Meeting Memories -- The Red Tent

Author: Anita Diamant
Genre: Fiction; some consider it a midrash
First published: October 1997
Setting: Time of the Jewish Patriarchs, between 1800 and 1500 B.C.E. aka the Middle Bronze Age
Meeting: 1/18/08. Held at Jackie's house with kool jazz, roaring fire, great munchies and our first male guest, Gerry.
Read Score: 9
Discussion Score: 10


The Old Testament Dinah story Christian
The Old Testament Dinah story Jewish


Key Moments & Discussions:

* a toast to the late Katherine Woodiwiss (Shanna, The Wolf & The Dove, The Flame & The Flower...) as we lamented our readings of the 1970's.
* a quick trip around Pitcairn Island (YIKES!)
* Lesley's post sailing black and blue marks
* conversation that's forcing Gerry to read the old testament
* childbirth as a defining experience
* quoting an Anne email we're "never looking at bricks the same way again! LOL
* the bible as history
* Jackie's introduction of sparknotes.com into the club.

Though sparknotes.com (owned by Barnes & Noble) has very few post modern fiction notes, if they do cover something we're reading, it's a great site especially if you haven't read or finished the book. It really shines if you want more backgound, context, themes...

More Red Tent Context --

This quote is from sparknotes.com -- "The Red Tent has been quite controversial, because its narrative adapts the biblical story of Jacob’s family. Some critics, mainly devout Jewish and Christian scholars, believe Diamant essentially blasphemes against the Bible in her version of Dinah’s life, changing basic elements of the stories of Jacob and his wives and presenting Leah and Rachel as polytheistic—a representation that directly contradicts the Judeo-Christian belief that Leah and Rachel were the matriarchal founders of the Jewish people and pioneers of monotheism. "

For more on the Red Tent click here