Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Teaser Tuesday: The Red Tent



"Then Inna told Bilhah to take Rachel's place so she could catch the baby; perhaps the birth blood would rouse Rachel's womb to fill again, too. And so Rachel washed in the river of life."

-- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.

Ack! It's passages like this -- and there are lots of them -- that make me squirm like a pre-pubescent girl in junior high health class. Apparently I am not mature enough or enough in touch with my womanhood to enjoy this book.

I find that if I skim over all the parts about childbirth and menstruation, the story is very interesting. But a lot of the book is about childbirth and menstruation. It's hard to avoid. That's what the whole "Red Tent" thing is all about -- where the women go to breed and bleed.

And I thought the Old Testiment itself was gruesome.


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.




15 comments :

  1. Interesting teaser - but I think I will pass on the book. I must be squeamish too.

    Here is my Tuesday Teaser for Hard Magic.

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  2. i look forward to a full review :)
    my interest has been piqued!

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  3. Kathy -- Lots of people love this book, so don't go just by my reaction. Thanks for the link!

    Erisian -- Maybe I'll come to like the book when the women get older and stop birthing so many babies and celebrating their "moon blood." :)

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  4. You know, a lot of people love The Red Tent, but I just couldn't warm up to it.

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  5. agoodstoppingpoint -- I'm going in fits and starts. Parts are really very inciting, but then parts just make me roll my eyes.

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  6. Your reaction is funny!

    You've convinced me to get this.

    Mine

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  7. I didn't realise that the topic of the book was more menstruation and childbirth. I was looking forward to reading it, but I think I might be a bit too squirmish for it.

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  8. Not one of my favorites!

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  9. I'm amazed that I finished this one. It's pretty primitive and visceral--not up my alley. But I couldn't put it down. And I even cried at the end. I still have really mixed feelings about it.

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  10. I read this with a book club and could just not force myself to like what I ended up referring to as "The Big Book of Biblical Bleeding and Birthing". Lots of folks love this one, but not me.

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  11. Does it refer to the characters' naughty bits as "his sex" and "her sex"? I HATE IT SO MUCH when books do that.

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  12. I liked The Red Tent when I read years ago, but you definitely have to be in the right mood. It does have a very exotic, other world feel to it.

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  13. Brooke -- I'm glad I didn't scare you away!

    Vivienne -- If you can do the reading version of covering your ears and saying "la, la, la, I can't hear you" when you get to the bloody bits, the rest of it is very good.

    Bybee -- I'm glad to hear I am not alone.

    Shelley -- I'm like you. I can't stop reading it and am enthralled by parts of it, but I definitely have mixed feelings.

    Emma -- Thanks for visiting and leaving a link!

    SuziQ -- Oh my gosh! I barked with laughter when I read your line. I'll be stealing that for book club!

    Jenny -- You got that one right! "His sex," "his little sex" for babies, etc. Occasionally, "his member." Good grief!

    Jane -- I am practicing my frame of mind so that I can enjoy the non-bloody parts.

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  14. If you ask me, too much blood in any context is never a good thing.

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  15. Interesting teaser! Definitely caught my attention ;) Not too sure if I'll delve into the book yet...

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