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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
I want to review this book but I don't have the time yet. Will be back, probably.
3.5 stars.
Picoult certainly does thorough research and incorporates it into her stories, but this is a lot of detail on too many things. Egyptology is plenty on its own, but add in the science of death and quantum physics and a wonderful story about love and time and choices gets a bit lost amidst the details.
Picoult certainly does thorough research and incorporates it into her stories, but this is a lot of detail on too many things. Egyptology is plenty on its own, but add in the science of death and quantum physics and a wonderful story about love and time and choices gets a bit lost amidst the details.
Another great Jodi Picoult book. She does an amazing job studying her subject matter, then working it into a beautiful story. I loved the characters and their depth, the relation of a good death in the 21st century to one in Ancient Egypt, and the honesty of the feelings of the characters. I really enjoyed it.
I love Jodi Picoult, and loved a lot of the classic Picoult aspect of this, especially the twist. But it was a little science/Egyptology heavy. I found myself glossing over a lot of the textbook-like parts. I absolutely loved the end, though, and the incredibly beautiful commentary about death. And really, I didn’t miss anything important by skimming over the boring parts!
I wasn't sure I was going to like this book, but ultimately I did. The main character can be infuriating but because of that you can relate to her.
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Usually picoult's books are like literary junk food, but in this one, I really appreciated her level of detail external of the immediate plot (most likely because the chosen field was more related to what I am interested in). She clearly researched a lot about egyptology to make a cohesive story, and had examples of death doula work that highlighted the dynamic and novel nature of the career field in society. She also mentioned the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA), which was cool because I don't think a lot of people know about that organization.
Also she either read Stephen King's "Doctor Sleep" (or his interview about being inspired to write the book after hearing about a cat in a hospice clinic that would always go sit on the bed of any dying residents), as she brought up the same hospice cat tale as a filler in a chapter or two of her book.
I do still tire of story gimmicks like asynchronous plot lines, and near/death experiences to help the plot along (especially as you'd want a death doula to self-examine their own life generally considering their line of work), but what can you do?
Also she either read Stephen King's "Doctor Sleep" (or his interview about being inspired to write the book after hearing about a cat in a hospice clinic that would always go sit on the bed of any dying residents), as she brought up the same hospice cat tale as a filler in a chapter or two of her book.
I do still tire of story gimmicks like asynchronous plot lines, and near/death experiences to help the plot along (especially as you'd want a death doula to self-examine their own life generally considering their line of work), but what can you do?
The ending was completely unsatisfying. It felt like the writer couldn’t decide, so she just ended it with no conclusion. It also got too much in the weeds on Egyptology and physics at times.
