The premise of this book sounded so wonderful, but ultimately it just didn't connect for me. In full transparency, I'm not a big short story lover and I just didn't find that this book had a strong enough thread of connection between the stories to get me past that. I found myself skimming in many areas to finish it out - but so glad so many others had such a great reading experience! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this.

No Two Persons has such an interesting premise, and the individual stories within flowed together beautifully. It opens with Alice, who has an uncomfortable relationship with her family and believes she is meant to be a writer. One day, a boy comes to her mind, and she knows she is meant to write his story. What follows are the stories of several other individuals and the impact that Alice’s book has on each of their lives. Each person takes a different message from the book, which is a fascinating thought.

The individual stories felt like a group of novellas, as we got to know each person’s background and one main thing happening in their life. The characters vary from a free diver to a widower to a bookseller, and there are connections between several of the characters that tie the stories together.

I feel this book would be excellent for someone who loves short stories, since it essentially felt like a group of short stories tied together. I loved the message that books and art in general touch us all in different ways and that we can each find our own interpretation. This book was unique and unlike anything else I have read recently. I did prefer some of the character chapters over others.

Thank you to NetGalley and to St Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a high unique and interesting read. Unlike anything I've read before. Kind of hard for me to get into but super cool.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an e-ARC! This review is shorter than my average reviews because there is honestly not much to say other than… what a MASTERPIECE! I do not know where to start, and am honestly at loss of words but WOW…. Delightful, satisfying, and so hauntingly human, No Two Persons is divided into accounts of ten people’s very different lives and personal experiences, and how they find resonance and solace in one very special book throughout the course of years in very different ways. Not only was this such a unique reading experience, it honestly warms my heart because it reminds us exactly the power that fiction and literature hold: a tool that can bring people together regardless of their backgrounds and differences.

One of the quotes that really stood out to me was, “If you think about it, every story — even the most fantastical — is grounded in things we already know, and every book is about questions that have already been asked.” Yes, I’ll just let you all sit with it for a bit. I personally think it beautifully summarizes the value of every story… that a piece of reality and truth is tethered into every work of fiction, and every story exposes a piece of the author’s own experiences and lives.

Honestly, there is not much I can express in words other than WOW. Definitely one of the best reads I’ve had so far this year, and I truly believe that the only way to really understand what I’m talking about is to pick up the book and read it for yourself!

I think this hit the same emotions as Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow for me, a priority purchase for libraries.

Have you ever wondered how others are impacted by a book that you have read? This book explores that. This book is like nothing I have read before!!

I loved that the book gave a bit of a back story to everyone that was impacted by Theo. This book follows how a debut novel "Theo" leaves its mark on the lives of 9 different people: the WRITER, the ASSISTANT, the ACTOR, the ARTIST, the DRIVER, the TEENAGER, the BOOKSELLER, the CARETAKER, the COORDINATOR, and the AGENT.

We learn that a story can speak to people in different ways and sometimes can change the course of their lives by having a profound impact on them, or the way the perceive things after reading it.

"No two persons ever read the same book." Yet, the same book can powerfully connect with many readers for different reasons. Erica Bauermeister takes us on a beautiful journey following one story from reader to reader.
As the book lands in the hands of another person, we step for a long moment into their lives savoring how the story involves, impacts, then influences them. Each character is a story within a story. And each time I resisted coming to the end of our time together. These people stay with you, long after you've moved onward.

One of Erica's strengths is character building, capturing just the right amount of detail to connect us with them and them to each other.

Just while thinking what I wanted to say in this review, I spent another hour re-reading sections from several stories. Captivating. Just captivating.

This book is unlike anything I’ve read before. Although the story is woven together as one, it reads like nine short stories, but don’t let that sway you. Alice’s book is born again as each person takes in her words and the meaning that was meant for them. Just lovely. Theo will capture your heart too.

This is not my first Erica Bauermeister book, and it won’t be my last.

Highly recommend. Thank you Net Galley for the digital ARC.

I have never read a book like No Two Persons... nor have I ever considered the journey Bauermeister takes the reader on. But! That was absolutely not a bad thing.

I loved this book from beginning to the end. Every single word, every single story, every single experience shared... was perfection.

I loved how Theo was born... the necessity of Wein writing Theo's story. But I loved more the journey that Theo then takes... from the publisher, to the actor who makes his reading of the story simply perfection, to the people who then read Theo... and how it affects each of them uniquely... in the most incredible ways. Yes, there were tears shed, and more than an audible gasp or two... oh my... it was just so brilliantly done!

This book has moved to the top of my First Quarter favorites. This book would be the perfect book club selection... it is so full of food for thought and is utterly discussable!

I highly recommend!

I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the copy of the book which will be published May 16, 2023.

No Two Persons is all about the impact that a singular story can have on different individuals across time. The fictional novel Theo is shared with an assortment of characters. There are threads that run throughout, but the reading experience feels like viewing a series of vignettes that are somewhat intertwined. While it did not give me the magical feeling that has kept her previous book on my shelves for many years it is a unique and interesting story. No excerpts from Theo are shared, which I find a little frustrating, but the essence of the story can be gleaned through the reading. Her writing style is beautiful and descriptive as it always is. This is a book for book people-those who love and read books for either professional or personal reasons. Just as no two people stand in the same river (as the saying goes), no two people can experience a transformative book in the same way. Thank you to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book

This book is an absolute gem! The author describes this special book as being about the serendipitous routes a book can take. This is the story of an author and nine people who are profoundly affected by her debut novel. Some are readers, some are in the book industry, but all are changed in some way by Alice’s poignant novel. I’ve seen this book described as ten short stories, but that doesn’t do justice to the unexpected and satisfying ways the threads of the stories come together.

Above all, this book is a love letter to bibliophiles everywhere. It pays homage to the joy and meaning that reading brings to our lives. It celebrates the way prose comes alive and weaves its way into our hearts, leaving us forever and wonderfully changed. “No two persons ever read the same book,” but many book lovers will find reading this book to be an utter delight!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me an advance copy of this book.

This book...it's been a long time since I finished a book and wanted to turn to the first page and start it all over again. This book is a love letter to books, to readers, to writers, to agents, and to the ways that a book can come into one's life in a myriad of different ways.

Although this is a series of 10 different chapters/characters encountering one book over 10 years and sometimes intertwining with each other, the main character is the book. It was a joy to start a new chapter and meet a new character and you knew that this book was going to show up at some point in their story.
My favorite chapter was Rowan, the actor. Because I have such an affinity for audio books, I loved his devotion to the recording of the book.

This is a fascinating and masterfully done story structure. I'm so excited to have read this before it was released and want to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity and honor to read the ARC. I can't wait for this one to get out into the world and for others to experience the absolute gem that it is.

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister is a book within a book.

This is my first read by this author and have already seen so many raving reviews so I had to request on netgalley.

Well..... no two people read the same book. This is a collection of short stories highlighting the author Alice and her book called Theo. 9 different people read her book.

I definitely enjoyed the first story of Alice but after that it was a slog for me to finish. I could not connect to any of the other short stories and was wanting more depth to each character.

It was a struggle for me to finish unfortunately. But, many others have given praise and 5 star reviews for this.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and netgalley for my copy.

2.75/5 stars

Pub date: 5/2/23

Wow!
The first time I read a book by Erica Bauermeister I had intended to skim the 1st chapter only and ended up powering through it in 5 hours (and I am a slow reader!). Once again, I was sucked into her book and emerged hours later, completely amazed at the journey I’d just taken.

No Two Persons is such a unique and captivating story about the number of people through who’s lives a book passes. Some people are more impacted than others, some are readers, writers, narrators, others never read the book but are changed in some way by it’s presence in their lives anyway.

Bauermeister is a master of telling a story through the senses, pulling readers deep into the storyline so that they experience it on nearly the same level the characters must. She’s done it again with No Two Persons.

Each chapter offers a different character, life, perspective, and literary experience. And the thread that weaves through each of them is a novel entitled “Theo”, which I’m so curious about, but don’t feel that anything is missing in really not knowing what’s in that book.

No Two Persons is a well-paced, engulfing, emotional reading experience that I highly recommend.

No Two Persons comes out May 2. 2023.

*I received a copy of No Two Persons from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The premise and storyline for “No Two Persons” is truly a distinctive one. In the first section of the novel, the reader becomes acquainted with Alice, a budding young writer, who finally gets published the novel that she has been working on for years, one entitled “Theo.” It becomes a great success. What follows are nine sections, each dealing with an unrelated character and depicting how Alice’s “Theo” has affected him/her. Each of these characters is touched and influenced by Alice’s novel in various ways, hence the underlying theme of “No Two Persons”: a work of literature provides very different insight and has a unique effect on a person who reads it. No two persons read and process such a work in the same way.

An interesting fusion of novel and short story collection, “No Two Persons” is beautifully written and gives the reader a look into why we are all so different yet so alike at the same time. It is an exquisite read and truly a great piece of American literature.

Did I just read one of my favorites of the year? I think so.

No Two Persons is a book about a book and the impact it had in a handful of it's readers lives. It has a unique format that might not be for everyone, but I truly loved it.

A book for people who love books and the way they can transform our lives in the most wonderful ways.

I can't wait for this one to release so I can immediately buy a copy for my forever shelves.

Well I loved the idea of this story, the way a book connects so many people, it was such a lovely metaphor for life and relationships.

And while I will always be a big fan of the magical way Bauermeister writes I needed a bit more development of the characters, and because there were so many of them the book felt a tad fleeting.

Great concept, loads of potential, a little stunted in execution.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for an advanced copy all opinions are my own.

I usually love books with multiple storylines but this book either had too many or it just didn’t bring them together soon enough for me. I kept trying to remember who was who through the book for when connections might happen.

I jumped into reading No Two Persons somewhat blind; without really knowing the premise or remembering why the book was in my TBR library. I was a tad confused initially because I was trying to find some connections between each chapter or character besides the fact that they all read or were touched by Theo. Then it occurred to me the whole point was that there was none. No Two Persons is really about how completely different people can read the exact same book and be affected in dramatically different manners. One book, so many lives, so many interpretations, so many outcomes... Once I had my "duh" moment my appreciation for the book changed. What a pleasant surprise! I am glad to not have abandoned it after a few chapters. Another good read courtesy of NetGalley.

This book was too much of everything. Too many storylines, too many characters and too much dialogue. Give it a hard pass