Drawing in the Dust

A Novel

By: Zoe Klein

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Brilliant archaeologist Page Brookstone is convinced bones speak, yet none of the ancient remnants she has unearthed during her 12 years of toiling at Israel's storied battlegrounds of Megiddo has delivered the life-altering message she so craves. Which is why the story of Ibrahim and Aisha Barakat, a young Arab couple who implore Page to excavate the grounds beneath their house in Anatot, instantly intrigues her.

The Barakats claim the ghosts of two lovers haunt their home, overwhelming everyone who enters with love and desire. Ignoring the scorn of her peers, Page investigates the site, where she is seduced by an undeniable force. Once Ibrahim presents Page with hard evidence of a cistern beneath his living room, she has no choice but to uncover the secret of the spirits. It is not long before Page makes miraculous discoveries---the bones of the deeply troubled prophet Jeremiah locked in an eternal embrace with a mysterious woman named Anatiya. Buried with the entwined skeletons is a collection of Anatiya's scrolls, whose mystical words challenge centuries-old interpretations of the prophet's story and create a worldwide fervor that threatens to silence the truth about the lovers forever.

Caught in a forbidden romance of her own, and under constant siege from religious zealots and ruthless critics, Page risks her life and professional reputation to deliver Anatiya's passionate message to the world. In doing so, she discovers that to preserve her future in the land of the living, she must shake off the dust of the dead and let go of her own painful past.

©2009 Zoe Klein (P)2009 Tantor

Just OK

I thought I would love this book, but I found it a bit annoying. The writer tries too hard to drive her point home. It wasn't so bad that I didn't listen to the whole thing, but I was so glad to finally get it over with.

enjoyed this archaeological adventure love story

I loved listening to the reading of this adventure set in the Holy Land that explored the relationships between different viewpoints: modern day and biblical times, men and women, prophets and those who love them, Jews, Muslims and Christians in the Holy Land, extremism and humane rationalism, passion-filled science and career-driven egotism.

It was a fun read; the writing is excellent and the acting of the reader beautifully makes real the personality of each character. This was a great book that I recommend to others.

This dud should be returned to dust...

As a general rule, I don't read books like this, but the subject of archeology in Israel hooked me, so I decided to try it. That was my first mistake. My second one was listening all the way to the end. I see that other reviewers were unable to finish it. That's what I should have done. It was good money after bad to both pay for it and listen to it.

This is a neurotic love story about a ditzy woman who has trouble distinguishing between reality and daydreams. The author repeats herself so often, I have to believe that she decided, having once written a good sentence, to use "cut & paste" in order to get more mileage out of it.

Next time, I'll wait until there are a few reviews!