the masters of decadence.

The Tent of Orange Mist is set against the backdrop of the horrors of the rape of Nanking by the Japanese army during the winter of 1937. The protagonist is Scald Ibis, the very proper adolescent daughter of a Chinese scholar. Two other characters dominate this book: Colonel Hayashi, the man who orchestrates Scald Ibis's transformation from child into woman; and Hong, her enfant terrible father who undergoes a none-too-pleasant transformation of his own. As Scald Ibis becomes involved in a sado-masochistic pas de deux with Hayashi, her home is turned into a brothel and she, herself, is transformed from a stunned sex slave into and elegant geisha. Against a grotesque backdrop of luridly depicted atrocities, Scald Ibis, Hayashi and Hong play out a game of intense tragedy that includes domination, subversion and mutilation.

Hundreds of thousands of innocent Chinese civilians met a grisly death at the hands of the Japanese during the rape of Nanking. Most writers who have undertaken to portray this atrocity have combined stark realism with an epic narrative technique, hoping to engage the reader's attention and evoke a sense of righteous outrage. West, however, takes a very different approach.

The Tent of Orange Mist is a book about the seductive power of art and the temptations of artifice. In keeping with the theme of his story, West imposes on his extraordinarily artificial characters an intimate and rather claustrophobic view that is perfect. In West's extremely talented hands, this improbable trio becomes believable, even when indulging in the most bizarre of circumstances. After being gang-raped by Hayashi and his troops, Scald Ibis's first gesture is to compose an elegant poem in calligraphy to the man she considers her new master.

This is a story of rape, of rapture, of poetry and of atrocity, but West tells his tale in prose that is graceful and delicately ornate. Although this extremely intimate look at a world and characters who are often bizarre and tortured and perverted will be offensive to some readers, The Tent of Orange Mist is a book that, considering what it depicts, is exquisitely beautiful and elegantly wrought.

A lot of smoke and mirrors, to get to an obvious point.......2000-07-15

I had high expectations for this book, and was disappointed.The writer tries to enter the mind of a young girl half-crazed by thehorrors summarized by history as The Rape of Nanjing (by the Japanese army in World War II). He manages to create incoherence. Every so often the plot is set aside and we hear about a Portuguese Jesuit missionary to China in the 19th century - are his experiences intended to parallel those of Scald Ibis, the much-ravished, much abused protagonist? I didn't get it. And then there was the last chapter. It can't be called a conclusion, maybe an epilogue at best. The effect is as if Stephen Crane had dropped his story of a Civil War soldier in the middle of the battle of Antietam, and finished the story at a reunion of Civil War veterans fifty years later. Again, I didn't get it. I would like to have read a story about the Rape of Nanjing; next time I'll pick a book written by a Chinese author, so at least I can feel I'm getting culturally authentic incoherence, if incoherence there must be.

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A BEAUTIFUL NOVEL
Absolutely Nails the Bush Camp Atmosphere

The Tent Peg: A Novel
Aritha Van Herk
Manufacturer: Seaview Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0872237516

Customer Reviews:

A BEAUTIFUL NOVEL.......2002-11-10

This spare novel of a young woman who infiltrates an all-male geologists' camp in northern Canada uses the technique of rotating narrators pioneered by Faulkner in As I Lay Dying to achieve a wonderfully multi-dimensional evocation of the main character. Though certain of the peripheral characters, notably Jerome and Milton, never break free of caricature, the novel is made profound, and rereadable, by the strength, honesty and uniqueness of J.L. I completely fell in love with her. You will too.

Absolutely Nails the Bush Camp Atmosphere.......2000-07-08

The book is about a camp cook in a Geology camp in the Northwest Territories of Canada.I worked in the Bush in Canada for eleven years and everyone I know who has lived in those camps finds this book extremely evocative of the camp experience. I read this book cover to cover in one sitting. I don't think you need to have lived that life to enjoy the story, however. It's an excellent piece of writing.

Tents against the sky;: A novel of Tibet

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Tents Against the Sky

Tents against the sky;: A novel of Tibet
Robert Brainerd Ekvall
Manufacturer: Victor Gollancz
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007JRK2U

Customer Reviews:

Tents Against the Sky.......2000-11-10

Tents Against the Sky is a novel about a Tibetan young man sometime in the early to mid 1900's (pre-China takeover). The story is very informative about Tibetan culture and thought. It contains exciting events, some tragedy, and revelation of Truth. I would recommend this as a descriptive, authoritative and enjoyable story about Tibetan nomadic life which includes religion, hardship and love.

Under tops'ls and tents (Patriotic novels and stories)

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Under tops'ls and tents (Patriotic novels and stories)
Cyrus Townsend Brady
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006DDROW

Book Description

"This is Robert Penn Warren's best book. . . . Cruel sometimes, crude sometimes, obsessed sometimes, the book is always extraordinary: it does know, and knows sadly and tenderly, even. It is, in short, an event, a great one."-Randall Jarrell, New York Times Book Review The significantly revised version of Brother to Dragons appeared in 1979, twenty-six years after the original. It is, Warren wrote, "in some important senses, a new work." Told in the distinct voices of characters long dead and now gathered at an unspecified place and time, this long poem recalls events leading to and resulting from the 1811 murder of a young slave by Thomas Jefferson's nephew. "R.P.W." is the narrator of the tale, whose poignant ending brings not only reconciliation among the ghostly figures but healing for Warren's persona as well.

Customer Reviews:

Marvelous blend of history and artistry.......2001-02-01

In Brother to Dragons, Robert Penn Warren, former poet laureate and twice winner of the Pulitzer, combined the historical elements of the New Madrid earthquake and the murder of a slave by two of Thomas Jefferson's nephews with his love of poetry. This book has various "voices" relating the brutal events in verse, but history is only a vehicle for exploring the nature of evil and Jefferson's dream of the perfectability of mankind.

Book Description

The dragon, a symbol of Asian art and mythology, appears in many guises and is always adaptable -- a survivor par excellence. Asian Americans display this same supple strength as they move between their Asian culture and their American one.

In American Dragons, Laurence Yep brings together twenty-five talented writers, each with a different story about the Asian American experience:

- A Chinese American girl struggles to find her place in a suburban high school without denying her true intelligence.

- A young woman is torn when her romantic feelings clash with the expectations of her Vietnamese parents.

- A twenty-first-century teenager and his aging grandfather learn that it is possible to live in the future without losing touch with the past.

Customer Reviews:

Advice from someone who knows what she's talking about!.......1999-07-26

Considering that there is such an enormous godless vacuum for Asian-American voices in ANY medium, and that most novels about 'Asians' are written by non-Asians, just being published earns 'American Dragons' three stars. Notice I gave it _only_ three stars? When I first saw this book at the Berekeley public library I snatched it up quick thinking "Wow! A book of all Asian-Americans writing about being Asian-American? This is sooo cool!" And was quickly disappointed. The writing was sub-par and a lot of the stories revealed internalized anti-Asian sentiments and stereotypes. IF THESE AUTHORS WERE NOT ASIAN-AMERICAN THEIR STORIES WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED. That is not to say that the writing is 'terrible'. As a collection, I think it is WONDERFUL that such a wide array of Asian-American viewpoints and experiences have the opportunity to be shared with such a wide audience. I encourage all Asian-Americans to speak of their experiences and in that respect, this book is a worthwhile endeavor. Also, the problems I have with 'American Dragons' are the same problems I have with many other Asian-American writings which share the same shortcomings (namely political correctness, low writing quality, extremely soft and non-informed stances on society and race, exotification of self, internalized racism, and a somewhat cliche title for starters). HOWEVER-- As far as being a political statement this is not something that I'd label a 'boat rocker'. Politically speaking, I would rate the authors/pieces as a 3 overall. On a political scale of 1-10, 1 being 'I shop at the Gap. I like MTV. If I pretend like I don't see, maybe my problems will go away.' and 10 being 'Arrgh! I am an enraged revolutionary! Down with the hegemony!' Considering the book is edited by Laurence Yep (I really enjoy his writing) and is something of a watershed for Asian-American youth literature, it is a let-down. The best adjective to describe 'American Dragons' as a whole is 'lukewarm' (leaning towards cold). Another description is 'bland'. A third is 'extra mild, hold the revolution' This book was obviously meant to be an inocuous bookshelf companion for teens. And there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. But considering there are so few outlets and resources for Asian-American youth I would have hoped for something that packed more punch. My biggest gripe with this compilation is that it attempts to 'speak of the 'Asian-American' experience' so to speak. But the field of writers it draws upon is too narrow and it holds back, ultimately failing in its purpose. As far as I recall, there are no accounts or viewpoints of 'urban life', teen violence, homosexuality, feminism, poverty, hate crimes, 'liberal' Asian parents (as opposed to the cliche traditional ones), non-conformists, or other realms that are very relevant to, but not often addressed by Asian-Americans. Racism, assimilation, identity-searching, and the ensuing _rage_ and confusion that many Asian-American teens feel but may be unable to verablize are not discussed at all in an emotionally honest, forthright dialogue. There are innuendos and undercurrents but nothing you can sink your teeth into. And in my humble opinion, very little that speaks of how Asian-American teens today must live and interact in a mulit-ethnic society and with mainstream popular culture. Most of the pieces dealt with connecting with the author's 'Asian' heritage. Which is refreshing. It is impressive that the authors come from a wide variety of ethnic and national backgrounds. The stories, likewise, encompass a wide variety of locales and moods. It was worthwhile reading about different Asian-American perspectives. I actually enjoyed a few of the stories, and to be fair the writing quality and styles varied greatly. One of the stories, about a Vietnamese-American boy and his night actually struck a chord with me (even though I'm not Vietnamese) The writing level overall is acceptable considering it is aimed at a relatively young audience. Although I am not thrilled with 'American Dragons', I *am* thrilled that a compilation such as this was even attempted and I PRAY that many more will follow and improve. Hooray for the authors, publishers, and supporters of this book. Even though I find much to criticize, it is because I expect so much from Asian-American 'voices'. Many of the shortcomings I see could have been improved upon by the addition of different authors. I would recommend this book to Asian-American youth. For anyone else, I would not discourage you from buying 'American Dragons'.

It Lacking.......1998-05-22

This book lacks content, and is deprived of moral constituency

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Dragon Voice, Vol. 1
Yuriko Nishiyama
Manufacturer: TokyoPop
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1595321195

Book Description

The Voice Rangers are a big hit, bringing new life to the popular world of internet drama! But when they crash a live performance to gain publicity, will the final curtain go down on their budding careers? Living up to a rock-star image is hard work--dance lessons, vocal practice, interviews, and trying to get Red Shoes back on its feet...can the Beatmen handle it all?

Wheezie Loses Her Voice (Jellybean Books(R))

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Wheezie Loses Her Voice (Jellybean Books(R))
Irene Trimble
Manufacturer: Random House Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375811737
Release Date: 2001-02-27

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Dragon Voice Volume 8 (Dragon Voice)
Yuriko Nishiyama
Manufacturer: TokyoPop
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1595321268
Release Date: 2007-05-29

Book Description

Could it be? Finally, the Beatmen win! Rin's Angel Form helps the Beatmen edge out Baby Naked and Privee to win the right to perform at the national baseball tournament in Koshien. Once there, the guys again choose to go against what was in the rehearsal--this time recruiting street dancers from Osaka to join their performance at the opening ceremony. But when someone from Rin's past catches his new tune, will the Beatmen's dreams be crushed?

Dark Voices Volume 6: Sex Slaves Of The Dragon Tong

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Dark Voices Volume 6: Sex Slaves Of The Dragon Tong
F. Paul Wilson
Manufacturer: Borderlands Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Book Description

A lavish homage to the pulp tales of the '30s, in which F. Paul Wilson reads his own story on CD, accompanied by music and f/x by Robert Schaller. A great entertaining ride.

American Dragons: Twenty-five Asian American Voices

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American Dragons: Twenty-five Asian American Voices
Laurence (editor) Yep
Manufacturer: Harpercollins Childrens Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OECC7G

Astronauts Lost Souls & Dragons: Voices of Today's Chinese Australians in Conversation With Diana Giese (Humanistic Tradition)

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Astronauts Lost Souls & Dragons: Voices of Today's Chinese Australians in Conversation With Diana Giese (Humanistic Tradition)
Diana Giese
Manufacturer: University of Queensland Pr (Australia)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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BROTHER TO DRAGONS: A TALE IN VERSE AND VOICES.

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BROTHER TO DRAGONS: A TALE IN VERSE AND VOICES.
Robert Penn. Warren
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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