Product Description

Powerful and suspenseful, Zoë Klein's unforgettable debut novel is a richly evocative and boundless love story that reverberates from biblical times to the modern world.

Brilliant archaeologist Page Brookstone is convinced bones speak, yet none of the ancient remnants she has unearthed during her twelve 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. As poignant and thought-provoking as the beloved bestsellers The Red Tent and People of the Book, Zoë Klein's historically rich debut novel is a lyrical and unexpected journey that will stay with readers forever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #110706 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781416599128
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Insight into the world of biblical excavation in Israel raises Rabbi Klein's debut novel from a Jewish Da Vinci Code to an emotionally rich story of personal and historical discovery. After a dozen years digging in Megiddo, American archeologist Page Brookstone longs for something new. When an Arab couple propose that Page investigate the haunted ruins under their home, she ignores colleagues' misgivings and heads to Anatot, just outside Jerusalem. There, the couple, along with Page and her team, uncover murals, artifacts and remains suggesting they have come upon the grave of the prophet Jeremiah, buried with the woman he loved, Anatiya, who also has left a manuscript that parallels the Book of Jeremiah. The discovery ignites an international uproar and violent attacks while Page, affected by the ancient spirits, is attracted to Orthodox Israeli Mortichai Master, despite his connections to an organization opposing her efforts. Rabbi Klein's most vivid passages depict the meditative tedium of digging, the exultation of discovery and the intricate processes of authentication and preservation, while love stories past and present—and a balanced, compassionate view of both Israeli and Arab traditions—add to the book's pleasures. (July)
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Review
"Lyrical, transformative, and unexpected, Drawing will keep you enthralled in the moment, yet racing to know more." -- Gina B. Nahai, NYT bestselling author of Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith

"Archaeology is the most dangerous of sciences, fundamentalism the most insidious of religious beliefs, and fiction the most seductive form of writing. Mix all three together, and you have Drawing in the Dust.... Zoe Klein will rock your foundations! This is what fiction should be about." -- Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear, NYT bestselling authors of The Betrayal

"A magically inventive archaeological expedition into love's psyche. Rabbi Klein's voice is enormously literate, politically sophisticated, spiritually captivating, and above all, unique." -- Lawrence Kushner, author of Kabbalah : A Love Story

"Drawing in the Dust is original in every sense of the word: creative, innovative, novel. It is an archaeological adventure that resurrects buried romance. With feeling intellect, the author reveals the secret of the heart." -- Rabbi Harold Schulweis, Author of Conscience: The Duty to Obey and the Duty to Disobey

About the Author
ZOË KLEIN pursued the rabbinate out of a passion for ancient texts, mythology, liturgy and poetry. Zoë Klein has written for Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, and Tikkun. She has written chapters in a number of collections including The Women's Torah Commentary and Holy Ground: A Gathering of Voices on Caring for Creation. Her poetry and prayers are used in houses of worship around the country and has appeared as a commentator on the History Channel in ?Digging for the Truth.? She lives with her family, where she is the senior rabbi of a large congregation.

Customer Reviews

Love in a Coffin


Drawing in the Dust tells the story of Page Brookfield and her search for life's meaning in ancient ruins in Israel. Page is an archeologist whose father died when she was young. Since his death, she has been focused upon her work and denying herself a normal life of love and family.

Page, after 13 years working at sites in Israel, takes advantage of an opportunity to dig beneath the house of an Arab couple who believe that significant relics reside there. Page agrees to investigate.

There is much to enjoy about this novel. Zoe Klein paints pictures in exquisite detail of the archeological dig. We witness the slow careful uncovering of relics and the excitement and joy of each of the prized pieces. I liked the constant reference to Biblical history and Page's regular utterance of relevant Biblical versus.

Drawing in the dust is a multilevel love story. Jeremiah, the Biblical prophet and Anatiya, his lover, died in 556 B.C. and were buried together in love.
Inspired by the spirit of love released when the coffin of Jeremiah and Anatiya is opened, suddenly the world appears to be in love.
While working together, two couples fall in love and challenge cultural barriers. Dalia, a Jew and Walid, an Arab, become lovers and marry. Page, a Christian, and Mortichai Masters, an Orthodox Jew, begin a relationship that must overcome both tradition and prejudice.

I found several faults with Drawing in the Dust. Zoe Klein struggles in drawing a modern female character. Page Brookstone is a flesh and blood woman who is professional, emotional, and often timid. Page, an archeologist specializing in Middle Eastern cultures, continually demonstrates professional competence by directing others in the intimate details of gently digging artefacts and identifying relics. But Page is clearly a female stereotype who is attracted and distracted by males, becomes frustrated but passive with male barriers, and frequently is pictured as reacting in a lame, non assertive manner. She frequently avoids confrontation and often seem to collapse and place herself in compromising situations. With minor revisions, Page could have been an exciting character.

Many scenes in the story seem irrelevant or have irritating loose ends. Once Page is assaulted but we never learn why. In another scene Page, without provocation, decides to hide under a sink. In a third, although Page is sought by New York police, she calmly go to the airport, flies to Israel and police involvement somehow ends.

Drawing in the Dust is potentially a significant novel, I rate it four stars.

Engrossing love story of many levels
Each night I fought off sleep as I read long past "bedtime" and hated to put this book down and turn out the light. While not accurate from an archeological or anthropological perspective this beautiful story of many intertwined levels and plots enthralls us with the many loves and many losses of Page Brookstone.

After almost 15 years working the same, now boring, site in Israel, Page is forced to leave to retain her sanity and flee a "wanna-be" lover. Drawn to a site that every other scientist has shunned, she makes an astounding discovery tantamount to the Dead Sea Scrolls -- A cavern that enchants all those near it with deep love for another, often socially inappropriate, lover. Page is caught up in the enchantment, falling in love with her discovery, those she meets there, a former lover and taking enormous risks to save its truth.

While the archeological work described here would take years rather than weeks, and the care for the artifacts have been much more intense than described, we get a very real sense of how politics and personal striving have changed the Bible, the Torah, the Koran and, indeed, history as we know it. This is a deeply thought provoking novel that will make the reader question what they really do and have loved, what they will risk for all the loves of their life and whether history is really what we think it to be. A very worthwhile read that is highly enjoyable!

Biblical Archaeology with Supernatural Overtones
Zoe Klein's "Drawing in the Dust" starts off at Megiddo, with archaeologist Page Brookstone examining yet another set of infant remains and being somewhat dissatisfied with her lot. Enter Ibrahim and Naima, who have been visiting every archaeology site in the area to talk about the ghosts in their home. Dismissed as kooks by all and sundry, Ibrahim and Naima refuse to be dissuaded in their quest. Even Page sends them away, but then her curiosity gets the best of her. This curiosity leads her to an amazing archaeological find with tremendous implications: a coffin containing two intertwined skeletons and a jar with a previously unknown scroll by a female scribe named Anatiya.

"Drawing in the Dust" is about more than Biblical archaeology. It touches on issues of Arab/Israeli/American relations, the nature of love, and even the nature of humanity. Klein's prose is elegant without being turgid. She draws beautiful pictures with her words. This book was a joy to read.

(Review based on uncorrected advance proof.)