Kate Myers's smart debut novel invites readers to ancient Greece via a modern-day archeological dig, as four women become unlikely allies in taking down their patriarchal, sexist boss. Excavations opens with none other than an ancient artifact that speaks directly to readers (reminiscent of a Greek chorus addressing a long-ago audience): "What I'm trying to tell you: there's never some dude's foot just sticking up out of the ground. Something happened, you moron." That something--evidence that the artifacts are celebrating the athleticism of women, not men--has been long hidden by the man in charge of the dig, much to the growing chagrin of the women who work for him. "It had taken decades of digging and brushing, of polishing the ground until it became a mirror," a place where the women could see their history--not just that of the men whose stories have for so long dominated the narrative of Greek history.
Myers's clever sarcasm and sharp wit balance the otherwise heavy subject of historical erasure at play: "Charles had made a chunk of change erecting this phallus palace, and he would die before admitting it was all built on lies." Despite the building tension between Myers's main characters--around career competition, ex-boyfriends, lost artifacts, melting Popsicles, and other conflicts both large and small--the four come to realize that to topple their self-aggrandizing boss, they'll have to work together. Hilarious and heartfelt, Excavations delivers a pitch-perfect summer novel steeped in bright Greek sunshine, and it all builds to a satisfying comeuppance borne of women determined to tell their own stories--past and present alike. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer