No Two Persons is a story about how one book can change someone’s life. It follows the lives of Alice, the author, and nine people who read her book, Theo. It details how Theo changed or helped change each person’s life (for better or worse). An emotional read, No Two Persons will get under your skin and make you wonder: How many lives will this book affect?

The plotline for No Two Persons initially follows Alice, the author of Theo. It explains her background (distant parents, death of an older brother from an overdose) and how she wanted to write but felt she couldn’t. It wasn’t until college, and an observant professor, that Alice finally throws off her parents’ expectations and writes Theo. After that, the plotline goes from prepublication (when Alice was searching for a publisher) to her ARC reader to her readers and then back in a circle to the publisher.

I won’t lie and say I wasn’t affected by this book because I was. I found a connection with every single character. The ones that stood out to me the most were the new mother (who worked for the publisher), the free driver, and the homeless teenager. I could see a bit of myself in each of those characters.

I liked that the book did interconnect the stories. I didn’t realize, at first, that they were interconnected until almost the end of the book. Then I briefly reread, and a lightbulb went over my head. This book also went full circle. It started and ended with Alice.

I would recommend No Two Persons to anyone over 21. There is language, mild violence, and sexual situations.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Erica Bauermeister for allowing me to read and review No Two Persons. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

This book is essentially an interconnected book of short stories, with the connection between each one being a fictional book within the book. We see the writer of the book, the literary agent’s assistant who finds it in the slush pile, the actor who records the audiobook, and various readers who come in contact with the book in some way, from a homeless high school student to a grieving widower to a bookseller, and more. I could tell right from the start of this one that it was going to be a special book, and I was right.

It’s a love letter to readers and writers about the power of fiction and how, as the title suggests, every person experiences a book in a different way. But it’s also just an incredibly poignant book about people. Each chapter/story is not just about that person’s experience with the book, but an incredible portrait of who they are as a person. The characters are so distinct and so real, with each one coming to life more in 30 or so pages than most authors can do in an entire novel. And I happily would have read a whole book about any of them - this book left me wanting more not in the sense that it felt underdeveloped, but in the sense that I loved the characters so much that I wanted to know more about what was going to happen to them - and o absolutely loved when we got a glimpse of them in later stories. It all came together so beautifully in the end and I finished the book in tears.

4.5 stars

Definitely a unique and wonderful read. It will be one of my favorites.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Alice has lost her brother and she is having issues processing her grief. She has dropped out of college but her college professor keeps pushing her to write the novel he knows is inside her. And when she finally puts Theo on paper, she doesn’t realize how many lives it will change.

This story follows a book. Yes one book. And it touches so many lives in so many ways. I have never read a book like this. This book melted my heart. This is why I love book blogging. A story means so many different things to so many people. The author nailed this fact with such beautiful prose and meaningful content. To say I loved this book is an understatement! You will have to read this and tell me what it meant to you. This is a novel I want to discuss!

Talk about a production. You can see all the narrators names above. And each and every one did an excellent job. I love when there is a production of narrators. It really makes the story come alive.

Need a novel built just for a reader…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

All I can say is wow!! I loved this book about a book and how it impacted 9 different people. Each chapter, about a person who interacted with Theo, was like it's own book. It's been awhile since I was lost in a book and this one did it for me. It sucked me in. So incredible!

A book about a book - a bookish book, about the part of a book‘s life - an author who writes, an agent‘s assistant sifting through the slush pile, the agent, the audiobook narrator, a bookseller, and several readers who come to this book - some eager, some reluctant, some just because someone else read it … what does this book mean to people and what can it do for them, which role can it play ? This book ponders on this question in beautiful vignette- like outtakes of the different people’s life. In a poetic an beautiful way, with lush prose and an eye for detail and the tiny things that make a person. I loved reading this beautiful book.
I had access to both the advance listener copy and an eARC and I am so glad I had both since the full cast recording with all those different voices was fantastic but some scenes were so heartbreaking and beautiful that I went back in and read them to highlight sentences !

This delightful, heart-warming, brilliantly constructed novel revolves and deepens around a diverse group of people who all encounter the same fictional novel, Theo, within the novel. It opens with the author, Alice, whose writing talent finally finds purchase in her inspiration imagining a small boy Theo growing up in a house with a tough father. Each chapter of Bauermeister’s book then unfurls around nine diverse people’s interaction with the book, with the book speaking to each based a formative place where they find themselves in their lives. As each story gets told, we get a further reveal of the plot of Theo.

Each story has a powerful arch: from a free diver hitting the limits of his endurance to a high schooler trying to hide her homelessness and lack of parents. There’s an artist struggling to express herself to a bookseller who unexpectedly stumbles upon love to a disabled actor who regains acting through becoming an audio book narrator. Each character emerges changed or transformed from their interaction with the fictional novel, in ways that leave you buzzing inside with happiness for them and with a resounding faith in the power of novels to impart wisdom to our lives.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister portrays the journey of a novel and the impact it makes on the lives of a variety of individuals. Each chapter is the story of a person who is either involved in the creation of the book titled Theo or a reader who somehow encounters the book and experiences a connection unique to their own life experience. Just as in novels with dual timelines, I eagerly anticipated a "goosebump" conclusion to the story. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy to read and review.

I loved the concept of this book. It’s basically a collection of short stories with one book a central connecting piece. Alice’s section was my favorite. I found myself not wanting to finish this book toward the end because I didn’t feel connected to the story. It felt a little disjointed and boring at times. I can see how people would love this though! It just wasn’t my favorite.

“That was the beauty of books, wasn’t it? They took you places you didn’t know you needed to go…“

Well, this book was a surprise.

I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but a collection of what amounts to short stories, wasn’t it.

That is not to say I didn’t love this work, because I did. I loved the uniqueness of using Theo as the touchpoint for every story. I loved the variety of settings, particularly the free-diving. I loved the manifold characters. Actor, artist, diver, child, bookseller, widower, agent, and a partridge in a pear tree. Everyone made an appearance.

My biggest frustration and disappointment involved the general lack of character/plot resolution. I wanted to know what happened to everyone, and, if I’m honest, my Disney Heart wanted one unifying scene, where all the characters coalesced. Or, at least, a Return of the King inspired set of epilogues. Sometimes you want Scope for the Imagination. Sometimes, you want everything to come, wrapped in pretty paper and a ribbon.

I’m so excited to know that this new-to-me author has a back-catalogue.

7/10

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for this truly unique ARC.

No two persons can read the same book! Ain't that the truth. Everyone can take their own opinions and thoughts and it can be entirely different from someone else. Personally, I have a hard time following multiple POVs but the whole concept of the book was very interesting and I enjoyed it!

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister

Published: May 2, 2023
St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Pages: 301
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Erica Bauermeister is the NYT bestselling author of the four novels including The Scent Keeper, The School of Essential Ingredients, Joy for Beginners, and The Lost Art of Mixing. Her newest novel, No Two Persons, will be out in May of 2023. She has also written a memoir, House Lessons: Renovating a Life. Before she began writing fiction and memoir, she earned a Ph.D. in literature and co-authored two guides to books: 500 Great Books by Women and Let's Hear It For the Girls. She lives in Port Townsend, WA and loves to talk with book groups.

“We can never truly know another person…”

Alice wants to find the words inside her and thrust them into the world. Madeline wants to find the next prominent author and publish them. Juliet wants to find romance and happiness. William is trying to process his grief and is on the verge of losing himself. Kit wants to find someone who can keep up without losing time. Nola has a secret that she must protect or risk losing everything. Tyler wants to get lost in the dark, vastness of the ocean, where he feels at home. Miranda is looking for inspiration and a way to avoid her mother. Rowan once had it all; his good looks opened doors for him until he noticed something small. Lara yearns for a connection that inspires her.

This was an unusual book, but the way the story was told was interesting. We walk through moments in several characters' lives, getting glimpses into who they are and their journey.

I enjoyed how everything was full circle by the end; I found that clever. The characters were all interesting and well-developed. It was a unique concept how the book connected everyone in various ways.

This is more of a slow-burn type of literary fiction, but it is interesting and keeps me engaged. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded and how each character played a part in bringing everything to life.

Sometimes, it’s hard to describe a book without spoilers. Erica Bauermeister’s latest novel, No Two Persons, is one of those books. She says the title comes from a quote. “No two persons ever read the same book, or saw the same picture”, from The Writings of Madame Swetchine, 1860. No Two Persons is for those who want a story about books and words, and the power of both to change lives. It’s not one story, although characters pop into someone else’s story for a minute or two. It’s the story of a writer, the book she had to write, and nine readers who all saw something that touched them in the book. And, I’m guessing that each of us who reads Bauermeister’s book all the way through will be touched by a different person.

Because I can’t say too much about the story, I’ll mention a few things I noticed. Most of the characters are identified only by their first names, and their role, “The Writer”, “The Caretaker”, “The Bookseller”. We know Alice Wein’s name, the author of the book, but we don’t discover that until later in the story. We know the agent’s name who accepts Alice’s manuscript, but we don’t “meet” her as a person until late in the book. But, we don’t know the last name of the new mother struggling to read manuscripts at home who discovers Alice’s story in a slush pile. There’s the handsome actor who reads the audiobook of Alice’s book, Theo. Most of the time, it’s their personal connection to Theo that is important. We don’t need to put a last name with the character.

Alice is introduced in 2010 where she lives in Maine. We learn about her loss, and her mentor, and her final attempt to break through and write the book her professor always knew she was capable of writing. The novel takes us to 2019, and we have a glimpse of Alice’s life. But, she isn’t the focus of the story. It’s her book that offers something different to nine readers. I had two favorites, and yours might not even be the same. One was Nola, a high school senior when we meet her, a girl who reads Theo in class. My other favorite is Kit, a bookseller in Maine. Kit thinks of himself as a “book yenta”, someone who matched books and customers.

I can’t say much more without spoiling this story. I can quote a passage. “Your first read of an extraordinary book is something you can only experience once.” There’s a lengthy passage about fiction and history that makes so much sense, but you need to read it for yourself.

If you love the thought of how books can transform people, you might want to read Erica Bauermeister’s story of “The Writer”, “The Assistant”, “The Teenager”, “The Caretaker”. Watch for the subtle connections between characters. You might identify with a role in No Two Persons.

I love a well-crafted book that comes together on multiple levels as the story builds, and this one was as close to perfect in weaving a tapestry of theme and character as I’ve ever read. Erica Bauermeister expertly entwined the interactions of her main characters as she explored how one novel can impact individuals in different ways. She starts us off with her fictional author crafting her own novel, and then in each chapter slowly reveals the essence of that novel as it impacts the individuals of different backgrounds and ages who interact with it. I fell in love with the book more and more with each new character and their own unique and powerful story.

I am SO glad I read this book. It is one I will re-read often, and Bauermeister is an author I will seek out.

Thank you to St. Martins Press, Netgalley, and the talented author Erica Bauermeister for early access to this lovely story.

I really enjoyed this book! It is a nod to booklovers everywhere and books about books is a storyline I love to see over and over again. And that is exactly what you get here- nine separate times actually! Each chapter is a unique story about a character who was touched in some way by the fictional book, "Theo."

The formatting of the book is part of what makes it so unique, but for a reader who LOVES character-driven novels, this style was both a blessing and a curse. I finished the first chapter and wanted more about the writer. And then I finished the next chapter and wanted more about the assistant, etc. I mean, it's not my fault each character was written SO WELL that I craved more.

Although each character had his or her own unique experiences that didn't even closely resemble my own (diver, widow, famous actor, etc.), I found the emotions expressed to be more than relatable I'm not one to annotate books, but if I was, this book would be a rainbow of colors and sticky tabs.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my eARC in exchange for an honest review!

No two persons is a winner for anyone who loves reading and books. Interconnected tales follow the life of a book and how it affects each reader. A young woman writes a novel after suffering a loss. An editor finds it and takes a chance and it spins off from there. Each person who reads it is struggling with something and each finds an answer, consolation or solace within the story. The tales connected nicely and it came to a good ending.

Alice writes a story that becomes a widely popular book after enduring some hardships during her teenage and young adult years. The book impacts a wide variety of its readers in many different ways, as they read Alice’s story and connect with her character.

I loved this book. The reader gets Alice’s story to begin with, which gives you insight into who she is as an author and how her story came to be. Then we get other characters who are touched by Alice’s book in some way. Each one is facing a different challenge and Bauermeister makes these people so full and real in one chapter that you are hurting and loving them within one chapter. Her personification is amazing in such a short amount of time. The stories are easy to connect and empathise with. I adored how the power of reading and books is a theme that is woven throughout. Obviously all of us on bookstagram can relate to that.

Rich and substantial. The writer and readers of one particular novel, and how that echoes and resonates through each of their lives. I loved this beautiful, thoughtful book, adorned with the exquisite details I've come to expect from Erica. Don't miss it.

This is the second meta book about, well, books and readers of said books I’ve read in the last couple of weeks (the last being Taylor Adams’ thriller The Last Word) and I’ve got to say I’m not hating it. This one is maybe a little more relatable simply because every time I go to write an ARC review I can see what other reviewers think of the same book I just finished reading and sometimes it seems like they read a totally different book than I did. That’s the thing about art, though: It’s subjective. Art is meant to be seen differently by every person that views it. Books are meant to mean something different to everyone who reads them.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. It’s subdivided into ten different parts, one for the writer of the book, and then nine others for readers of the book and how it affected their lives. At first, this format is enjoyable. Somewhere around the sixth part, though, the format (and the book, really) starts to become less entertaining and begins to lose steam and impact. In my opinion, it begins to quickly lose the resonance that came through so clearly in the earlier parts. Did I like the ending? No. It was wrapped up too neatly for my tastes. It seemed too serendipitous for a book that is full of messy people and messy lives.

That doesn’t change the facts: No Two Persons is a beautifully written book about a very simple and relatable concept that happens every day. It’s about people from different walks of life who somehow all pick up the same book in different ways and it affects them all differently, which causes them to do what all of us do every day: Think, make choices, change plans, make decisions, move on, maybe even get inspired.

And, hey: Maybe you should pick it up, simply because you’ll get something different out of it than I did. That’s the whole point anyway.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All views, ideas, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Literary Fiction/Women’s Fiction

What a unique idea for a novel! A book within a book. This is a collection of short stories that are all connected in some way to the first chapter. We are initially introduced to a young author who writes a novel called Theo. I usually steal away from short stories but I was intrigued and I can honestly say I was not disappointed.