Excavations

A Novel

By: Kate Myers

Narrated by: Joy Nash

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

**A NATIONAL BESTSELLER**

BEST SUMMER READS OF 2023: The New York Post • Oprah Book Club • Oprah Daily • USA Today • Good Housekeeping • Brit + Co • The Good Trade • Parade • Zibby Mag • O Quaterly

“Funny, smart and deeply delicious.”—Amy Poehler • “Witty and acerbic, Myers’ debut is humorous and sharply written, as if Aubrey Plaza’s April Ludgate from Parks and Recreation decided to write a sun-drenched novel about feminism, friendship, and archeology.”—Booklist

On a remote archeological site in Greece, the mythic home of the first Olympics, four women discover an unusual artifact. It’s a piece of history that definitely shouldn’t exist. And for the head archaeologist in charge, a relic himself, it means something’s gone horribly wrong.

Elise, Kara, Z and Patty all find themselves digging here together, but they couldn’t be farther apart. Kara’s a polished conservator calling off her wedding. Patty and her bowl cut are desperate for love. Millennial Z just got dumped and fired yet again. And Elise, their star excavator, is a lone wolf about to go rogue.

To figure out what they’re really digging for, and to topple the man who wants to hide their history, these dirt-crusted colleagues have to become what they’ve avoided for years—friends. If they put their own messes aside for one summer, they might just make the discovery of a lifetime.

©2023 Kate Myers (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Slow start

This book is very slow. More than half of the book focuses on the characters failed relationships and other non essential or interesting backstory. I was around 5 hours into the book when I had to go back and remind myself why I used a credit on this. Eventually things happen but the book could have been around 3 hours to total considering what happened. The reader also made the story even more confusing because they used the same voice for every character and there was no indication of when perspectives changed. Overall I was not impressed but I did finish it, very confused by all the positive reviews… maybe I just missed the magic somehow?

Trust me when I say you won't regret reading this one!

I was doubtful that this book would hold my attention, but decided to give it a try, and I'm so glad I did. The story itself was awesome, and the narration was absolutely perfect!

Women rising from the earth

I bought this as the second “I’ll give it a try” in the two for one sale. It sounded moderately entertaining. It turned out to be really, really good! If you’re trying to decide whether to buy it or not—it’s totally worth it!

Mini spoilers below.

Though it might not pass the Bechdel test, the women in the novel all show their strength (and foibles) in a different way as they work to topple academia’s most lauded and controlling person, the old, white man.

Having been an MA & PhD student myself, I could relate to these strong women. The UGs (what a great name, wish I would have thought about it when I was in graduate school) were one blob of a character and the leading professor on the dig could make or break anyone’s academic career with just a word. I truly felt for the women who wouldn’t say anything for fear of their future. I lived that position.

I loved that as they unearthed Victor, she became one of the women’s voices, tying together past and present, both generations just wanting to be seen and recognized for their worth.

Speaking of voices, the narrator was great. She really gave each woman a distinctive voice that matched their personality, and she’s good at accents too!

I liked this book so much I might listen to it again!

Great story

The narrator was fantastic! Felt like I was inside the heads of all of the characters.

Book club worthy!!!

Funny, witty, and so well-written — even the Grinch would LOL at this book! The characters are perfectly imperfect, relatable, and endearing. The quintessential summer read ideal for fall, winter, or spring!

Almost…

Great storyline. Some really good writing here. Superb narration. Disappointed in the anticlimactic ending though.

Archeologists are people too

Enjoyable. Good plot. If you are a fan of Time Team, you may get a thrill out of this book.

Could not finish

I cannot understand all the raving reviews. I found the narrator so very annoying. Her voice seems full of angst and rebellion. It is like constantly listening to a teenager whine.
I couldn’t keep up with each woman character from chapter to chapter because they all sounded the same, with exception of the Aussie girl who had the very worst Australian accent I’ve ever heard.
This story should’ve been done with several different narrators. There are a lot of characters, and unless you have an amazingly skilled reader, the story is lost. This narrator is not only not skilled, but not even listenable. It’s sad, this story might be the greatest but I’ll never know it.i