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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Some favorite quotes/thoughts
Doula is Greek for "woman who serves"
"The thing about death is that we're all terrified of it happening, and we're devastated when it does, and we go out of our way to pretend that neither of these things is true."
"One of my favorite concepts from Ancient Egypt was kheperu, or manifestations. An individual was much more than just the Khat, or body. You were made up of the ib - a heart; a ka soul- a familial legacy; a ba soul - your personality and reputation; shuyet - a shadow; and ren - your name. After death, while the ka stayed earthbound in the mummified corpse, the ba soul winged its way to Re, the sun god.
look up: l'inconnue de las Seine: A beautiful death mask, used for first CPR mannequin
Doula is Greek for "woman who serves"
"The thing about death is that we're all terrified of it happening, and we're devastated when it does, and we go out of our way to pretend that neither of these things is true."
"One of my favorite concepts from Ancient Egypt was kheperu, or manifestations. An individual was much more than just the Khat, or body. You were made up of the ib - a heart; a ka soul- a familial legacy; a ba soul - your personality and reputation; shuyet - a shadow; and ren - your name. After death, while the ka stayed earthbound in the mummified corpse, the ba soul winged its way to Re, the sun god.
look up: l'inconnue de las Seine: A beautiful death mask, used for first CPR mannequin
The last 75 pages were almost enough to redeem a story that I just couldn't get emotionally invested in up to that point. A 'sliding doors' scenario is the stuff books are made for, but I struggled with the the topics that drove the narrative - Egyptology and quantum physics. The characters were lovely and it all came together in the end but my hopes were so high for this, and they just weren't met until the 300 page mark.
I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would.
I wasn't a huge Jodi Picoult person and wasn't sure if I even liked her writing, however I liked the idea of this book.
I learned so much about Egypt and the study of tombs and mummies and I thought the parts of grief very wonderful.
I just lost my father, and it felt like this book came at the right time. I needed to look death in the face.
I thought this was a fulfilling read.
I wasn't a huge Jodi Picoult person and wasn't sure if I even liked her writing, however I liked the idea of this book.
I learned so much about Egypt and the study of tombs and mummies and I thought the parts of grief very wonderful.
I just lost my father, and it felt like this book came at the right time. I needed to look death in the face.
I thought this was a fulfilling read.
Couldn’t decide between 3 stars and 4 stars. Probably about 3.7. Not my favorite Jodi P, but I did like it.
What a ride. The structure of the book alone is genius. She nails the ending (which in her author’s notes alludes that her original ending was scrapped and rewritten as suggested by her editor). Just the story of how life makes us human and the choices we make that really might just be out of our “control”. I don’t think she shied from the Egyptology research at all and certainly convinced me in the depth and detail of the information woven into the fiction. The quantum physics theories about parallel universes made me expect a different drift of this story line once you connect what this theme does to the lay out of the “pieces”. If you don’t like a novel that jumps forward, back and present, it may drive you crazy but wasn’t a problem for me. And finally, the most poignant theme for me was of death and dying in the midst of these love stories...so many of them...and I think ultimately this part make the whole
Story make sense and feel real. Again, it’s quite a ride.
Story make sense and feel real. Again, it’s quite a ride.
Holy Egyptology.
Picoult is pretty hit or miss with me... I have loved some of her books, but many, like this one, get a “meh”. There’s a story buried in there somewhere, but you have to excavate it from under pages and pages and pages of details on Egyptian history and genealogy as well as quantum physics- and at times the content is drier than the Sahara. (See what I did there?? Buried? Excavate? Drier than the Sahara? Ok, I’ll stop.)
Picoult typically researches the hell out of a topic to provide background in her novels, but this one was SO heavy on the research that it felt like reading a textbook and made my eyes glaze over. It got better almost halfway through the book, but by that point I had pretty much made up my mind that this book was boring. Once I finally got to the meat of the story, it was decent but not remarkable and had an unsatisfying ending.
Sorry Jodes, but this one’s worth skipping- unless you’re really, really into Egypt.
Picoult is pretty hit or miss with me... I have loved some of her books, but many, like this one, get a “meh”. There’s a story buried in there somewhere, but you have to excavate it from under pages and pages and pages of details on Egyptian history and genealogy as well as quantum physics- and at times the content is drier than the Sahara. (See what I did there?? Buried? Excavate? Drier than the Sahara? Ok, I’ll stop.)
Picoult typically researches the hell out of a topic to provide background in her novels, but this one was SO heavy on the research that it felt like reading a textbook and made my eyes glaze over. It got better almost halfway through the book, but by that point I had pretty much made up my mind that this book was boring. Once I finally got to the meat of the story, it was decent but not remarkable and had an unsatisfying ending.
Sorry Jodes, but this one’s worth skipping- unless you’re really, really into Egypt.
I have never picked up a Jodi Picoult book that I have a didn't have trouble putting down, and this one is no exception. Picoult is a brilliant writer. Every book is a master class in crafting story and character. She also has a unparalleled skill for research and incorporating that research into her writing, to the point that you don't realize how much you are learning. After reading Leaving Time, I became fascinated with elephants, and they are now one of my favorite animals! If there is one criticism of this book, it is that sometimes the Egyptology, while fascinating, becomes more about the information and less about the story. The story, however, is beautiful. Watching Dawn's marriage unravel reminded me of something my therapist told me after my own first marriage unraveled. "If you hadn't left ugly, you wouldn't have left." I felt the truth in Dawns unraveling.
I adore Jodi Picoult and am conflicted about this book. I enjoyed the general storyline but my eyes glazed over with all the details of the excavation and Egyptian history. I am glad I finished it though.