I did not want to read The Red Tent. In the blurb on the back I was informed that the book was about a girl called Dinah who is a character from a bible story. As an atheist, I had no desire to read about some bible character. Yet I did read The Red Tent – it was for my reading group, and the knowledge that the whole point of the group is to read things we might not otherwise try, in order to broaden our reading experience, overcame my dislike.
Anita Diamant has taken the character of Dinah, daughter of Jacob whose many sons include Joseph (here’s a bible character I know of, thanks to the all singing all dancing version of his story), and created a story for her.