I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
I am normally a massive Jodi Picoult fan. But I really struggled with parts of this book and the amount of Egyptian mythology there was to read about. I ended up skipping sections because that just did not interest me.
As always the human element of the story was gripping and the characters very credible and well thought out. Some very moving and heartfelt parts of the story.
Overall, one of my least favourite books from this author but still enough for me to want to read it to the end. I am so pleased that I did not let the bits I didn’t like stop me from reading on.
For the quality of the writing and the emotional pulls I felt (even a few tears), this has to be given 4 stars.

I know they say perfection doesn't exist, but it's hard to think of anything else to say about The Book of Two Ways but that it is quintessentially perfect. Jodi Picoult's writing is so absolutely stunning that if I hadn't been reading a digital copy, I would have spent my whole time dog-earing pages and underlining passages. I had to pause sometimes, to reread a sentence again and again, marvelling at its acuteness. The novel as a whole is tremendously engrossing, with its fascinating insights into Egyptology, quantum physics, and all that pertains to the subjects of life and death in general. It is beautiful, remarkably relatable and enriching both in terms of general knowledge and metaphysical outlook. A true instant classic!

I love Jodi Picoult's books and I did like the premise of this book.

This is a story about visiting one's past and regrets and at the same time wondering how life might have turned out if different life choices had been made. Dawn's journey to confront some of the questions about her past while dealing with her present was interesting to read. Also, her job as a death doula was kind of inspiring and made me wonder how emotionally strong she must be to actually be able to do that. This book deals with a lot of Egyptology, which unfortunately I have no idea of and was a kind of struggle for me to read as well as to understand.

I have a huge admiration for the amount of research that the author has made to actually write this book. It was extremely well written but I could not enjoy the book as much as I would have liked to because it is not my area of interest. Hopefully, some day later on in life when I do get interested in some of the topics covered in this book, I will be able to re-read it and truly appreciate it to the fullest.

Thank You to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC!

Well, well, well, what do we have here? I guess it's unpopular opinion time again... Sigh. I have loved Jodi Picoult's recent books without fail, so I was fully expecting a repeat experience with The Book Of Two Ways. The blurb sounded absolutely fantastic, and I had high hopes of adding another title to my list of 2020 favorites... But fate had different plans in store, and somehow I ended up having a completely different reading experience instead. I'm not sure if this was just the wrong time for me to pick up this story, but the fact is that I struggled considerably with The Book Of Two Ways. How much? Well, let's just say that I started skimreading long before I reached the halfway mark just so I could be done with the story quicker... And that is never a good sign. I'll try to explain shortly why this story didn't work for me below.

First of all, I have to say that I still love the premise of this story. Both the elements involving Egypt and its past and the death doula element are intriguing topics and definitely stand out in The Book Of Two Ways. BUT. I didn't like how especially everything relating to Egyptian history was incorporated into the plot. There was a LOT of info-dumping going on, up to the point where I felt like I was reading a dense history book on the ancient burial sites and Egyptian history instead. I love learning new things in my books, but this was just way too much for me and really took the pleasure out of reading about Dawn's time in Egypt. The focus on the death doula element was better incorporated, although once again there was some info-dumping going on and it sometimes it felt like the author was trying to explain what a death doula does in general instead of focusing on Dawn's work in particular.

I also struggled with the flashbacks and switches between past and present as well as different locations. Instead of adding dept, it slowed down the pace even more for me as I tried to figure out which Dawn was in the spotlight. I would have preferred clearer boundaries between the different moments in time, as I felt that the different storylines were kind of bleeding into each other and less strong as a result. The writing itself is solid of course, but that is what I've come to expect of her work... But somehow the actual story just didn't do it for me. The fact that I didn't like the main characters, or that the story included one of my mayor pet peeves (cheating) didn't really help either... I seem to be in the minority though, so definitely don't give up on The Book Of Two Ways on my account.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this one. I just could not get into it and found myself skim reading it. There was too much to take in with too much detail onto Egyptology which is usually something I like to read about but it just bored me. It was also very depressing and maybe just isn’t the type of book for me to read at the moment.

Jodi does it again. She manages to find a topic where there’s no simple, clear cut answer. I wasn’t totally convinced at first about this book as it’s very different from her other books, but by the end she had me hooked. How can Dawn ever make a decision like that? What should be a simple answer was turned into what can only be described as an utter heart-wrenching decision. By the end I emphasised with every single character and the ending - brilliant but head-melting all at the same time. Another great predicament from Picoult.

This book was so well written and very well researched. It was such. compelling and interesting read bringing u0p some important themes and topics. I really enjoyed Picoults take on death and found it facinating.
I would really recommend this book, something a bit different but no less enjoyable.

A captivating, meticulously researched book with fascinating subject matter which is treated delicately. However is quite a cerebral read and the pace slows to quite a crawl in sections. Overall I enjoyed the book but it’s not on a par with some of the authors past titles.

Thank you Netgalley

I won’t deny that I’m an absolute Jodi Picoult fan girl. Yet I went into The Book of Two Ways with some skepticism considering Small Great Things left me disappointed. Thankfully that wasn’t the case here.

There is always a moral dilemma in Picoult’s books, and while the same is true in The Book of Two Ways, it’s toned down a bit. The dilemma Dawn has is about love and following your heart. A much softer theme, yes, but Picoult fans will still love it.

For me, this was not really a book about love but a book about death. Due to the vast amount of information on Egypt and physics, we learn a lot about a subject many of us are reluctant to discuss: the fact that’s we can’t avoid death, how to deal with death, what people have done overtime to prepare for death, where we go afterward, our own personal beliefs around death. Believe me, the book is not as morbid as I have made it sound just there. The thought of death triggers anxiety attacks in me and I was nervous that this would happen while reading. However, the topic is death with so well, opening up discussion and dealing with the issue in a frank manner, that I got through and can have some new thoughts on the process of death.

I really thought that this review would be just me discussing how great the Egyptian scenes were and how I learned even more about the period. While this certainly was the case, I just can’t get the topic of death out of my head. Death doulas. Have you ever heard of them? Basically, it is a person who assists in the dying process, much like a midwife or doula does with the birthing process. Fascinating. We lost someone special this year and while there wasn’t a death doula there, the people who provided the medical palliative were priceless. Death doulas are much the same and I hope more people become aware of them.

On a more broad level, I loved the characters and was hooked on the storyline. Another great book from Jodi Picout for me. 10/10!

The Book of Two Ways suffers from being by Jodi Picoult, by that I mean that I expected it to be brilliant & bits of it were, but others not so much. My problem is I have read so many of her books that I found myself waiting for the message, the lesson she seems to drive the novel on with, the characters that you fall for & get behind, they never came. I'm probably judging it a bit harshly as I loved Small Great Things, A Spark of Light & my all time favourite 19 Minutes & wanted more of the same fantastic storytelling.

This is a really difficult book to write about. I enjoyed much of it, but also found it very heavy on Egyptian history, Egyptology & it's surrounding academia, which personally I found fascinating, but felt there was just too much of it for a work of fiction. I also loved that Dawn, the main character, was a death doula, something I had never heard of, but was really interested in. Also I found the fact this is set across two timelines slightly confusing & I found myself wondering what each character knew at each point within them.

The Book of Two Ways is the latest offering from best selling author Jodi Picoult. It takes on the idea of the road not taken , what might have been, and weaves it into a haunting and memorable story that takes the reader from Egypt to Boston and back again. Dawn Edelstein lives in Boston with her husband Brian and their daughter Meret. By and large it is a familiar and comfortable life, though not without its challenges. Dawn works as a death doula, someone who makes the dying process easier by doing almost anything from making funeral arrangements to simply being there when needed. It is a difficult but rewarding job, one that Dawn does well , having discovered a natural affinity for it when she helped to look after her dying mother in hospice. That is where she met Brian, and where they first grew to care for and rely on each other, eventually marrying and settling down to raise their daughter.
Before coming home to Boston to care for her mother, Dawn had a very different life , she was a doctoral student in Egyptology, and was working on a tomb site in Egypt as part of a team of students. One of the other members of that team is Wyatt, also working on his doctorate. While their relationship was initially antagonistic , sparks soon began to fly and the pair become inseparable, at least until Dawn receives that fateful phone call.
A brush with fate and crashing plane force Dawn to confront the fact that she has regrets about the past she abandoned , and despite her love for Brian she still has feelings for Wyatt , sending her on a journey back to Egypt and into the arms of her first love. Is this second chance worth destroying her family for?
Though I give credit to the author for the prodigious amount of research she has done , I have to say that I found my eyes glazing over during the many passages discussing tombs and hieroglyphics, death rituals and rites, it was just too much and I found that those sections of the book dragged. I was much more invested in Dawn's life in Boston ,and was fascinated by her work as a death doula. To be honest, those were the sections that made me at least like Dawn , so many other times I found her actions to be selfish, That being said, the way that Picoult breathes life into her characters, making them flawed and relatable has always been one of her greatest strengths , and as always she does a wonderful job of showing the complexity and innate "messiness " of relationships, not just romantic but also those between parent and child. While not my favourite by this author it is still a powerful and thought provoking tale well told.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher ,all opinions are my own.

I am bitterly disappointed by this latest offering from Jodie Picoult. What should have been a wonderful story about life choices — this path or that path — turned into a bizarre fiction/non-fiction hybrid that simply didn’t work for me.

Already, just a few chapters in, I found myself skipping long pages of dense historical and scientific tracts about Egyptology, trying to find the story. Then, when I finally did, just as I was getting sucked in and warming to the main character Dawn, it was time for another lecture, this time on quantum physics!

I admire the research that Picoult undertakes so that she can write with authority about her chosen subjects, but this was complete overkill. I genuinely wanted to complete the book, as I enjoyed immensely the chapters about Dawn’s work as a death doula. However, the enjoyable parts were so swamped by unfathomable academic treatises that I eventually gave up in despair and frustration about one-third of the way through.

When I buy a Jodie Picoult book, I expect fiction, pure and simple. And this does not fit the bill. I understand that this book might appeal to readers who have an interest in Egyptology and quantum physics, but it just wasn’t for me.

Stunning!

The book of two ways is a book about life and death. It is a book about love.

Do you believe that there is only one right person for each of us? Do you believe that we are destined to end up in the same place no matter what choices we make and no matter what curve balls the world throws at us? Do you believe in the multiverse?

Dawn and Wyatt are Egyptologists who have spent their careers covering the secrets of the Book of Two Ways: a coffin text believed to help the dead find their way to the afterlife.

Brian is a physicist who believes in the multiverse and cannot believe that a science nerd like him has married an attractive successful woman like Dawn.

The book travels through Dawn’s own book of two ways. Will her destination be different or will her two ways lead her to the same place?

A brilliant book that looks at what it means to love, and how the meaning of life becomes clearer as you draw near to death. A book devoted to death sounds like it should be sad but this is a glorious, emotional, yet uplifting look at life, love and death in all its facets.

Dawn Edelstein is a death doula: that's someone who is there for the person who is dying, to make their passage to whatever they believe in as easy as possible and to support their carers. It's a rewarding, caring occupation and Dawn puts her heart and soul into it but this wasn't always her life. Some fifteen years ago she was a graduate student at Yale working towards her doctorate: as an Egyptologist, she was working with her supervisor, Professor Ian Dumphries, on the Djehutyakht tombs at Deir el-Bersha on the Nile in Middle Egypt. Then she was Dawn McDowell: that was her maiden name, the name she published under.

I'm getting ahead of myself because we know that Dawn has been involved in a plane crash - or a 'planned emergency' as the flight attendants called it: there are survivors but some people are dead. Dawn seems shocked but unharmed and the airline offers her a ticket to anywhere: where do you need to go? she is asked. And Dawn knows. She has unfinished business from her life in Egypt.

Being a graduate student was competitive. Dawn was a teaching assistant and her fellow TA was Wyatt Armstrong, an Englishman and son of the Earl of Atherton. It was hatred at first sight for them: nether could bear to be outdone by the other. Both are brilliant in their own fields - and those fields overlap. It's exciting and vivid but Dawn's mother is dying of cancer and she has to return to the USA - for her mother and her young brother. There is no one else: in fact, Dawn's only solace at the hospice where her mother is spending her final weeks is Brian Edelstein, who's there for another patient. They fall into an easy, affectionate and loving relationship and a year after Meret's birth they marry.

We all make decisions which affect the future course of our lives. The plane crash forces Dawn to ask herself about the decisions she has made and what a well-lived life looks like. Jodi Picoult is ingenious here because you'll find yourself confronting some of the decisions you've made and wondering about the other life which you could have led, or is another you actually leading that life now?

I decided to read The Book of Two Ways because of Dawn's occupation as a death doula. Had I realised that much of the story would relate to ancient Egypt (which doesn't interest me greatly) and quantum mechanics (which interests me even less) I might have reconsidered. There was far too much exposition for me and there were times when I felt that I was being lectured. If they're subjects which interest you, then add on at least half a star. That said, Picoult's plotting skills have not deserted her (the timelines will blow your mind) and the characterisation is superb. I didn't completely enjoy reading the book but I'm glad that I've read it.

I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.

For me, Picoult's best book remains Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult.

Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Book of Two Ways draws you in immediately with an intriguing premise: Dawn believes she will die in a plane crash and instead of wishing to be reunited with her husband and daughter, her thoughts drift to the lover she left behind 15 years ago. Narrowly escaping death and making it off the plane, Dawn is tasked with an impossible choice - will she return to normality and her husband, Brian, or risk everything she's built with him to pursue a lost love in Egypt?

The book is structured in a really interesting and clever way, presenting the reader with the two alternatives of what Dawn's life could be. Picoult weaves between the two timelines and creates a vivid picture of Dawn's future if she goes down each path.

I thought I would enjoy the intrigue and escapism of the Egypt chapters the most, but actually, I was more invested in Dawn's life in Boston and her work as a death doula. Some of the descriptions of Egypt and its history were a little dense and longwinded for me, whereas I immensely enjoyed reading about Dawn's work caring for people who are terminally ill.

The novel explores life, death and love in a thought-provoking way and makes you think about all the other paths you could've gone down in life.

Another absorbing and thought-provoking read from Jodi Picoult. The title is something of a master stroke as it refers to both the ancient Egyptian belief in the two ways of getting from death to the afterlife (water and land) and to the dilemma experienced by the book’s protagonist, with the two great loves in her life, her husband Brian and her first love, fellow Egyptologist Wyatt. The book explores themes of love, loss, truth, deception and the (more than) two ways a life can take. It is filled with wonderfully descriptive writing focusing on excavations of ancient tombs in Egypt, with an insight into the complexities of a Quantum Physics, and with the customs and challenges surrounding modern death - huge themes to explore and Picoult mostly does so with her customary skill, but does get a little bogged down in detail at times. Nonetheless, this book was impossible to put down and is as beautifully written, structured and characterised as all Picoult’s previous books.

A story about love and death, about the choices we make and the 'what ifs'

Dawn survives a plane crash, and is left with a choice. Go back to her husband and daughter, or go back to Egypt to chase the life and love she could have had.

The story takes off from BOTH perspectives, both choices she could have made. The reader gets a feel for her strained yet special relationship with her husband, Brian, and the wild love she has for both Egyptology and Wyatt, a man from her past.

The story jumps back and forth between both realities and her past and present. This could have been a confusing and difficult to follow novel, with all the jumping around and all the science and Egyptology, but I found it easy to follow and all the heavy sciency stuff made from some really cool metaphors and enhanced the greater story and Dawn's struggle.

And in true Picoult fashion, there are some unexpected twists waiting at the end to keep the reader on their toes.

Overall, I really loved this one. I loved the subject matter, thought it was really well researched (although what do I know about Egyptology and quantam physics), I enjoyed the mother daughter relationship between Dawn and Meret. There was a lot to unpack in this novel but Picoult executes it perfectly and I would definitely recommend it!

Thank you Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton Publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First of all. I love Egyptology. A lot of people minded this book to be a bit "too scientific" and "talking about egyptian history too much too detailed". I loved that about it. I used to dream to be an Egyptologist when I was a kid. Pyramids, pharaohs and the whole egyptian civilization always felt special to me. And after two trips to Egypt I can say that seeing it in person left me speechless and even more in awe. Its magnificent, its impressing, and its beyond words how one culture can leave such an amazing legacy . ⠀

What I probably loved the most about this book was the authors courage to approach things that are still considered uncomfortable to so many people. How to deal with death is only one of them. How to say goodbye to your loved ones and accept death as part of life, as something normal. I also loved her questioning things most people dont want to admit they think about. Is being content good enough for a lifetime? What would you change if you could? And would you be brave enough to fight for your choices? I felt so many emotions reading this one. Recognized so many familiar fears and doubts. And I felt for the charactes, all of them. They werent always the most likeable, their choices werent always the smartest ones, but they were human. And you could understand. ⠀
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This book deals with a lot. Egyptology, quantnum physics, life, loss, body image, marriage, family, love, responsibilities, regret and courage. You have to be prepared, cause its not a easy read. But it is so worth it. Trust me.⠀

Big thnx to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Hhhm I'm not sure how to rate this book. It is a beautiful story about Dawn and her first love Wyatt but also her now husband Brian and daughter Meret.
There are plenty of twists and turns in it. It is FILLED with Egyptian history and quantum physics which at some points hurt my head! Sometimes a bit too much. But I've got to say the ending confused me. I like a clear ending and I didnt find this clear at all.
I love.Jodi Picoult and will continue to read her books but this definitely isn't my favourite. Thanks to netgalley for letting me preview this book.

Before I start love rambling about how great this book is, let me tell you a bit about me. I LOVE Egyptian mythology (one of my tattoos include the Eye of Horus), the beliefs of Ancient Egypt and I was brought up by a woman who taught us to believe that everything happens for a reason etc. So I absolutely adored every single aspect of this novel from the point of reading the synopsis.

The core theme of this impeccably written novel revolves around not only the two paths of life and death, but also the parallels of life, the question of how your life would have turned out if certain events never came to exist. If you made different decisions, where would fate have taken you? This is the thought process of Dawn, a woman who has dedicated her life to those who are dying, to make it as comfortable as possible. When Dawn meets with a new client who begins to strip away at Dawn's exterior with her questions and own personal experiences, Dawn can't help question where her life would have taken her if she had chosen a different path. As a plane that Dawn is aboard plummets to earth, leaving her as one of the survivors and with a plane ticket to anywhere she wants to go, of course she chooses Egypt, returning to the world she was made to abandoned 15 years prior.

With the use of timeline transitions from Dawn's life in Boston and that in Egypt, not only switching from location, but timeline and the substance that its brought to her life, we begin not only to develop an understanding of Dawn but we also become to understand how she journied to her life destination as well as what she left behind. With her extraordinary penmanship, Jodi tugs the reader into an emotive tale that talks of lost lives, life regrets, while also making you question 'is this where you want to be?' if you could rewind, would you? With this emotionally grabbing hook, Jodi has also immersed herself in the amazing world of Egyptology, as well as the research into quantum physics that create another layer to the novel. Jodi is well known for always creating novels with use of diverse novels that stays with you, while also giving that air of authenticity. For me, The Book Of Two Ways is heartbreaking, life-affirming and magical. She's incorporated shock value into the plotline, with facts and characters who are so three dimensional they could be real. The atmosphere is set from page one, you know that you're going to share smiles, as well as tears throughout.

Okay, I'm rambling, I loved it and I could talk all day about this read. When you read it, or if you have already, please pop over and chat with me! I'd love to see what you thought! And of course The Book Of Two Ways has shot right to the top of my best read of 2020 pile! Is it on yours?