Zoe Klein

Paige Brookstone, on a sabbatical from a separate dig with her mentor, unearths the prophet Jeremiah’s bones under an Arab couple’s home. But there are another set of remains intertwined with Jeremiah’s, and the discovery unlocks the humanity that is otherwise overlooked in a Biblical prophet. The find, while fueling a religious and racial battle in an unstable Middle East, also sparks Paige’s near lost passion for archeology and love for life.

Zoe Klein’s [Drawing in the Dust] show more could be overlooked as just another faith-based story in a growing market. But Klein examines how faith is often deeply submerged in the psyche, uncovered only as the physical world’s debris is brushed away. Jeremiah, the quarry in Paige’s search, comes alive as a flesh-and-blood human as she discovers his long buried love love for a servant girl. His prophecy takes on new meaning as their story is sifted through the sands of time.

Klein’s other accomplishment, beyond giving life to Jeremiah beyond the Bible’s pages, is her construction of another narrative, written by Anatiya, the servant girl who loved Jeremiah. Anatiya’s poetic verse, as written by Klein, sings with a rare beauty, and is so consistent with its Biblical counterpart from Jeremiah that it seems to be completely real. The result is that the Biblical and fictional characters come alive with Paige’s own faith. It’s not a stereotypical and fundamental faith, but one that is born from life.

Bottom Line: Faith and religion as viewed from an ordinary perspective, in anything but an ordinary place and amid anything but ordinary circumstances.

4 bones!!!!! show less

There is music to this book. An undercurrent of notes that almost disappears at times – and then swells into a flood of emotion and image – a song of words.

“Midnight is the most intimate of instants. The most hollow, superstitious, lost-in-the-woods, something’s-in-the-attic, moments of the day. Twelve is the knifepoint between the day’s deepest darkening and the commencement of its lightening, the kiss between the kingdom of the moon and the kingdom of the sun. It is a show more razor-breadth’s flash between love and hope.”

Archeologist Page Brookstone has been searching her whole life for something that started to disappear for her one New Year’s Eve at midnight. She searches through dust and bones and texts, looking for…something indefinable. Some answer to a question she is unable to form.

And with a major discovery that comes to her out of a mist – her life changes completely.

She is caught up in a world both completely outside of her own – and one that touches her soul. She is in Israel, where the ancient past and modern day live side by side. Where there is incredible beauty and mystery, and also unimaginable horrors. Where a day may contain prayers, work, joy…and bombings.

“He sits back down and continues talking. “Once I found a little foot. I picked it up delicately. It had a little scrape on the ankle. The scrape was not from the bombing, it was older, from at least a week before. It had scabbed over. This was a perfect little boy’s foot with a perfect little boy scrape on it from running, sliding, and playing tag. I can’t even comprehend the pain that his family went through. All I know is that I mourned for his little foot.”

There is a religious narrative to this book that didn’t touch me as much as it should have – through no fault of its own. I have almost no knowledge of the bible. For those who do, I think there would be a great deal more depth to the words, the discovery. As Page uncovers scrolls and artifacts of the prophet Jeremiah and a woman named Anatiya, she brings a new voice to the world…and only later discovers that it mirrors her own.

“This is the story of a woman, Miss Brookstone. This is not the mention of a woman in the context of a story of a man. This is her own voice, describing her own love. And she lived during one of the most tumultuous times in this region’s history. It’s a perspective entirely missing from our collections.”

From the dust, from a woman’s voice that comes only from words on a scroll, Page realizes much about herself, much about the choices she’s made, and that she has buried herself in the past to avoid choosing a future.

“I think of that devouring clock that I feel I’ve been running from since the night I knew my father was dying. I do feel patience and generosity leaking from my broken heart. Perhaps love will alight on me someday if I remain still like this. Perhaps not.”

Always running from and never running to, the words and life of Anatiya finally break Page out of hiding from herself.

“I think of the thousands of Canaanite tombs I’ve uncovered, and look at the now thousands of stars. They are related, I feel. Each star emanated one of those souls, who inspired a little more love, if only for a day, a couple of days, or years. Then comes grief, which is always the price for loving. But thank God for loving. And the stars keep shining their light to dispel the gloom, orient the troops, chart the wanderers, on and on and on. I marvel at the night.”

The music of the past, of a mute woman’s voice, of a land of dust and tears and blood, of newfound strength weave into this book. Though at times a few of the notes faltered, the crescendo was beautiful.

“The soul of a person is made from stories. Stories that keep telling themselves over countless ages, and when man is no longer listening, they become the lyrics to the music of galaxies.” show less

DRAWING IN THE DUST by Zoë Klein is a magical and fully romantic read. I went into the book figuring that I would find a great story and found something so full of wonder and color that my brain is still swirling with the beauty of it. Much as a fairy tale leaves frosting and pixie dust floating about the head, DRAWING IN THE DUST leaves warmth and happiness surrounding you like a soft blanket fresh out of the dryer. I am absolutely ecstatic to share this review with you today and hope that show more it encourages you to pick this book up and get lost within the wonder of its pages.DRAWING IN THE DUST follows the blond, beautiful, intelligent and lost Page as she journeys to discover who she is and what mysteries the world holds. Originally a divinity student in college, she found herself drawn to archaeology and has spent over a decade digging up the remains of past civilizations. She's always cataloging, recording, analyzing; she's searching for something but has no idea what that something is. When Ibrahim and Aisha Barakat show up at her dig, claiming to have ghosts visiting their home, Page is quick to dismiss them as the rest of her colleagues have. Her brain and heart war with each other and soon, despite the pleas of her coworkers, she finds herself on the Barakat's doorstep. What follows is a story woven with mystery, intrigue, suspense, and above all, love.The discovery of a scroll and coffin in an ancient cistern set the world on fire. The scroll contains the words of a young woman, Anatiya, as she details her life and her love for the prophet Jeremiah. The coffin contains the old bones of Anatiya, locked in a loving embrace in the long-dead arms of Jeremiah. Her story and the obvious love between the pair throw age-old stories up into a whirlwind of chaos. When panic and destruction are becoming a part of everyday life, can the tender love of two long-dead mortals cure the world, or crush it?I am not exaggerating at all when I say that DRAWING IN THE DUST is breathtakingly beautiful. This is one of the most unique and wonderful love stories that I have read. At the forefront is Page and her desire to find love despite the fact that she constantly pushes it away. As Page's discovery of the ancient scroll continues, we also learn of Anatiya and her undying love for Jeremiah. Klein gives a velvety soft, fluid texture to Anatiya and its practically impossible not to fall in love with the young woman, feeling every joy and heartbreak that she experiences. Anatiya's voice is the voice of love. I don't know how Klein does it, but she creates such a tender and romantic atmosphere that I feel even the most bitter and angry people would find themselves melting over her words.Normally, a strong female character is what wins a book over for me. In this case I was extra lucky to experience two strong female characters. Both Page and Anatiya play strong leads and bring strong stories to the book even though one character is dead. One would expect that Page, the woman that we actually follow would steal the spotlight from Anatiya. Or perhaps Anatiya would steal it from Page seeing as how it is her scroll that Page discovers and her life that unfolds before us. Instead, Klein brings both characters to the front, showing amazing skill at creating two lead characters that can both stand in the spotlight together without one overshadowing the other.It is for reasons such as this that DRAWING IN THE DUST is a remarkable book. Klein's ability to bring us down into multiple stories while at the same time keeping utter cohesion is just amazing and adds such a level of depth to the book that enjoyment lasts long after the last page is read. People say it all the time, but in this instance, it could not be more true. Klein's characters really do jump off the page and cavort around you. DRAWING IN THE DUST follows more like a beautiful play, a wonderful moving work of art, than simple black lines on grey paper. It's been a day since I finished DRAWING IN THE DUST and I can still picture scenes from the book vividly in my head. That is the kind of artistry Klein puts forth.Aside from the wonderful creation of great characters and a fantastic job at creating a compelling plot, Klein seems to be terrific at creating romantic tension. Romance is the key to DRAWING IN THE DUST, at least in my opinion, and romance is the thing that constantly pulls us along. It was very difficult for me not to experience an intense feeling of love while reading this book and I imagine many share my opinion. The story of Anatiya, the woman who dared to love a prophet, brings its own impossible bit of romantic tension. Add in Page, and her constant battle with her own self as she fights to find love and you've created an epic love story - one that is bound to capture hearts for years to come. show less

Archaeologist Page Brookstone is working on a dig in Israel when she is approached by the Barkats, a young Arab couple who want her to initiate a dig under their home. They are convinced their home is haunted by a sexually charged couple and that their home sits on some secret burial ground. Skeptical, yet intrigued Page is drawn into the excavation and becomes involved in some controversial discoveries surrounding the prophet Jeremiah and his long, lost love Anatiya. Of course Page becomes show more involved in a controversial love story herself along the way.
Another debut author who presents the reader with some unique historical facts, some insight into the plight of Israel, and a good story along the way. show less