Summarizing the plot does not give ample power to this
work. The storyline itself could be summed up as a woman's
tale of archeological conquest, self-discovery, obsession
and religion in the Middle East, as Page Brookstone risks
her career and her reputation by listening to a couple who
want an archeologist's perspective on their haunted house.
However, that summary is just the bare bones (a very bad
and intentional pun) of the work. Instead, DRAWING IN THE
DUST challenges the ideas of relationships between academia
and religion, of emotion and analysis, and of personal
versus global achievement.
Despite the contemporary grittiness of the setting, the
elaborate tapestry of character interactions that
demonstrates the intermingling of cultures in Israel, and
the intricate details of the process and thrill of
discovery within archeology, Klein's novel has a softness
and a sweetness to its depictions of lover's words and
human emotion. An excellent book, DRAWING IN THE DUST
demonstrates many levels of achievement that will engage
readers who enjoy various styles of writing.
American archaeologist Page Brookstone risks her
professional reputation when a young Arab couple begs
her to excavate beneath their home in Anatot, Israel.
They claim the spirits of two lovers haunt it,
overwhelming everyone who enters with love and desire.
As Page digs, she makes a miraculous discovery-the bones
of the deeply troubled prophet Jeremiah locked in an
eternal embrace with a mysterious woman named Anatiya.
Buried with the lovers, a scroll in Anatiya's own
mystical words challenges centuries-old interpretations
of the prophet's story. Caught in a forbidden love story
of her own, Page soon discovers that by shaking off the
dust of the dead, she has unearthed painful issues from
her past and created a worldwide fervor that threatens
to silence Anatiya's passionate spirit forever.
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