This one is interesting. I love the overall premise of how a single book effects so many different people in different places in their life and in different ways. It explores how a book touches people's lives for years to come. But I also expected all the different people to at some point cross paths, and they don't all do so. In a lot of ways it felt like one of those cameo movies with 20 big name actors that all have little roles with small stories just to get so many names and faces on the ad cover. Like Valentine's Day with Ashton Kutcher and a million others! But those movies typically bomb. I think it worked better as this story simply because it all surrounded a single book. But at the same time, it felt a lot like little short stories, developing a bunch of little characters very quickly (but with shocking depth so kudos to the author on that point) without a complete picture of what happens to them.
Again though, what it mostly showed was the author's ability to dive in to a character so quickly and get a reader invested in them within a very short timeframe. Brilliant in that way.
As a writer and as a reader, I related to so many of the characters, but none so much as the author at the beginning. Wow. That was so well done.
What I wanted most thought was to read Theo, the book all this hubbub is about! That had me intrigued more than anything!

What is going on between the covers

No Two Persons is a captivating and heartfelt exploration of books’ impact on readers’ lives. It relies heavily on the power of a story trope and explores it uniquely. The beautifully woven narratives show how one book affects nine readers, each connecting differently to the story. It’s more than how readers connect to a story through their experiences. It’s also about how authors pour their hearts into their characters and stories. Aspiring writer Alice is at the story’s heart, after experiencing a devastating event, she pours her heart into her book. Her book finds its way to diverse readers, including a homeless teenager, an ambitious free diver, an enraged artist, a bookseller, and a grieving widower.

My Two Cents

Lately, I have read a few books with the trope “the power of a story,” it seems to be a book trend, and I am a sucker for that theme. I read very few books where the characters don’t teach me something, or I see something different than I did before reading it. I loved how No Two Persons explores that while using an interesting and unique structure as we see how readers engage with stories and their impact on different readers. I loved how Alice’s story opened the characters’ minds, and they discovered new perspectives and paths forward.

“When Nola was young her mother used to tell her that books were like a giant neighborhood where every family is different, and every door was open. You can just go on in. Try on a new life. See how it fits.”

I loved the way the stories celebrates the power of literature through the distinct characters, each with their own hopes, struggles, and desires and I enjoyed the way I connected with the relatable and compelling character in some way and like Nora I find books to answer questions and tell the truths that people can’t or won’t say.

I mostly listened to the audiobook and loved the cast of narrators. I loved that a different narrator tells each chapter with a character connecting to Theo. I enjoyed listening to the different voices of each character, and it was easy to engage with the characters while enhancing their connection to Theo. I highly recommend listening to the story.

As a reader, I love books that explore the power of books. This delivered BIG TIME. I loved these interconnected stories - especially since it incorporated everything from the author to the literary agent to the reader. I think my favorite perspective was from the actor turned audiobook narrator - but all of the stories were wonderful.

4.5 stars
I thought this was going to be an obvious book telling me what I already know - that people are impacted differently by the books they read. However, I found this to be more . It’s about not just the impact of fictional stories, but about the inspiration for writing them, about how who we are as readers and how our life experiences influence how we feel about a novel.

Erica Bauermeister takes us into the lives of nine characters and it’s their life experiences that are front and center - emotional and heartbreaking in most of the cases. The common thread is the novel “Theo “ as it comes into their hands in various ways. Sometimes they connect with the novel because they can totally empathize and connect with Theo knowing his pain as their own , as does “The Diver”. Sometimes it’s the astute understanding that life’s “complicated” by a homeless young girl in “The Teenager”. These were my favorites along with “The Caretaker” about a grieving widower, who doesn’t read fiction, but is given the gift of seeing the book through his wife’s eyes.

The writer of the book within this book touched me with her inspiration, the love she had for her brother, the heartbreaking sadness of her dysfunctional family. I love knowing the author’s inspiration for a story. It makes it in many ways more meaningful to me. So of course, I was hoping to learn Bayermeister’s inspiration for this book. I was pleased that she reveals some of that in the Acknowledgments.

It’s easy to know and say that books affect people in different ways. But the reviews we write and the ratings we give don’t always reveal that person’s deep connection as is reflected in these individual stories. This novel will make me wonder when I read a review what there might have been in someone’s life that made them love a story or not love a story or what about me that makes me love a story or not. I can’t quite give it 5 stars as with many collections, not every story is equal in impact. I did appreciate that it’s the novel that is the thread that connects these characters, but also enjoyed the crossover of characters in a few of them, including the author of “Theo.”

I saw myself in these quotes and wanted to share them because I’m guessing many readers will see themselves as well:

“She had to know what happened. She had to know that the boy on the page, a young man now would be okay,”

“Something was coming. Nola could feel it. She wanted to stop reading, but she couldn’t, because she could tell that this was the moment that would rip the boy’s life into before and after….And Nola couldn’t stop reading because she couldn’t leave him there alone.”

“His life had no particular parallels to Theo’s; there was no someone else sees what I’ve been through moment and yet he couldn’t stop reading. He cared about this boy. He wanted him to get free.”

I received a copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through
Edelweiss and NetGalley.

If you love books, you'll love this book. "No two persons ever read the same book" is put into practice here as we follow the author, the agent, the bookseller, the audiobook narrator and so many more characters that are all connected by one novel.
I absolutely loved deep diving (IYKYK) into the different characters and seeing how one novel can effect so many lives. It's beautiful and poetically written as Bauermeister is so clever at. The depth of each character is a gift and it's truly a love letter to readers.

This felt like an ode to books and book lovers showering the reader with the power of a book. This was more like a compilation of short stories of people who read this particular book at different times in their lives and showed how it lifted them up and affected them at the time they read it. As the reader we were given a window of time in each of these characters lives.

This book felt peaceful and loving amongst struggles and turmoil that the characters faced. A book that was creative and different that kept me glued to the pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-copy of this book.

No two persons read the same book. What you consider as life changing or best book you ever read could be total DNF for someone else. Or what you couldn't get into and put away to read later could be everything we ever needed to hear second time around. What you get or don't get out of books depends on where you are at that point.

Book within this book is one of those. It hit everyone at different times and gave them some level of comfort with its existence. I thought after first chapter it would be a story of a struggling author, but no we crossed that bridge immediately and we jump into lives of all other people orbiting around this book.

It was short, sweet, and to the point book. I genuinely did not expect to be taken away this much. It made me happy. It made me hopeful. It made me feel all the feelings. It will have a special place in my heart.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister.

Alice is a young writer full of promise, but hesitant to release her work, despite urgings of her professor. But when she finally has the right, yet tragic inspiration, she is finally ready to let the world read what's in her heart. Through her work we read about multiple people who come in contact with her book at the exact time that they needed to, and how deeply they are impacted by it.

Books like this are just magic, and speak so deeply to lovers of the written word. I felt all of these short stories in my soul. If you need a warm hug when your heart is feeling cold, I highly recommend this one.

Guilt is easier to drown in than any ocean”

“You see this girl? Abigail had said to him the day Clara was born. This is the best conversation we’ll ever have.”

This was my favorite book of May and I am sure this will make my top ten for the year!
I loved how the format of this book was so different from most books. I think it helped going in blind because I was drawn in by the first chapter’s character and then the next chapter I figured was just the next character being introduced. What actually binds all the chapters together is how the book is in each person’s life. It starts with the author Alice, moves to the person who discovered the books amongs the slush pile at the publisher’s office to the actor who records the audiobook. Each chapter is like a short story of that person’s life. My favorite was the author Alices, the teenager, the bookseller and the caretaker. They are all very excellent but those just really stood out to me! The last chapter brings the books full circle.

This was an amazing literary fiction that I could not put down! A definite must read, each character’s story will draw you in more than the last.

Thank you to @St. Marin’s Press for my digital and physical copy. I also listened to some of it with a code provided @Bryantparks that she was able to share with me for

Absolutely lovely - a book for book lovers, these sweet interweaving stories explore how impactful books can be on individual lives. Loved it!

Alice writes a novel that affects 9 different people- a homeless teen, an older actor that decides to change his career, and a free diver. No Two Persons shows the power of the written word and how it can change us in unexpected ways.

My wheelhouse is anything to do with books- writing, book stores, etc. However, I couldn't really delve deep into this book because it switched characters so much. I understand that Bauermeister was trying to show how books can influence different types of people, but I wanted more. I did enjoy finding out how each character was connected.

No Two Persons was a book I dove into, not having read any reviews and not knowing what to expect. I sped through the chapters in two days, and I found it a delight to inhabit the world the author created.

The book starts with the story of Alice. She believes she has a book in her, and eventually she writes Theo. Getting it published is another challenge, but eventually she gets the good news that a publisher has accepted the book. The next chapter skips to a completely different character, entitled The Assistant. Lara previews books in the slush pile for her publisher, trying to find that book which is worthy of publication. As Lara's story finishes, we jump to new characters, The Actor, The Artist, The Diver, The Teenager, and so on. Each character is given a short story of their own, and we find they each have read Alice's book, Theo, and that it has affected them in varying ways.

In 1993 Robert Altman did a movie called Short Cuts, a day in the life of various people in Los Angeles . It was several vignettes of people and their story on that particular day, none of which seemed relevant to each other. But eventually their stories connect or cross paths, even in the slightest of ways. I loved the concept, and a similar idea is carried out here. I loved the reveals showing how some character's lives intersect with another's, usually in a minor way, but cleverly drawing their disparate storylines together. I also liked the chapter format for each character, their story revealing a lot about their personality in a few strokes.

I also enjoyed the concept that no two persons take the same thing away from a book. One of the characters doesn't want her husband to read Theo, because it spoke to her so deeply, and she is afraid if he doesn't feel the same, she will judge him. The book explores how the same book can speak to people in different ways, or maybe not at all!

Finally, Ms. Bauermeister is a talented writer, with sentences scattered like gems throughout the pages. The story itself was good, but it is the writing that makes it rise to a five star read for me!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to preview this book in exchange for an honest review. I can highly recommend it!

This novel is a love story about the power of words, and how stories have the ability to heal, break, empower, enlighten, and forever change the trajectory of our lives.

When Alice writes a debut novel that springs forth from her soul, she has no idea the impact that it will have as it circulates out into the world. No Two Persons tracks this novel and how it forever changes the lives of ten people. The assistant who discovers the manuscript sees a future and hope in it, a homeless teenager learns the power of forgiveness from its words, an actor whose popularity has diminished finds worth in narrating the audiobook, and a literary agent remembers that stories are the dreams of writers, loved and cherished. As these ten people experience the novel, their stories intertwine and connect in unexpected ways.

Quite simply put, this novel is beautiful and the writing is impeccable. Each character’s storyline seems to lift off of the page, with life lessons attached to each one. I found myself immersed in each one, watching how each person changes while reading the book and remembering stories that have forever changed me. This is a character-driven novel, one that takes its time to develop. But any person who loves to read, who has found comfort or hope or acceptance after reading a novel, who has ever thought, “I am not alone” because of a book…this novel will live in your bones and remind you why books exist, why they should be celebrated, and why they should be protected.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy, in exchange for my honest review.

I read this book during a really hard time for myself and my family, and it was this little piece of escape when it seemed like everything else was falling apart around me.

This premise of this book is really interesting. Each chapter is a totally different person, most unrelated, but what connects them is a book. The novel progresses from the creation of the novel, then goes to the publishing staff who chooses the book, to the narrator, then the so on through different readers, and then circling back to the publisher and the author.

It demonstrates how a book can impact people at different points in their lives in different ways. I found some character’s chapters more compelling, and it felt like more of a collection of short stories? With a comment theme threading through each chapter.

I enjoyed reading it, I don’t think it’s the most amazing thing I’ve read, but I’d recommend it for the premise.

“We’re all caretakers of the stories, Alice. Writers are just the lucky ones that get to know them first.”

No Two Persons is a short story collection disguised as an adult contemporary novel. The story opens with Alice, a quiet young woman who has a strong desire to be a writer, but lacks the life experience to write with depth. Then a tragic turn of events sparks something in Alice, spawning the creation of an immensely popular debut novel.

But just when you might think this is Alice’s story, both before and after fame, the narrative switches. A few chapters in and you realize each new installment is less about the person the book comes across, and more about the impact the book had on each one of them.

Just like with any vignette storytelling, some chapters, and some of the individuals, are more interesting than others. Still, in the end, the overlap that starts to emerge is pretty cool to watch unfold. This book reminded me a bit of a movie that came out years ago called Twenty Bucks that followed the path said currency took by way of all the different people who it touched, quite literally. Coming full circle, no two readers will be impacted by No Two Persons in the same way either.

(𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 @𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 #𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.) We all know that a single book can impact the various people who come in contact with it in very different ways. That IS the premise of the connected short stories in 𝗡𝗢 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗦 and author Erica Bauermeister did it beautifully. I’ve never been a big fan of connected short stories, but this group of nine truly spoke to me. They so thoughtfully delved into the many ways a book can impact people’s lives and how so many of us often feel when it's the right book:⁣
⁣
📘 “She’d fallen into stories before. It was why she’d wanted to do this job in the first place, that experience of opening a book and feeling it reach out and grab you.”⁣
⁣
📘 “It’s like eating the best ice-cream cone of your life on a hot day,” she told him. “You want to eat it fast, but have it never end."⁣
⁣
📘 “For Rowan, getting an advanced copy felt like someone telling you a secret while still holding a finger to their lips. The experience made more exciting by its exclusivity…”⁣
⁣
📘 “He’d worked in a bookstore long enough to know that no matter how good a book is, someone will hate it, and they’ll likely tell you. But as long as that book is only in your head, it is still perfect.”⁣
⁣
📘 “I’m just saying that a character can be as real as a person. Or teach you as much, anyway.”⁣
⁣
📘 “...but that was the beauty of books, wasn’t it? They took you to places you didn’t know you needed to go.”⁣
⁣
Bauermeister is definitely a book lover I can relate to. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

NO TWO PERSONS by Erica Bauermeister is an intriguing read which begins with an introverted author, Alice Wein. Subsequent sections deal with other people who have some relationship to her writing, including a publicist and her assistants, the audio book narrator, and a variety of readers (a young, homeless girl, an angry artist, a daring free diver, etc.). Bauermeister has very cleverly, yet subtlety, linked the stories. Each person is impacted by Alice's text in a unique way. In fact, the title conveys the idea that we all come to books with different perspectives and therefore also have different take-aways; it is from this quote: "No two persons ever read the same book, or saw the same picture" (Madame Swetchine, 1860). NO TWO PERSONS will have readers reflecting on their own lives and others. For example, Alice's college professor gives the class a task to go to a coffee shop: "Close your eyes and listen. Write down what people around you are feeling. Not saying. Not thinking. Feeling. Ask yourself: How do you know that? Is it a dip in a sentence? A scrape of a chair?" One of my favorite parts is the description of creating an audiobook and the idea of using colored highlighters and multiple notes to be sure to convey an intended emotion, with "everything held in the voice." I was surprised and happy to see that the author's notes refer to Cassandra Campbell who narrates the audio book for this title as well as James Comey's recently released Central Park West. Enjoy Bauermeister’s writing ["Picking up a book was a decision: I’m going to go away. The exciting possibility: I may not come back the same."] plus her thoughts on the beauty of books: "They took you places you didn't know you needed to go."

I was intrigued by the premise of this book. I love books about books, and this one was really written for book lovers. It's about an author who publishes her debut novel, nine people who read it, and the ways that it changes or touches their lives. I enjoyed each person's story. I was really wanting just a little more from each one. I really got into each individual story and thought we could have had more, but I also thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a really quick read and I think the author did such a great job. I will definitely read more of her books in the future!

Out NOW

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own. My review will be posted on Instagram, Bookbub, Goodreads and Amazon.

Can reading a book change the course of your life?

Alice has been fascinated with the concept of creating books since she was a little girl, & has enormous raw talent as a writer - but has never quite produced the kind of polished story that becomes published. After a life-altering personal trauma, she spends years working on a single story that eventually becomes an actual novel. With its release into the world, her life & the lives of several very different readers are forever changed & connected.

I’m starting to have a new favorite genre, which is books about books. This story is formatted a bit like Olive Kitteridge in that each new chunk of story focuses on one person, but the book (& sometimes people from other segments) appears in each. I really enjoyed how people in the publishing industry were impacted by Alice’s work, & could relate to the late nights described in the new mother’s section. It was fascinating to learn about free diving & ghost towns, and to basically just take a walk through several different lives & see what sort of influence the book had on each person. I have never read anything from this author before, but I own a copy of one of her previous works (The Scent Keeper) & I definitely need to read it.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was totally drawn in by the premise - one book, nine readers. I love thinking about other people reading a book at the same time I am or all the other people who might have checked out my same copy of a library book.

I also really appreciated that this book is written for people who really love reading - there were parts I loved and had to immediately highlight. But ultimately this didn’t work for me because as soon as I would feel like I was really into a particular person’s experience, their chapter would end and it was on to someone else. I wanted more. This may work better if you are a short story reader or know to expect that going in.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.