The Red Tent, Tenth Anniversary Edition: A Novel

A New York Times Bestseller

A decade after the publication of this hugely popular international bestseller, Picador releases the tenth anniversary edition of The Red Tent.

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 tell of her father, Jacob, and his twelve sons.

Told in Dinah's voice, Anita Diamant imagines the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood--the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of the mothers--Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah--the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through childhood, 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 lives.

Customer Review: Great read!
This is a great book for any female that grew up with more than one motherly influence. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have not met any person that did not like it.
Customer Review: Dinah and her Mothers Made My Soul Sing
The Red Tent, which apparently is a huge favorite of many, many people here, has become a huge favorite of mine as well. The book was so incredibly vivid that Ms. Diamant brought me into Dinah's world, a world where custom was everything, and a woman could only find peace, rest and sisterhood inside the red tent. From the very beginning, where the reader is told that she has hands and feet softer than a queen's, I was captured. I could smell the smoke from the cooking fires, mixed with the breezes from the hills and the dinner in the pot, and the not-so-lovely smells of children, and men and animals. The author painted a picture with her details, but didn't become so enraptured with detail that she forgot that she was writing a darned good story. Like a butterfly, Ms Diamant flits from story to story as she weaves the tale of a life, staying with each until we are satisfied and full, but without ever languishing long enough that we become bored with the people, characters and places. The stories keep us off kilter just enough to make things interesting, because we think we have heard them before -- and we have. Maybe. My only complaint is that Ms. Diamant paints the men as broodish and selfish, not knowing anything about the women in their lives, and being quite happy with that state of affairs. C'mon! I know that times have changed, but people have not, and if a man cares about a woman, he will not dismiss everything that is important to her. Jacob was painted as a man who cared so little about the women he loved that he failed to honor even one of them. He was painted as barely able to tell one from the other, at least in the dark. I was also struck by the dark and angry portrait of Joseph, who has come through history as a hero - but not here. Men do not fare well at the touch of Ms. Diamant's pen. Finally, this isn't a book to start at bedtime. (You won't be able to get up for work in the morning) It's the perfect book for a day in bed with the sniffles, or the faux-sniffles. Grab some tissues (for the sniffles, of course), a cup of tea and this great book and you have all you need for a day of travel through countries and centuries, all to meet a woman whose tale has been forgotten by the years gone by. Give Dinah a wave for me when you meet her, okay?

When I was growing up, the metal jungle gym in our backyard made ours the most popular play spot in the neighbourhood. Built of tubular steel in bright orange and yellow, it was a honeycombed hexagon that provided days of climbing, swinging and acrobatic fun. These days, the jungle gym is called a climbing frame, and it may be made of wood, metal or plastic, but the fun factor remains the same. If you have young children, a climbing frame in the back yard or garden can offer hours upon hours of fun recreation and activity.

Climbing frames come in a wide variety of sizes and configurations, and most are customizable with add-ons and accessories. You can start with a simple ladder type climbing frame and add accessories like platforms, ladders, rope climbers, tents, rope bridges and more. One easy way to classify climbing frames is by materials used.

Wooden climbing frames are generally more expensive than either plastic or metal framed climbers. Made of pressure-treated lumber, they use galvanized screws for fastening and often include enclosures, platforms and rope climbing ladders. Wooden climbing frames can last a lifetime if properly cared for, and be used by generation after generation of children. Popular additions to wooden climbing frames are canopies, swings, rope climbers and platforms.

Perhaps you recall the swing sets of your childhood - tubular metal in bright colors with swings and a slide, and perhaps a glider. Todays metal climbing frames are the next generation. The product of increased safety awareness and health studies, they're designed with fun AND safety in mind. They often include horizontal ladders for climbing and swinging, slides, and bars for more intricate feats of balance and swinging. They're the closest to the old monkey bars and jungle gyms that we all grew up with.

Made popular by such manufacturers as Playskool and Little Tikes, plastic climbing frames are made of high impact, sturdy plastic that can withstand weather and rugged use. Bright colors, rounded corners and clever designs make plastic climbing frames the perfect choice for toddlers and small children. Generally closer to the ground, it often features holes and tunnels for crawling and climbing, broad-based support for safety and slides with rounded rails to prevent tumbles.

Finally, there are hybrids - metal frames with wooden structures or plastic components like crawling tunnels and climbing walls. These are most often found in public playgrounds, but there are some available to build in your backyard. They may be based on a metal frame with a wooden structure or canvas tent, or have a plastic crawling/climbing tube up to a wooden platform.

Considerations when buying a climbing frame for your back yard or garden include the age of the children, the amount of use it will get, aesthetic considerations and safety features. A well-constructed climbing frame, whatever the material, is one of the best investments you can make for your family's recreation needs.

Ian Wide has contributed many articles on home and family sites including pieces on climbing frames.