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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this book. Jodi Picoult's writing is beautiful, and I admired her level of detailed research that remained consistent throughout the entire book. I can understand why most people feel it was too textbook heavy with Egyptology and quantum physics rolled into one, but I particularly enjoyed that. As someone who enjoys and studies archaeology, it was exciting to see it infused as a primary feature of a story and see the intersections of the two disciplines. Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone who isn't afraid to learn a little more in depth about life and death from a multidisciplinary perspective.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book was a quick read and interesting, but I found the main characters to not be very loveable and that definitely detracted from the book.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult explores the tensions that exist between what we expect from our lives and how our lives actually end up. It explores these tensions through the perspective of Dawn, a death doula who was meant to be an Egyptologist.
This book was absolutely stunning, both in terms of Picoult’s writing style and the storyline. I think everyone can relate to the haunting question of What If? And this book explores acting on the what-ifs. This book also explores complicated mother-daughter relationships, what it means to make decisions without full confidence, and leaning into love. I really love Picoult and her ability to world build, and her character development in this book was also pretty good. Overall, I enjoyed it and will definitely continue including Picoult’s novels in my rotation.
Content Warnings
Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Medical content, Death of parent
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Publication Date: September 22, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.
I feel like gushing but I will try to articulate instead of just saying over and over, "Oh my gosh this is such a good story." It is, but let me try to explain with a little more detail.
A few years back I watched a show called Fringe. It was about parallel timelines, in each timeline were the same people but they lived very different lives in their own universe. It was really interesting. The Book of Two Ways is also about parallel timelines but in less of a sci-fi way.
Dawn McDowell-Edelstein has just survived a plane crash. And as she saw her life flash before her eyes she was surprised about who she saw. As she walked away from the crash she makes a snap decision to go see this person she hasn't been in contact with for 15 years. He represents her other life, the one she had to give up. In her first life, Dawn was on track to be one of the top Egyptologists in the field but was derailed by loss. In her first life, Dawn had fallen in love with someone she thought she hated. In Dawn's now life she is a death doula, a wife to Brian, and a mom to Meret. In Dawn's now life she is fairly content until just recently. She and Brian have been so steady for 15 years but recently something has shifted and this plane crash is just another event in the unsettling of things in Dawn's now life. Ever since she has known him Brian has talked about the dual timelines he believes people can live. It's a running joke between them but recently it feels like maybe she should be living in that other timeline.
The Book of Two Ways is a guide for the afterlife in Egyptian lore. It's painted inside the coffin and Dawn was writing her dissertation on it, in her first life. In her now life she is still studying it but in a very different way. As a death doula, she is helping dying people and their families navigate the ways of death. A modern-day bok of two ways...kind of. One of her newest clients stirs up Dawn's first life and she travels toward it - she has to know, before she lives much more life, if the first life was a figment of her imagination or if it held reality. So she walks away from a plane crash to get on another plane and flies to Egypt and Wyatt Armstrong. They haven't seen nor spoken to one another in 15 years, she's not even sure he will be at the dig site but returning to Egypt feels right. Wyatt is there, the dig site is just as she remembers - with a few modern improvements, and she asks if she can stay and work there - to remember what her first life was like.
Going back and forth between land and water, as the book of two ways does, Picoult takes the reader on a journey of Dawn exploring her timelines in real time. I believe everyone has their own version of a "mid-life crisis." It's not always a crisis, I think vary rarely is it, but it is an examination and then a deconstructing of a life lived so far in preparation for the life yet to live. The way that Picoult presents Dawn's mid-life examination was breathtaking for me. It was so rich with meaning and intimate to Dawn because of her first life goals. And Picoult made it rich and intimate for the reader. She laid the groundwork for the deeper themes and symbolism in the first couple of chapters and brings it all together throughout the rest of the book. She highlights so many of the feelings and ponderings one does in that mid-life season, which I happen to be in myself. She somehow is able to describe the ache of mid-life without ever using the word ache. But it is, it sits there in the soul as one examines and deconstructs and figures out life past mid-life. It's an ache that unsettles, comforts, and realigns.
Now, I need to gush again. Indulge me, the book is so wonderful, so gush worthy! It's a must-read. I LOVED it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.
I feel like gushing but I will try to articulate instead of just saying over and over, "Oh my gosh this is such a good story." It is, but let me try to explain with a little more detail.
A few years back I watched a show called Fringe. It was about parallel timelines, in each timeline were the same people but they lived very different lives in their own universe. It was really interesting. The Book of Two Ways is also about parallel timelines but in less of a sci-fi way.
Dawn McDowell-Edelstein has just survived a plane crash. And as she saw her life flash before her eyes she was surprised about who she saw. As she walked away from the crash she makes a snap decision to go see this person she hasn't been in contact with for 15 years. He represents her other life, the one she had to give up. In her first life, Dawn was on track to be one of the top Egyptologists in the field but was derailed by loss. In her first life, Dawn had fallen in love with someone she thought she hated. In Dawn's now life she is a death doula, a wife to Brian, and a mom to Meret. In Dawn's now life she is fairly content until just recently. She and Brian have been so steady for 15 years but recently something has shifted and this plane crash is just another event in the unsettling of things in Dawn's now life. Ever since she has known him Brian has talked about the dual timelines he believes people can live. It's a running joke between them but recently it feels like maybe she should be living in that other timeline.
The Book of Two Ways is a guide for the afterlife in Egyptian lore. It's painted inside the coffin and Dawn was writing her dissertation on it, in her first life. In her now life she is still studying it but in a very different way. As a death doula, she is helping dying people and their families navigate the ways of death. A modern-day bok of two ways...kind of. One of her newest clients stirs up Dawn's first life and she travels toward it - she has to know, before she lives much more life, if the first life was a figment of her imagination or if it held reality. So she walks away from a plane crash to get on another plane and flies to Egypt and Wyatt Armstrong. They haven't seen nor spoken to one another in 15 years, she's not even sure he will be at the dig site but returning to Egypt feels right. Wyatt is there, the dig site is just as she remembers - with a few modern improvements, and she asks if she can stay and work there - to remember what her first life was like.
Going back and forth between land and water, as the book of two ways does, Picoult takes the reader on a journey of Dawn exploring her timelines in real time. I believe everyone has their own version of a "mid-life crisis." It's not always a crisis, I think vary rarely is it, but it is an examination and then a deconstructing of a life lived so far in preparation for the life yet to live. The way that Picoult presents Dawn's mid-life examination was breathtaking for me. It was so rich with meaning and intimate to Dawn because of her first life goals. And Picoult made it rich and intimate for the reader. She laid the groundwork for the deeper themes and symbolism in the first couple of chapters and brings it all together throughout the rest of the book. She highlights so many of the feelings and ponderings one does in that mid-life season, which I happen to be in myself. She somehow is able to describe the ache of mid-life without ever using the word ache. But it is, it sits there in the soul as one examines and deconstructs and figures out life past mid-life. It's an ache that unsettles, comforts, and realigns.
Now, I need to gush again. Indulge me, the book is so wonderful, so gush worthy! It's a must-read. I LOVED it.
As I was reading this book I came up with a theory. There was a plane crash, and then the timelines splits. This seems to be alluded to by Brian’s research. I was a bit disappointed to learn there was only one timeline and the “might have beens” were more fluffy and ephemeral. I still enjoyed the book, and I actually enjoyed the digressions into Egyptology and science and a balance to the raw emotions surrounding love and death.
One thing I always enjoy about Picoult’s books is that you are sure to learn a bit about at least a couple new topics. This one explores a bunch and at times there is a lot going on. I didn’t find it to be too overbearing, and I found all of the chosen topics-Egyptology, death/end of life care, Quantum physics, multiverse, etc-to be quite interesting to explore. One problem was the the main character, Dawn, is a bit unlikable at times, she certainly is flawed and I guess in that way realistic. Other readers seemed annoyed by the lack of clarity in the ending, which is understandable but also fitting for the story theme as a whole, I was ok with it.