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A review by katykelly
The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult
3.0
'Sliding Doors' of alternating life (and death paths). Overlong, but did hit a nerve.
I've read a lot of negative reviews of this, just glancing at the Amazon page. And yes, it's not perfect. At 15 hours, the audiobook felt like it could have ended several times over, and I actually spent most of my listening time thinking it would have made a fabulous novella. I couldn't tell you now what needed to take so long that I was kept at it for days and days, points felt laboured and repetitive.
I've only read a couple by this author before. It was the subject that intrigued me - the idea of different paths in life explored, a death doula, and Ancient Egypt.
Dawn is the victim of an airplane crash, one of a few survivors, and instead of heading home soon after escaping unscathed, finds herself wanting to know what her life would have been like if she hadn't chosen husband, child and family. If she'd stuck with her plans to study Egyptology and the man she fell for.
So we see both paths - she returns home, she travels to Egypt. But this also becomes confusing, certainly on the audiobook, as we also watch Dawn's past as she met, hated then came to be attracted to Wyatt, but additionally, later on, scientist husband Brian. I couldn't quite keep track which timeline I was in.
On top of this, Dawn works with Wynn as her doula, a woman dying but determined to sort out her own regrets before this, so an additional storyline about romantic regrets floods the plot. It felt overfull and overdone.
I enjoyed Dawn's relationship with her daughter (also with issues, of course), and was very interested how the author chose to bring things to a close with husband/lover/present/past. I wasn't actually quite sure when it ended, what had happened, but it wasn't the conventional ending I'd been dreading at least.
Personally, I enjoyed the Egypt sections, I love history, I loved the idea of The Book of Two Ways and exploring paths not trodden. But there was so much repetition to wade through, the insightful parts got a little lost in there.
I would recommended this be read on paper/Kindle as it is confusing when listened to as an audiobook, though the narrator was engaging and voiced both genders well.
Needed to be much, much tighter. But a great idea with sparks of perception regarding marriage, infidelity, love and family.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.
I've read a lot of negative reviews of this, just glancing at the Amazon page. And yes, it's not perfect. At 15 hours, the audiobook felt like it could have ended several times over, and I actually spent most of my listening time thinking it would have made a fabulous novella. I couldn't tell you now what needed to take so long that I was kept at it for days and days, points felt laboured and repetitive.
I've only read a couple by this author before. It was the subject that intrigued me - the idea of different paths in life explored, a death doula, and Ancient Egypt.
Dawn is the victim of an airplane crash, one of a few survivors, and instead of heading home soon after escaping unscathed, finds herself wanting to know what her life would have been like if she hadn't chosen husband, child and family. If she'd stuck with her plans to study Egyptology and the man she fell for.
So we see both paths - she returns home, she travels to Egypt. But this also becomes confusing, certainly on the audiobook, as we also watch Dawn's past as she met, hated then came to be attracted to Wyatt, but additionally, later on, scientist husband Brian. I couldn't quite keep track which timeline I was in.
On top of this, Dawn works with Wynn as her doula, a woman dying but determined to sort out her own regrets before this, so an additional storyline about romantic regrets floods the plot. It felt overfull and overdone.
I enjoyed Dawn's relationship with her daughter (also with issues, of course), and was very interested how the author chose to bring things to a close with husband/lover/present/past. I wasn't actually quite sure when it ended, what had happened, but it wasn't the conventional ending I'd been dreading at least.
Personally, I enjoyed the Egypt sections, I love history, I loved the idea of The Book of Two Ways and exploring paths not trodden. But there was so much repetition to wade through, the insightful parts got a little lost in there.
I would recommended this be read on paper/Kindle as it is confusing when listened to as an audiobook, though the narrator was engaging and voiced both genders well.
Needed to be much, much tighter. But a great idea with sparks of perception regarding marriage, infidelity, love and family.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.