I have been a fan of Jodi Picoult since I fell in love with “The Pact,” so an opportunity to read an advance copy of “The Book of Two Ways” was like getting an opportunity to open Christmas gifts before Thanksgiving. The novel has an intriguing premise—Dawn, a death doula (did not know such a profession existed) is on a flight when she is told to prepare for a crash landing. In those final moments, she flashes back to a part of her past; given a second chance, might she have done something differently?

Dawn survives and when the airline provides her a ticket to her next destination, Dawn has to decide whether she wants to return to her husband and fourteen-year-old girl in Boston or head off to Egypt where she can finish an archaeology project (understanding the “Book of Two Ways” and how ancient Egyptians believed that there were two routes—through land and water—to get to the afterlife) she had started more than a decade ago—and possibly reconnect with her first love, Wyatt.

“The Book of Two Ways” allows Dawn to choose both options, and Ms. Picoult, the master storyteller she is, finds ways for those two different paths to intertwine. The novel also flashbacks to when Dawn first met Wyatt all of those years ago and explains why the two of them did not get their happily ever after. The sense of realism and poignancy Ms. Picoult brings to her writing is all there—I was in the sweltering desert with a younger Dawn as she tries to make sense of the art and symbols included in these tombs just as I was back in Boston as she interacts with her daughter (with an intriguing twist), husband, and makes a difference helping those terminally ill make the transition to the afterworld. (And yes, if you think of her choice in career had anything to do with her earlier studies of a student, you are correct).

What frustrated me as a reader was how Ms. Picoult, who always does her research, oversaturated the novel with so much information—Egyptology, hieroglyphs, quantum physics (Dawn’s husband is a physicist). I had to stop reading and pull myself out of the story just to look up some of the terms and vocabulary the author was using for better comprehension. Because of that, I found myself skimming sections, and you do not skim sections of a Jodi Picoult novel, but reread and underline favorite phrases. This novel still has those memorable parts—when Ms. Picoult steps away from sharing information with her reader—I am so engaged that I am right there by Dawn’s side. Her ability to articulate human nature through her characters and their choices can still tug on the right heart strings. You have to muck your way through all of the additional information, but the final destination is still the same; a story that will resonate with you long after you finish the final page.

Thank you to Jodi Picoult, Random House Publishing Group, and Net Galley for a chance to read and review this novel.

Another satisfying read from Jodi Picoult. I especially enjoyed it because of the subject matter which centered on Egypt. I give this book a solid four stars.

Jodi Piccoult has done it again! The Book of Two Ways tells the story of Dawn and how she is pulled between her past and her present. The story is incredibly written and at times had me sobbing because I was so involved and connected to the characters. Another aspect to this book is the information it gives on Egyptian history. If this isn't for you, skim through the facts because the story of Dawn is worth it to keep reading. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

I loved this beautiful book, which is about roads (or lives) not taken. Dawn is a mother to a young daughter and a wife to Brian, but years ago, she was an Egyptologist, excavating tombs with the handsome and charismatic Wyatt. She leaves Egypt, and Wyatt, abruptly to attend to her dying mother at home, and then meets Brian. She marries him and never goes back to Egypt or the man she left behind. Fifteen years later, when Dawn is in a plane crash (no spoilers: this all occurs at at the beginning of the book) and facing possible death, it is not her husband she thinks of but her previous love Wyatt.

The book then follows Dawn in her two lives: one at home in Boston with her husband and child, and her lost past life in Egypt, where she returns to see Wyatt and the life she left behind as an Egyptologist and excavator of Egyptian tombs. Dawn is two different people with the different men (Wyatt even has a different name for her) and she must choose one life, one man, and one person she wants to be going forward. The idea of the two possible lives is based on an ancient Egyptian text, The Book of Two Ways. I was fascinated by all the Egyptology in this book, the hieroglyphics, and the way the excavation of the tomb is used as a beautiful metaphor. There was definitely NOT too much Egyptology in this book for me - but then, I have always been interested in Egypt and as a little girl I made my parents take me to see King Tut. This book renewed my interest and I did some heavy Googling to find out if the mummy king was real (fictional, but based on another real king) and the text of the Book of Two Ways was real (very real).

This is a dense book with a lot of information (even some quantum physics!) and it will take a significant investment of your time and heart, but the rewards are great. It sounds wild, but somehow Jodi Picoult always makes me feel like I have learned something huge about life, and I leave her books feeling enlightened. In this case, the book had a lot of pretty deep things to say about life and death, and the unfinished things we feel we need to do or see before we die.. It was also beautifully validating of the fact that we all have paths in our lives that we did not take that perhaps we will always wonder about. The structure of the book and the several big reveals are just beautifully executed. I have some mixed feelings about the ending but it was lovely and fitting.

Thanks to NetGalley, Jodi Picoult and Ballantine Books for the advance copy of this transcendent book in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC of The Book of Two Ways in exchange for an unbiased review.

First of all, I must state that I am a Jodi Picoult fan although I despise that her books are frequently categorized as Women's Fiction. Actually, I hate the category for any author since writing and storytelling do not appeal based on gender but rather on quality. Seriously, why are Picoult books listed as Women's Fiction but not Chris Bohjalian's who usually presents a female protagonist? I've never seen a Men's Fiction category. Men can enjoy Picoult books and women can enjoy a James Rollins novel.

The Books of Two Ways is a bit of a departure of Picoult. Here she employs a single point of view, Dawn, which really allows readers to share Dawn's doubts and grief, her uncertainties and passions. This novel is far more a character study than Picoult's more recent novels like A Spark of Light or Small Great Things, both of which dealt with weighty political and social issues as seen through the eyes of multiple narrators. The single point of view is very effective since Dawn's turmoils involve lost love and sudden career change. Her view of her life and her future change with a single phone call - her mother is dying.

Presently, Dawn is a death doula, a person who assists a dying client go gently into the good night. Dawn makes sure that last wishes are met and the myriad financial and legal arrangements are made. She holds hands and listens to both the dying client and the devastated family members. Married with a daughter, Dawn is happy but a possible indiscretion by her husband sends her down the road of "What if?" Picoult brings readers to Dawn's earlier life when she was a Yale graduate student studying Egyptian iconography. Immersing herself in archaeological digs, Dawn's attraction to fellow student and competitor, Wyatt, was intense. But then, that phone call.

Picoult obviously researched ancient Egyptian culture and she seamlessly includes information about art, architecture, religion. She effectively draws the connections between people, even those separated by thousands of years.

Can Dawn go back? Should she? This book took me days to read because Dawn's turmoils are so clear and wrenching; I didn't want any of the characters to be hurt or disappointed but life is messy and bumpy. A great read.
#NetGalley #TheBookofTwoWays

I LOVED this book. I've read all of Picoult's books and think this is by far the best. As with all of her books, the level of research and knowledge that went into the development of this story was outstanding. I particularly enjoyed how the characters and themes throughout the book and as I read, it led me to reflect on my own life and choices. I think I will continue to think about the characters, the story, and the questions that arose in the days to come. I highly, highly recommend this book!

I loved another Jodi Picoult book so I was very excited about this read!! The book was enjoyable, but predictable. I liked how the book discusses modern day issues and also told a love story throughout. However, it should come with a warning that it is very heavy on Egypt and Physics. Both of those topics are not something that interests me and I found it sometimes hard to understand of those sections boring.

Thanks to Random House Publishing - Ballantine and NetGalley!

The Book of Two Ways
A Novel
by Jodi Picoult
Read an Excerpt
Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine
Ballantine Books
General Fiction (Adult) | Women's Fiction
Pub Date 22 Sep 2020 | Archive Date 11 Jan 2021

I am a fond reader of Jodi Picoult. Thanks to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group-Gallentine for the ARC of this book. I found this book to be rather wordy and not up to par with the others Jodi has written.
Just not the book for me at this time, I guess.

What a disappointment! Jodi Picolt is one of my favorite authors. This read more like a text book! I tried skimming those parts, but eventually gave up reading this book. I have several advanced degrees, but right now I needed to escape rather than be educated.

Normally I am absolutely love books by Jodi Picoult. For some reason, I just could not get into this one. I think it was more the subject material than anything though. Could have very well just been my mood as well.

First of all, thanks to NetGalley for the ecopy for my Kindle.
I really wanted to like this book but with too much history of Egyptology plus the explicit sexual content, I couldn't give this book a better rating. And the ending just ruined the entire book for me.
Sorry, I usually enjoy the author's books......

I enjoy Jodi PIcoult's books very much. And while this book was no exception, it wasn't quite what I expected or hoped for.

The first issue I had with the book is the extensive Egyptian history. It's clear Picoult did her research, but it was almost as if she felt the need to insert everything she learned into the book to make it worth her effort. There were huge passages, pages long, describing Egyptian history, tombs, hieroglyphs, etc., that I didn't feel added anything to the story. Their insertion was often in the middle of a scene, and because of their length, when we got back to the scene, I'd often forgotten what was happening.

The second issue I had was that the description is that her "two possible lives unspool side by side." this gave me an expectation that we were going to see two different lives and what could have happened if she'd chosen A or if she'd chosen B. But I didn't feel that was what happened. I felt it was more like she was following a single path that had a few Y's in it where she had to make a choice, but ultimately, nothing really changed.

I also felt that Dawn's character, perhaps because of the "two paths" nature of the book, felt a bit underdeveloped. I never really felt like I was getting to know her. It was always about what Brian did/said/thought, what Wyatt did/said/thought, what Meret did/said/thought. She was always thinking about these other people and their actions, words, or needs, but we never really got to know her and what she wanted or needed. It never seemed like she made a choice based on her own thoughts, feelings, wants, or needs.

Which brings me to my final issue with the book, which is the ending. It literally ends in mid-conversation, with no true resolution. I'm guessing this was meant to leave it to our own interpretation, but there were enough possibilities here that I would have preferred a solid ending that gave me a clear picture of what was going to happen.

Despite the complaints, however, it was a good read. It is interesting to contemplate what might have happened if, at a turning point in our lives, we had chosen B instead of A. Where would we be? Who would we be with? Who would we be? How different (or the same) would our life be? And this book, to a degree, gives you the satisfaction of seeing that play out, of seeing this is what happens when you choose this, and this is what happens when you choose that.

Final verdict: It's a good read, but I strongly suggest going in with no expectations based on the book description.

Dawn Edelstein has two men in her life: one from before and one after. The dividing line between the two times is the tragic death of her mom, the moment that everything changes. She had been a doctoral student working as an archaeologist in Egypt. She was in love with fellow archaeologist, Wyatt. After, she was forced to return home to care for her brother. This was when she found comfort in the arms of another man, Brian. She married Brian.

After she survives a plane crash, Dawn starts questioning her choices. Did she choose the right man? Did she choose the correct path in life, one that will make her life a well-lived one?

As always, Picoult’s characters are so very real. They carry us through Dawn’s life before and after. They present all of Dawn’s choices to the reader. Picoult portrays love in such an authentic and realistic way! It is oftentimes heart-breaking to read.

The Egyptology details become somewhat cumbersome to wade through, however. Most were very intriguing and sometimes the stories paralleled what was happening in Dawn’s life. However, it was oftentimes a bit too much!

This story is almost impossible to put down, nonetheless. I could not wait to reach the conclusion to find out what would happen. Sadly, I was disappointed at the very end. Still, this is a very worthwhile read, one that has value and makes you consider your own life’s choices.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Fifteen years ago, Dawn was in the tombs studying to be an Egyptologist, her dream job. But when her mother calls to tell her she's terminally ill, Dawn gives up her dream to care for her and eventually raise her young brother. Her long hours at her mother's bedside prove to herself and others who praise her how good she is with end of life concerns, so she starts a new career as a death doula. Now, after a near death airplane crash, Dawn finds herself questioning the direction her life has gone since she walked away from her dream and her first love with fellow Egyptologist, Wyatt Armstrong. From there the story forks in two ways, what might have been if she'd stayed in Egypt, or if she returned to her complicated marriage with her husband and daughter in Boston.
There were a lot of details of Egyptology and physics that showed massive amounts of research but left me a bit lost. But overall the story was really good and shows why Jodi Picoult remains one of my favorite authors. Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was a little different than Jodi Picoult's prior books, when tend to focus on a social issue told from various perspectives. In this novel, Dawn, a death doula and former grad student in Egyptology comes to a crossroads in her life following a plane crash. It is told in two parallel storylines where you see what happened to bring her to that point as well as what happens after the crash.

There was a LOT of discussion of Egypt, the gods, heiroglyphics and coffins as much of the novel takes place in Egypt and much of the dialogue in Egypt focuses on the work on a dig and what is in the coffins.

Personally, the Egypt part didn't do much for me, but I liked Dawn and the other characters.

Another spectacular odyssey from Picoult taking her in a new direction. I adored her previous two novels for the commentary on social issues they brought. I adored this one for the Egyptology, for the sheer amount of knowledge and research and mythology poured into this.

This took an immensely fascinating but usually unsatisfying trope and did it justice. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this justice, but it was justice done. When authors have two alternate storylines based on a choice a character makes, it frequently ends up becoming two books, but Picoult deftly wove the two together, making information we learned in one timeline important to conclusions reached in the other.

I absolutely adored all the academic topics this touched on. It’s quite readable despite how informative it is, and Brian’s lectures on quantum suicide left me thinking just as the archeologic methods detailed kept me enraptured. And I loved Meret’s name. I loved the limestone post-it note. I loved the thought and care.

This depicts love so phenomenally. Picoult’s greatest strength is in her characters, and her books are so fabulous because her characters face dilemmas that have no easy solutions and they feel like people so real they could be ourselves. This is evident in how Dawn reacts and relates to her family, from Brian and Wyatt to Kieran and Meret. And a death doula! What a job.

The weakest aspect of this was the plane crash itself, which seems not to weigh on Dawn at all. The timeline of the beginning kept me quite confused. <spoiler>Though this is explained later on, the copy for the book places too much significance on this.</spoiler>

I should really delve into Picoult’s backlist. And this simply reinforces my belief that anything Jennifer Hershey edits turns to pure gold.

This book was very heavy on Egyptology, which may be off putting for some. However, it was made for some highly interesting additions to the story.
I found Dawn's profession as a death doula to be incredibly enlightening as well. It highlights the growing movement toward death positivity.
The back and forth format left me confused for a while but it worked out well for the atory in the end.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book - it was a nice break from the reality of quarantine.

Book of Two Ways was a beautifully written and well researched story with multiple layers of intensity including Egyptology and its Book of Two Ways, quantum physics, and the multiverse parallel universe. On a less intense level there were Irish superstitions dispersed throughout the story which added a bit of levity when needed. On an emotional level the characters dealt with the lost of lives and loves, second chances, fat shaming, and acceptance of the choices made. There was also a story of love: a mother’s love for her daughter and the people who have impacted Dawn’s life- before the death of her mother and after it.

Everything about this story was compelling. I enjoyed the characters, their careers, the different timelines, and settings. I found Dawn’s job as a death doula interesting. Her interactions with her clients, especially Win, were filled with compassion and heartache. I also loved how the story evolved, especially when the past and present converged.
Overall, the storyline was not only thought provoking and engaging but also educational.

An ARC was given for an honest review.

This took me a bit to get into - the Egyptology context was interesting but bulky in a way as someone who doesn't understand it. Picoult does, however, weave it into the narrative naturally so eventually it became second-nature.

After recently finishing another novel with a similar storyline (one moment sparking two paths and the story hops between them), I wasn't super excited to read another - but Picoult readers know that she injects her own twist on everything; this was no exception. I thought I knew how it would end, but (of course) I was wrong. Her characters are real and flawed and human - there was one scene that I thought was kind of contrived, but overall she creates a story with genuine emotion.

*My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m honestly a little torn in reviewing this because, on the one hand, I applaud and admire Picoult for undertaking such a venture in writing this. The amount of research, organization and thoughtfulness that was put into this is mammoth. Jodi Picoult consistently reveals her skill as an author and her willingness to try new things. For those reasons, this is worthy of 5 stars.

On the other hand, I found some of the descriptions, particularly those involving physics and Egyptology, to be overly wordy and reminiscent of a non-fiction book. I feel like this will definitely appeal to certain readers, as the descriptions directly parallel what takes place in the plot. However, I am sad to say, it did not hold my interest and I found myself skimming through those parts.

With that said, I highly recommend this all of Picoult’s fans and those of fiction in general as it is definitely a tour de force in writing and should not be overlooked.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Ballantine Books and Jodi Picoult for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.