I enjoyed Zoe Klein’s novel “Drawing in the Dust.” I actually stayed up most of the night reading it. After finishing it, however, I feel as if there are many flaws in the story and I don’t think it merits comparison to the much better written, and totally different novel, “The Red Tent” by Anita Diamant.

The novel is about an American archeologist living in Isreal for over a decade who goes to excavate underneath an Arab couple’s home, based on rumors that there are ghosts there. Her colleagues think she is crazy, until she uncovers the tomb of the prophet Jeremiah and an unknown woman buried with him.  I loved delving into the scroll of Jeremiah and the imaginary scroll of Anatiya, his lover. It is history imagined from a woman’s perspective. A woman in love with a prophet who is in love with God.

Klein had written the entire scroll of Anatiya earlier, which led her to write this novel. There is much fiction woven in with history and religion here, and many situations that seem highly improbable. However, it is still a fascinating book, written by a female Rabbi, with a story that grabbed me and kept my full attention until the end.

Not a brilliant novel, but a good read.