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A review by jenbsbooks
No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister
5.0
I'm going to 5* this one. It really kept my interest as I listened to the audiobook. I had been able to nab the Kindle copy from the library too, and after I finished, I turned to it before writing my review ... and ended up pretty much re-reading it all. So many notes and highlights. Trying to trace all the connections, points to ponder ... this would make for good discussions at a book club.
No numerical chapters listed in the Table of Contents ... there are three "Parts" and an Epilogue. Part 1 covers three stories ... The Writer, The Assistant, The Actor (turned audiobook narrator). These were all not only the individual's story, but very much featuring the fictional book Theo and its beginnings. Very interesting to see some of the steps, get some insight behind the scenes.
Part 2 is unique in that it is not a person's story, but press/social media and such. This part here was a little reminiscent of parts of [book:Yellowface|62047984] which also had little tweets, Goodreads reviews, etc.
Part 3 ... there are seven stories, mostly related by the individual reading the book. There's The Artist, The Diver, The Teenager, The Bookseller, The Caretaker, The Coordinator and finally The Agent (played a bigger part than just a reader). One issue I had with the audiobook, is that these "titles" weren't viewable in the TOC, instead the location/date was shown (also good information, but not as informative as the descriptors). The audiobook had a great "conversation with the author (and narrator)" which was great and very interesting, but I kind of felt like that should be something available on YouTube (maybe it is?) and that the written Author'sNote (included in Kindle) should have been included instead. I like consistency between the audio and the print copy.
Some of the relationship connections seemed a bit of a stretch - an attempt to pull the stories together through more than just the book. It was interesting that even though we don't really ever read any of Theo (there aren't excerpts, maybe just a sentences/quote or two) we see a few of the scenes a couple times, get a little recap (sounded a bit like the Julia Roberts movie "Sleeping with the Enemy" with the whole "learn how to swim then pretend to drown to get away" premise.
So many "bookish" themes and ideas, and background info (from the writing, to the selection, to the publication, to the marketing, to sales) ... just interesting from a reader standpoint. And then there's the whole "no two persons" idea showcased, which is so true and interesting.
I really liked it. Granted, I love reading and books, so the basic premise is one that appeals, and it was fun to try and catch all the connections between the stories.
No numerical chapters listed in the Table of Contents ... there are three "Parts" and an Epilogue. Part 1 covers three stories ... The Writer, The Assistant, The Actor (turned audiobook narrator). These were all not only the individual's story, but very much featuring the fictional book Theo and its beginnings. Very interesting to see some of the steps, get some insight behind the scenes.
Part 2 is unique in that it is not a person's story, but press/social media and such. This part here was a little reminiscent of parts of [book:Yellowface|62047984] which also had little tweets, Goodreads reviews, etc.
Part 3 ... there are seven stories, mostly related by the individual reading the book. There's The Artist, The Diver, The Teenager, The Bookseller, The Caretaker, The Coordinator and finally The Agent (played a bigger part than just a reader). One issue I had with the audiobook, is that these "titles" weren't viewable in the TOC, instead the location/date was shown (also good information, but not as informative as the descriptors). The audiobook had a great "conversation with the author (and narrator)" which was great and very interesting, but I kind of felt like that should be something available on YouTube (maybe it is?) and that the written Author'sNote (included in Kindle) should have been included instead. I like consistency between the audio and the print copy.
Some of the relationship connections seemed a bit of a stretch - an attempt to pull the stories together through more than just the book. It was interesting that even though we don't really ever read any of Theo (there aren't excerpts, maybe just a sentences/quote or two) we see a few of the scenes a couple times, get a little recap (sounded a bit like the Julia Roberts movie "Sleeping with the Enemy" with the whole "learn how to swim then pretend to drown to get away" premise.
So many "bookish" themes and ideas, and background info (from the writing, to the selection, to the publication, to the marketing, to sales) ... just interesting from a reader standpoint. And then there's the whole "no two persons" idea showcased, which is so true and interesting.
I really liked it. Granted, I love reading and books, so the basic premise is one that appeals, and it was fun to try and catch all the connections between the stories.