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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
i am *not* messing with the egypt parts unfortunately
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really couldn't get into it, and didn't finish it.
Lots going on in this novel, but at the core, it is about love and choices that define the direction of our lives. Is there a point of no return? What if...
I find the descriptions of Dawn's work as a death doula to be most compelling, leading me to consider my own what ifs and face my own mortality with a bit more reality.
I find the descriptions of Dawn's work as a death doula to be most compelling, leading me to consider my own what ifs and face my own mortality with a bit more reality.
4.5 stars
Based on the current 3.7 star average rating this book is not getting a lot of love from the goodreads community. But I thought this was one of Jodi’s best books to date.
The Book of Two Ways is an actual collection of Coffin texts that ancient Egyptians included in the coffins of their dead. This depicts two paths a soul can take to the same destination. Both paths are full of strife and temptation where the soul gets tested.
It’s a perfect entry point for the story. Its about two choices, two very different lives, both with joy and heartache. But the book synopsis almost makes this sound like a time travel or reincarnation story. Its anything but!!
I am tempted to advise new readers to just dive in blind.
There are two main stories that are told in conjunction and contrast to each other.
One is about Dawn who is a death doula (what an interesting career choice!), married for 15 years to a loving husband and a daughter who hates her own body. This was initially the more pedestrian story for me but as it progressed, I enjoyed this one more and more.
The other is about a younger Dawn, a student of Egyptology working hard towards her doctorate. I love how the Egypt story showed how this culture revered death with so many rituals to honor the departed. Juxtaposed with the western culture where any talk of death is avoided at all cost.
These two Dawns are incompatible and vastly different from each other, yet they are on a collision course.
There are so many themes that gets covered. Love, loss, regret, body image, death, the struggles of marriage and the watershed moments that changes your life forever.
And the amount of research that must have gone into writing this book is impressive. The book tackles subjects like hieroglyphics and quantum physics in a way that made this not only an insightful read but a very interesting one as well.
Absolutely recommended
Netgalley ARC: Expected publish date 20 October 2020
Based on the current 3.7 star average rating this book is not getting a lot of love from the goodreads community. But I thought this was one of Jodi’s best books to date.
The Book of Two Ways is an actual collection of Coffin texts that ancient Egyptians included in the coffins of their dead. This depicts two paths a soul can take to the same destination. Both paths are full of strife and temptation where the soul gets tested.
It’s a perfect entry point for the story. Its about two choices, two very different lives, both with joy and heartache. But the book synopsis almost makes this sound like a time travel or reincarnation story. Its anything but!!
I am tempted to advise new readers to just dive in blind.
There are two main stories that are told in conjunction and contrast to each other.
One is about Dawn who is a death doula (what an interesting career choice!), married for 15 years to a loving husband and a daughter who hates her own body. This was initially the more pedestrian story for me but as it progressed, I enjoyed this one more and more.
The other is about a younger Dawn, a student of Egyptology working hard towards her doctorate. I love how the Egypt story showed how this culture revered death with so many rituals to honor the departed. Juxtaposed with the western culture where any talk of death is avoided at all cost.
These two Dawns are incompatible and vastly different from each other, yet they are on a collision course.
There are so many themes that gets covered. Love, loss, regret, body image, death, the struggles of marriage and the watershed moments that changes your life forever.
And the amount of research that must have gone into writing this book is impressive. The book tackles subjects like hieroglyphics and quantum physics in a way that made this not only an insightful read but a very interesting one as well.
Absolutely recommended
Netgalley ARC: Expected publish date 20 October 2020
Due back... Ran out of time... A little hard to get into bc of so many details about Archeology & Egyptology.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Rounded up to 4 stars, actual rating 3.5
The only way I can review this book somewhat objectively is to act as though I don't know the author. Using that premise, this is a solid 3.5 for entertainment and characters one can appreciate. It's an interesting take on the loves of our lives, once again using the currently popular alternate timelines/locations device to tell the love stories. (Which was a struggle to sort through, for me.)
Where Picoult's touch is apparent is her hallmark research into a subject - in this case, two subjects: Egyptian archaeology and death doulas. The drawings and readings of hieroglyphics didn't translate well in the Kindle edition, and I'm not sure the detail added all that much to the story. For my reading purposes, it was clutter. I would have liked to know more about the work of death doulas.
Ultimately, I can't forget who the author was, thus the need to make a statement that this is far from my favorite of her works.
Thanks to Net Galley for the Advance Reader Copy
The only way I can review this book somewhat objectively is to act as though I don't know the author. Using that premise, this is a solid 3.5 for entertainment and characters one can appreciate. It's an interesting take on the loves of our lives, once again using the currently popular alternate timelines/locations device to tell the love stories. (Which was a struggle to sort through, for me.)
Where Picoult's touch is apparent is her hallmark research into a subject - in this case, two subjects: Egyptian archaeology and death doulas. The drawings and readings of hieroglyphics didn't translate well in the Kindle edition, and I'm not sure the detail added all that much to the story. For my reading purposes, it was clutter. I would have liked to know more about the work of death doulas.
Ultimately, I can't forget who the author was, thus the need to make a statement that this is far from my favorite of her works.
Thanks to Net Galley for the Advance Reader Copy
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced