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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Yeesh... this book has too much going on. Egyptology and quantum mechanics and a plane crash and an affair and an almost-affair and a teenage daughter with body image issues and a death doula and a dying client... and the plane crash is the least significant detail of all.
What bothers me the most, though, is the nonchalant way all the characters are willing to just give up on their marriage. Brian is made out to be "such a good guy" for stepping aside and letting his wife go to the man she cheated on him with. Dawn is completely unlikable. What kind of mother survives a plane crash and immediately abandons her daughter for untold days so she can chase down her former lover in Egypt?
Complete yuck. And some LGBT stuff thrown in as an aside.
What bothers me the most, though, is the nonchalant way all the characters are willing to just give up on their marriage. Brian is made out to be "such a good guy" for stepping aside and letting his wife go to the man she cheated on him with. Dawn is completely unlikable. What kind of mother survives a plane crash and immediately abandons her daughter for untold days so she can chase down her former lover in Egypt?
Complete yuck. And some LGBT stuff thrown in as an aside.
Long book full of facts about Egyptology. The love story inside is lovely though
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I really don’t know why this book has a low rating. It is longer than needed, but it can be quite a surprise and the historical facts plus the main character’s field of work are very interesting.
adventurous
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This one really did not do it for me. At least twice as long as it needed to be-- big "this meeting could have been an email" vibes; I almost gave it up 80% in after once again realizing how much more was still left. Characters not very dynamic or likeable, and the ending felt like a narrative copout rather than anything clever.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This story got out of the gate strong with the adrenaline rush of a plane crash that our protagonist miraculously survives. Needless to say, that sort of near death experience leaves its mark and Dawn begins to wonder about her life choices and whether she has taken the right path given the options she was granted.
Back home in Boston, Dawn’s marriage is in trouble. The very reason she was on the plane in the first place is the consequence of an argument with her husband that had her fleeing back to the site of her greatest triumphs and loves.
More than a decade ago, Dawn had been a graduate student on track to be a star in the field of Egyptian archeology, before a family matter derailed her career and took her away from Wyatt. In Egypt, Dawn reunites with Wyatt and tries to recapture that first blush of romance she experienced with him long ago.
I always learn so many interesting and obscure facts when I read a Jodi Picoult book and this was no different. Here, I learned a lot more than I wanted or needed to know, however. I appreciate all the research that went into writing this book. I just didn’t want to see all of it. It’s like knowing exactly how the magician does his tricks, ruins the tricks. I got so bogged down by all the details of Dawn’s past and past career, it gave the story a pedantic feel, like I was reading a dissertation on Egyptology and archeological digs, instead of a story about shattered relationships and a Sophie’s choice.
I should also mention that the constant flashbacks and locale changes gave me whiplash. Often, I wasn’t sure which multiverse or parallel timeline I was in.
My favorite parts of the book featured Dawn’s past and current relationship with her husband Bryan, their daughter Merrit and Dawn’s career as a death doula. The scenes with Dawn and her family and Dawn and her clients, especially Winifred and the subplot featuring her, were full of insight and poignant and made the book worth the read. I found the information about being a death doula much more interesting than the information about Egyptology. Go figure.
Truthfully, I almost DNFd this a few times and I didn’t really start being emotionally invested until the last twenty percent. This and the great writing, however, weren’t enough to raise it from three stars. I loved the premise, but the execution fell flat for me. I was expecting the usual unequivocal five-star read from Picoult and was disappointed that I didn’t get it.
This is, of course, just my take. If you’ve read it, what are your thoughts?
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As a big Picoult fan I felt i needed to read the entire book even though there were many parts of the story I was not interested in. Usually I love how Jodi researches things and I learn through the story but this book had too many things I had no interest in learning or it was just too much. I’m not sure which. There was just too much detail - math and mummies and tombs and science —I get how they were all connected but felt the book just dragged on and on when I wanted to know what happens with the characters. I hung I there to see what the main character would do and then it ended with my not knowing.
Not one of my favorite Picoult books but of course I’ll await the next one.
Not one of my favorite Picoult books but of course I’ll await the next one.