The Women Between the Lines

When I was younger, I read a great deal of historical fiction. Fiction inevitably takes liberties with historical fact, and it is important to recognise that; yet when a gifted author colours in the picture, distant stories become much more understandable and dare I say it; entertaining.

Esther: A Novel – Rebecca Kanner | $32.99

Reading Rebecca Kanner’s Esther recently reminded me why I have always loved the genre. Rather than simply retelling the biblical story, Kanner imagines the terrifying reality behind it. Esther is not introduced to us initially as a queen, but as a young Jewish girl whose village is raided by soldiers. She is abducted by them and taken into the vast Persian court to serve King Ahasuerus (here called Xerxes.) The Palace is rendered as a gilded prison, where survival depends on her intelligence and courage. Not just from Haman and his evil sons, but from other women in the harem. There is no one she can trust.

The novel is through Esther’s perspective and lies in tracing her inner transformation from frightened girl to decisive leader.

We know (even before we read this book) the words of Mordechai which we read every Purim “And who knows whether you have attained royalty for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14).

And indeed, she does take up her destiny. One of the novel’s most compelling scenes is where Esther begins to discover her own strength and her dramatic actions in the military compound, foreshadows the courage she will later display before the king and marks the point where the narrative takes a turn from a frightened young girl into a story about the Queen who will save her people.

Kanner’s novel is a story about discovering courage when destiny demands it and is a thoughtful, immersive reimagining.

The Red Tent – Anita Diamant | $24.99

My second read is the modern classic The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. First published in 1997, it has remained one of the most influential works of biblical fiction, introducing countless readers to an imaginative retelling of one of the Bible’s most enigmatic women.

Drawing on just a handful of verses from Genesis, Diamant gives voice to Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah. In the biblical account, Dinah’s encounter with Shechem and the violent revenge carried out by her brothers, Simeon and Levi, form one of the Torah’s most troubling episodes. Yet Dinah herself despite being the nucleus for this story; is almost entirely silent. It is this silence that has inspired centuries of interpretation, and in The Red Tent, Diamant imagines the inner life of this woman whose own story is left untold.

Narrated in Dinah’s voice, the novel begins not with her, but with the women who raise her;  Leah, Rachel, Zilpah and Bilhah and form the emotional heart of the story. The novel takes its title from the “red tent,” the women’s sanctuary where they gather during menstruation, childbirth and for celebration. Within this intimate space they create a vibrant female world that exists alongside the patriarchal world outside.

Diamant also reinterprets Dinah’s relationship with Shechem as one of mutual love rather than violence; a significant departure from the biblical text, which has traditionally been understood as describing rape. Whether readers embrace or reject this reinterpretation, it encourages a fresh engagement with a familiar story.

The Red Tent is not a literal retelling, but a thoughtful work of historical imagination that explores memory, family and the voices of women whose stories history left largely untold.