The Pale Surface of Things

Archaeology, goats and dogs, honor, ethics, lies and betrayals are part and parcel of all that happens when two cultures abrade. When a young American archaeologist runs from his impending marriage and secure future, and finds himself in the traditional world of a Cretan village, he is forced to confront the feelings he has avoided all his life: rage, fear, envy, and shame, as he becomes the central pawn in a vicious family vendetta. During World War II, the village suffered terrible reprisals at the hands of the Nazis. The present day priest is the grandson of the priest at that time. He works to heal the deep wounds remaining from the war. Love, loyalty, power, and death all pass through the days of the story as it unfolds across the face of western Crete.

Award-winning author Janey Bennett grew up in San Diego, graduated from UCLA, and has enjoyed colorful and varied careers, from radio announcer to horse trainer and drama critic. She spent five winters teaching English to Buddhist nuns in Thailand. Her writings on architecture have been published in the United States and Finland, where she held a Fulbright research fellowship. She has been writing fiction for eight years.

THE PALE SURFACE OF THINGS is Bennett's first novel, leading her into the study of classical Greek, Byzantine icon painting, geology, botany, the vernacular architecture and sociology of Greek villages, Minoan culture and art, the science of archaeology, World War II on Crete, and criminal law in Greece. A cellist, freelance editor, and author, Bennett divides her time between Bellingham, WA and Hornby Island, BC.