I appreciated the author's attempt here, but maybe I have read too many similar stories recently with the 'Sliding Doors' theme - what if the character did X instead of Y? There's been a few on the market recently and maybe I am finding this story line played out. I do think avid Picoult fans will embrace this one!

Oh, I am gutted. There are so many reasons to read this one. I’m lucky that netgalley allowed me to read the ARC. Well written, beautifully crafted, and researched brilliantly, this is one for the ages. My heart wishes it were daylight so I could take a long walk to think about all of the things that happened here. Trying to post this review, tears in my eyes, is difficult. I may wait a month and read it again. My heart, oh my heart.

Just two years ago, in my review of Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things, I related that “when a friend and former library co-worker basically sniffed her disapproval when I told her I liked Jodi Picoult’s books, our friendship was changed forever.” I worked for several years in public libraries and tried not to be judgmental of people’s reading preferences, or to let the fact that someone thought Danielle Steel wrote great literature to negatively impact my opinion of them. But really, I don’t get it. I know JP is writing for a mass market – and sometimes her resolutions might be just a bit too neat for snooty readers. But I’ll admit right up front, I am a sucker for a well-plotted story that makes me think about a social issue or two along the way.

Now that I’ve finished reading The Book of Two Ways, I keep thinking about it. So that’s a good thing. On the other hand, the protagonist, Dawn Edelstein, really annoyed me near the end of the book…so not such a good thing. I learned a LOT about Egyptology. Good thing. A bit more than I wanted to know…hmmm, not great. So I’m still not sure how to rate it…maybe by the time I finish this, it will all be clear to me?

Dawn is on a plane that crashes, and she is one of the few survivors. Just before the crash, thoughts flashed through her mind…surprisingly, not of her physicist husband Brian or her daughter Meret, but of Wyatt. Fifteen years earlier, Dawn was a grad student in Egypt, working alongside Wyatt on her doctorate from Yale when she got a call that her mother was dying. She flew home, cared for her mother in hospice (where she met and fell in love with Brian), then found herself in debt and responsible for her young brother. Unable to continue her studies, she married, had a child, and became a death doula – a career she has been dedicated to for years. When the airline offers the survivors of the crash transportation to anywhere they want to go, she heads for Egypt rather than home to Boston. At the time of the crash, she’s nearing forty: “…I blow my nose and look in the mirror. I’m at the age where that’s a surprise.” She’s clearly looking to answer the “what if?” question as to what her life would have been like if she had taken another path.

There are two huge subjects, each related to one of the men in her life: Egyptology and physics. TBH, in the Egypt chapters, there was a boatload of detail (including drawings) about pharaohs, coffins, burial, excavation…you get the idea. Her thesis was about the “…book of Two Ways, the first known map of the afterlife.” The detail is voluminous (Jodi definitely does her research) and isn’t particularly dense or difficult to understand. For example, talking about festivals, she writes “…mostly, they would get drunk and have sex—it was like Coachella, every time the Nile overflowed.”

Her husband Brian, the physicist, is a terrific character. He clearly adores Dawn (although not always expressed exactly as she would like). There were several passages about his field (quantum physics) that could have been dull and beyond comprehension for the average reader, but he explains the concepts in a way that is clear and concise. I loved it, even reading several aloud to anyone who would listen (LOL, being in lockdown, there’s only one target at this time! But my husband agreed about these passages.

In addition to Egyptology and Physics, the third topic is death, and there are many opportunities to discuss various aspects of death as the Dawn’s chosen path led her to her career as a death doula. Working with a client, she is asked what happens after death and responds “I have no idea. … But then again, in utero, we probably can’t imagine any other existence. And once we get here, we don’t remember that.”

Discussing the fear of death, Dawn wonders “Why are people so afraid of dying? Well, that’s easy. Because it’s hard for us to conceive of a world without us in it.” And“…we do a shitty job of intellectually and emotionally preparing for death, How can you enjoy life if you spend every minute fearing the end of it?”

Dawn believes that “No one knows what to say to someone who’s dying. Everyone is afraid of saying the wrong thing. It’s more important to be there than to be right.” (This totally resonated with me personally, as I have seen it be very true for a person diagnosed with a serious illness.) She counsels caregivers as well, providing good advice when she says there are “…five things we need to say to people we love before they die…I forgive you. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. Goodbye.”

The unique thing about the book is that as her story unfolds, Dawn’s two possible futures are told side by side, leaving her character (and the reader) to confront the questions she’s never truly asked: What makes a life well lived? What is left after we die? Are we making choices, or do our choices make us who we are?

I don’t do spoilers, so I won’t go into her dilemma or the way it is resolved in the book. I’ll just say that even though I was SUPER annoyed with Dawn, this will be great for book clubs, will be loved by Jodi Picoult fans, and will likely earn her some new fans. Five stars, and thanks to Random House-Ballantine and NetGalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review.

I am conflicted on how I feel about this book. Of course, I loved that there was an element of ancient history which is not something normally found in any form of contemporary fiction and Jodi Picoult is such a wonderful writer but I didn't feel like the story got the conclusion I was desperate for. However, it fits the historical context of "The Book of Two Ways" so perfectly. I feel like it will take me weeks to process this book but of course, I couldn't put it down.

You always know with a Picoult book to expect the unexpected and this one certainly fulfills that aspect. I enjoyed her background of the culture and study of Egypt, although at times I did get lost in the details. I also loved the introduction of the services of a death doula, a job I had never heard of. The characters were well developed and easy to identify with in the book. I love a good fiction novel which also educates and thus one truly fits the bill. Thank you Netgalley and Jodi Picoult for a wonderful book.

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Piccoult
I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult, read most of her books and liked many of them, especially the earlier ones. I was excited to get The Book of Two Ways from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
While I appreciated the thorough research that went into writing this book both on Egyptology and being a death dula, this book just was not for me, especially in the middle of a pandemic. I couldn’t deal with all the morbid issues surrounding death and I didn’t care for the minute detail of Egyptology. So, overall I can only give three stars to this novel, all of it for the research.
Thanks NetGalley, Random House and Jodi Picoult for the advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of The book of Two Ways. Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors . I was so excited to read this book and tried very hard to enjoy it but i couldn’t. This book felt like a boring history lesson. What wasn’t history, was a depressing story with characters I couldn’t warm up to. The only one I liked was the main character’s brother who, unfortunately, only had a small part. Too much was centered on death and dying. It was not a book I should’ve been reading this after taking care of my mother with oral cancer. Skip this book.

Thank you to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for an e-arc of this title in exchange for my honest review. I will start by saying that I am a huge fan of the author. I had forgotten the premise of this book when I started reading, so I was surprised to find that a good bit of it centered around Egyptology, another subject with which I'm fascinated. I particularly enjoyed the little drawings in the book. Jodi's books always made me think, which was the initial draw, but the latest I not only am left pondering life, I also learn things. I never knew a death doula was an occupation, but what a worth field. Dawn, the main character, is at a crossroads in her life. She'd left her first love in Egypt when her mother was terminal. This led to a life she hadn't expected, but one in which she was happy. Or was she? Sometimes we fall into points of our lives, and we can't help but wonder.." what if we'd taken the other path." This book explores just that. I enjoyed the characters, the storytelling and the entire book. The ending was a bit of a surprise, but after I'd thought about it for a while, I'm not disappointed. It worked. I highly recommend this book. Do not miss it.

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. I’ve always admired how through her stories she tackles controversial topics and thought provoking issues without a heavy hand in leading the reader to think or believe a certain way. She does her research on whatever topic she takes on and I feel like I’m learning something new. The Book of Two Ways follows that format and explores the thoughts and feelings that many long time relationships experience when the what if I had followed “that” path instead of the one I choose comes up. What if you had a chance to see what it is you left behind? Would you stay?, would you go back..? How much does having children impact your choice? I loved the premise of the book and once again I came away from Picoult’s writing with a bit more insight and review of my own life. The one problem that I had with this book was that it was over researched with regards to the world of Egyptology. I skimmed sections when it started with some of the more scientific details of hieroglyphics and tombs and Ancient Egypt people. That’s a first for me in reading her work. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of the book.

This is far and away Jodi Picoult's best! She deftly weaves the threads of multiple love stories with the mysticism of ancient Egypt and quantum physics, Picoult's narrative draws you deep into her main character's head as she struggles with the trajectory of her life as a talented scientist to mother and wife and back.

Picoult shines in The Book of Two Ways!

What I love about Picoult is that she is such a diverse and eclectic author. Her stories are always SO different. I really enjoyed this book!

This book reminded me a little of Before the Fall, but Picoult had a completely unique voice. This book was about a plane crash. After surviving the crash, Dawn is of course shaken. But it's more than that. She has two choices. Go back to the life she has always known.. or return to a life that could always have been.

A powerful and intense story.

Highly recommended for bookclubs!

I have enjoyed some books by this author and thought this might be another one of those. However, the plot was too dark and distressing for me. The Egyptian death aspect was not something I enjoyed reading and certainly would not read again. I had trouble keeping track of what was going on. If the reader loves this author, give the book a try. If not, a pass.

Jodi Picoult is a literary mastermind. She amazes me with each novel she produces In this creation she is into Egyptology, a topic which I had little knowledge of and less interest in until she started weaving me into her story. Of course, she does all this fascinating research for all her endeavors and then intertwined the past and present to form an unforgettable love story. I am forever can of Jodi Picoult's books.

Once again, Jodi Picoult takes and interesting topic and explores it thoroughly through the lives of her characters. This time she takes on Egyptology and both their death culture and ours, and how our views on death affect our lives. For me this was a subject near and dear to my heart as a few years ago I had a near death experience when I had an infection that went septic and I almost died. I remember the feeling of lifting out of my body, watching the nurses piling ice packs on me as I floated near the ceiling directly over the hospital bed, watching them work to bring my temperature down. I felt peaceful and was ready to go to the light, but the call of my husband and children and the life events I would miss with them was pulling me back, so I went and have never regretted it.

In the novel, Dawn is a death doula, working with those in hospice to have a better death. She works closely with the sick and their families to fulfill their last wishes, plan their funerals and help the ones left behind. She is married with a teen daughter, although she has never forgotten her first love Wyatt, who she met when she was studying Egyptology, excavating a tomb 15 years before.

As the novel starts, Dawn is in a plane crash and survives, but rather than going back home goes to Egypt to hunt down her first true love. The novel progresses in a series of flashbacks telling the story of her relationship with Wyatt, her loss of her mother and raising her younger brother, meeting her husband at her mother's hospice and how she became a death doula and her daughter's life. The twist that you knew was coming at the end changes everyone's life, but is what you were hoping for all along.

Thank you to the author, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an ARC of this incredible novel. I know it will stay with me for a long time, as it will with anyone who has had a near death experience. Every time I read a new Picoult novel I'm amazed at how she continually outdoes her last novel. I'm never disappointed!

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult. Was so looking forward to a new Jodi Picoult book. Reading the first part I developed an acute case of spring fever. I kept looking out the window wanting to be outside wishing the bell would ring so the lecture would end. It was well researched as with all Ms Picoult's books. The story had an interesting premise but there was too much technical information and not enough on the characters. Guess this is a book of two ways, either you going to like it or not.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I have been reading Jodi Picoult for years and am always excited when she publishes a new book. This book was good, and well researched as usual, but I found myself skipping over alot of the technical details. It just didn't hold my interest. I wanted to get back to the story! For that reason, I would give it 4 stars.

I had to wait a full day before writing this, as I couldn't think about the book without welling up with tears all over again. I cried myself to sleep after the first day of reading (which I only stopped because I had to charge my Kindle! argh!) and I had to really figure out why that was my response. I think this book was/IS extremely cathartic for me...so many things made me cry with that ugly, snotty kinda tears. And I ached for my dead mother in a way I didn't think I needed to do at this point. And I was sent back to all of the things I used to want to do and the ways in which I saw my life playing out. And, it was just a useful thing...to be able to look at all that and how I live today and who is in my life and what I do and all of that stuff and realize, maybe more clearly than I ever have, that I have a good life. And I worked hard for it. And I am content with it. And I am so stinking lucky.

Yep. That's a Jodi Picoult book for ya: makes me see myself and grow and all that shit! Heh heh. I adored this book and will carry it with me for a very long time.

I wanted to love this recent book by one of my favorite authors. I didn't. I felt like part of the book read as a textbook and I felt myself skimming sections. I felt the emotional story wasn't very plausible and I wasn't as riveted as I am usually by Picoult's words.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I wanted to love this book so badly as Picoult is one of my favorite authors. This was definitely not her best work. At times, it read more like an Egyptology textbook than a novel. Picoult usually writes such amazing, deep characters, but the three main characters in this book all fell flat to me. Normally, I would have been outraged by the ambiguous ending, but with this one I didn’t care because I didn’t really care about Dawn, Wyatt, or Brian. The death doula parts of the book were by far the best. Picoult could have left Egypt out entirely and had a much better book.

For someone who makes a living through death, I haven't given a lot of thought to my own.

I have heard that when you are about to die, your life flashes before your eyes.

But I do not picture my husband, Brian, his sweater streaked with inevitable chalk dust from the old-school blackboards in his physics lab. Or Meret, as a little girl, asking me to check for monsters under the bed. I do not envision my mother, not like she was at the end or before that, when Kieran and I were young.

Instead, I see him.

I'm a HUGE fan of Jodi Picoult's novels, and last week was my first time hearing about her new book, The Book of Two Ways. Surprisingly, I received an email inviting me to read it for my blog a day or two after that, which I was very excited about.

Official synopsis:
Book Review: The Book of Two Ways, by Jodi Picoult
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light comes a riveting novel about the choices that alter the course of our lives.

Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She’s on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: Prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband but of a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.

Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, their beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, in which she helps ease the transition between life and death for her clients.

But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a career Dawn once studied for but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made.

After the crash landing, the airline ensures that the survivors are seen by a doctor, then offers transportation to wherever they want to go. The obvious option for Dawn is to continue down the path she is on and go home to her family. The other is to return to the archaeological site she left years before, reconnect with Wyatt and their unresolved history, and maybe even complete her research on The Book of Two Ways—the first known map of the afterlife.

As the story unfolds, Dawn’s two possible futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried with them. Dawn must confront the questions she’s never truly asked: What does a life well lived look like? When we leave this earth, what do we leave behind? Do we make choices . . . or do our choices make us? And who would you be if you hadn’t turned out to be the person you are right now?

As always, Picoult does extensive research for her books, and this one is no different. Half of the book takes place in Egypt, where Dawn and her ex-boyfriend Wyatt worked fifteen years ago, as a grad student—half a lifetime ago for Dawn, who now lives in Boston with her husband, Brian, and 14-year-old daughter, Meret. Dawn no longer studies Egyptology; instead, she's a death doula, helping clients who are in the last stages of death.

I want to say more but to say more would be to spoil the minor twist, which I didn't realize until the beginning, and which pulled a This is Us fast one ... and that's all I'll say about that.

I will, however, say this: I haven't been reading as much as I used to lately, and I devoured this book in a matter of days. The only negative thing I can say about it is that the end does stretch on for a bit, but when it's a book by Picoult, I don't mind as much, and eventually everything was wrapped up.

Ideal movie casting:
Dawn: Natalie Portman
Wyatt: Gerard Butler (but with an English accent)
Brian: Johnny Galecki
Meret: Millicent Simmons, from A Quiet Place

4 stars out of 5.

Click here to pre-order - this book will be out on September 22, 2020.