Thank you to #Netgalley for an ARC of The Book of Two Ways.
I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult's books and was delighted to receive The Book of Two Ways. Having read it I am conflicted in how to describe my reaction to it. There is no doubt that as always Ms Picoult has delivered her trademark dilemma in this case what if you made the wrong choice for the right reasons.
Dawn is a death doula. She works with people who are dying and have issues they want resolved or just want to die their own way. She is married to Brian a physics professor and has a daughter Meret. When Dawn survives a plane crash instead of returning home she decides to return to Egypt and the love of her student life Wyatt Armstrong. When Dawn was a student she was studying Egyptology where she meets Wyatt. They both go to work on a dig in Egypt and fall in love. Life has never been better for Dawn but a call to say her mother is seriously ill necessitates her return to the US. Dawn intends to return to Egypt and Wyatt but her mother's death changes her life. Before her mother dies she meets Brian and marries him, without contacting Wyatt. Story so far so good it's when Dawn returns to Egypt in the present that the story becomes more informational than narrative. There is a huge amount of information regarding the eponymous Book of Two Ways, hieroglyphics, Egyptian history and physics. It is all.meticulously researched and so well written that I hesitate to be negative but at times I felt like I was reading a course book for Egyptology or Physics which was not the reaction I was expecting.

I have enjoyed several of Jodi Picoult's books in the past, but I have to honestly say I was disappointed with this one. The premise - of exploring the two ways life could turn out after a significant choice - is an interesting one, but I felt there was too much information about archaeology and Egyptian history. For me it distracted from the plot and I didn't find it interesting - I just wanted to know what would happen to the characters - and it made it a very slow read that became a chore rather than being enjoyable.

I admit to taking a little time to get into this book but that was simply because the subject and location at the start was so different from anything I had read before and needed total concentration. But I am pleased I persevered and have learnt a lot about Egyptian Culture, excavations, hieroglyphics, and also being an end of life Doula. (I did have to do a little bit of research on this).

The book alternates between Egypt and Boston and the main character is Dawn, a death doula living in Boston with her husband and daughter. But before this time, she had career in Egyptology and had also been in love with a man called Wyatt.

She returns to Boston, leaving that life behind as her mother was dying, and so begins her new career as an end of life Doula, helping people to make the final transition, but not assisting. But she never forgets Wyatt and returns to Egypt, rekindles her relationship with Wyatt, albeit it briefly, for he is now engaged to his benefactor, who is paying for the latest excavation. When she finds out she returns home but has to make a choice; which life she wants.

She is returning and her plane crashes; she survives but it makes her question her choices.

The book is sometimes a heavy read, but there are light hearted moments in it; not everyone type of book but overall I am glad a persevered and enjoyed it.

A lovely book. Took a long time to get into. Not one to put down and pick up but once you have some time to read , you are transported. Lots of detail and description.
Not what I was expecting from the author but didn't disappoint.

Somehow Jodi Picoult manages to take a subject that no one wants to talk about and turns it into a beautiful masterpiece. This is no exception, delicately handled and wonderfully written. Another cracking read

I generally really enjoy Jodi Picoult’s writing but it’s no secret that I struggled to get into this one. It follows Dawn, who after surviving a plane crash decides to go back to Egypt where she had studied years earlier. In her real life Dawn is happily married with a teenage daughter but now it seems she is unravelling and seeking something that even she is not sure of. I struggled with the opening chapters of the book as I felt I couldn’t connect to Dawn, or the other characters, and there was a lot of egyptology running through the pages. However, I am so glad I persevered as there was a moment when this book just really connected with me and from that point on I honestly couldn’t put it down. I was enthralled reading about Dawn’s work as a death doula and found these sections incredibly moving and heartfelt. I then was invested in knowing more about Dawn and how she got to where she was when we met her at the start of the book. I ended up very much enjoying this book and I would recommend it!

Lockdown must have affected my brain, as I've just realised that I never actually wrote a review for this book, even though Jodi Picoult is one of my favourite authors!

As usual, Picoult has written a compelling story with a massive 'what if?' question to lead the plot- 'What if I haven't lived my life the way I should have?'- which is a feature in all of her books. I think that the theme of love, opportunities and regrets is especially relevant in the current Covid-19 climate we're living in, in which everyone is evaluating and reassessing their lives.

I've attended several of the author's talks over the years, so know how much research she puts in to each and every book. However, as other reviewers have mentioned, her research into Ancient Egypt is a lot more 'in your face' in this book, so the flow of the story did seem a little less natural than her other novels, which may put readers off.

Overall, 'The Book of Two Ways' was a good read, and I've already bought plenty of copies for my library service. It's not the first book that will spring to mind for me when recommending Jodi Picoult, but I still think that readers will enjoy it.

What a fantastic read from Jodi Picoult, she always delivers. Fascinating historical side to the story. Really liked the main characters. Would definitely recommend

Another powerful, thought provoking book from a flawless Picoult.

Picoult has a way of story telling that draws me in, keeps my attention and has me thinking long after the book is finished and this was no different.

I didn’t find the amount of Egyptology overwhelming as I was genuinely interested and felt each story was relevant to the plot but the science lost me a bit, I just don’t find it interesting but this is just a personal opinion.

I love the concept of The Book of Two Ways, the what if, and how Wins story threaded through Dawns.

I did take a little longer to make my connection with Dawn but this was down to being completely team Wyatt so it took me a while to understand why she left all those years ago and didn’t return. I found myself reading faster to get to the Land sections of the book as I found Wyatt to be a funny, passionate character and I enjoyed the relationship between him and Dawn before and after she left.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend reading and sticking with it, it really is worth it.

I received an ARC of this novel via netgalley and the publisher but this has in no way influenced my opinion or review.

I have loved Picoults previous books and she is such a talented writer but unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me .
It took me a long time to get into the story and at first I thought I was reading more of a text book on ancient Egypt than a fiction novel . The research done is amazing but it’s just too technical and in depth to make for an enjoyable read and as a result I felt like it was lacking plot .. it is very dry and at times boring and I struggled to finish it .

I first started this book, The Book Of Two Ways, in September last year and then began reading it again in January 2021. I have now finished reading this book and I am very ambivalent about the story. I felt overloaded by all of the Egyptology information and felt at times I was reading a dissertation on the subject. I know that it was a main basis of the storyline and it was pivotal for many of the themes and a major part of the story.
I have read many of Jodi Picoult’s books and I am not sure if I would read many more of them because of the depth of research that she goes into when writing her more recent books. Other readers may disagree and felt that the depth of Egyptology content was integral to the storyline.

This book is thought provoking, moving and well written.
I’ve always loved Jodi Picoult as I’ve found her writing style very easy to get into. This book was slightly different due to the various historical references which made the flow a little harder.
I still enjoyed it but probably not as much as her other offerings which means I’ve given it 4 stars overall.

This book had a different vibe to most of her previous but it explores that "What if?" thought which most people would experience. It definitely pulls on your heart strings and is very thought provoking once you finish.

However, I really struggled to get through this book at times. I couldn't connect fully to the characters which lessened my enjoyment, and also I'm usually really interested in Ancient Egypt, but something about how this story was written, it felt really dry and dense in parts.

I loved this poignant, thought provoking and emotionally charged story.
It's moving and I couldn't put it down.
Jodi Picoult is a talented storyteller and I loved the character and plot development.
It's well written, well researched and I love the characters and the story.
An excellent read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I loved the Egyptology parts of this novel as usual the research is impeccable I just didn’t warm to the characters. I don’t think lockdown helped I struggled to get into the story initially but then the author’s usual magic carried me away

I am coming back to review this after several months where I'd been unable to force myself to return to it. I've become quite the fan of Jodi Picoult over the last few years, and find that she writes about tough subjects with sensitivity and a LOT of research. Which is great.

This book, however, was very dry. I felt emotionally distanced from the characters immediately, which wasn't helped by how we were thrown into the middle of events with no build-up or backstory. And I think Picoult managed to make the Egyptology aspect very dull. I am someone who has long been interested in Ancient Egypt - what a rich, complex and fascinating culture - but the pages dedicated to it here were mind-numbing. I soon found myself unable to care about where the story was going.

I love Jodi Picoult, and the blurb of this book fascinated me. A book about life and death and roads not travelled.

However, this wasn’t really the book I wanted it to be. The characters are complex, and the sliding doors plot kept my attention. But there are too many extra side topics going on - death, fate, nuclear physics, Egyptian history - all of which are explored in huge detail.

Now I think these are fascinating topics, but it all felt like too much and it slowed the pace of the book down.

I'm glad I read it and feel I learned some interesting facts from it though.

4.5 stars
This tale is predominately a love story centred around the life of Dawn, who begins the book by surviving a traumatic plane crash. Once she is given the ok and all checks done she is then faced with the option of a flight anywhere in the World, anywhere!.
The question is, as in the title "The Book Of Two Ways', which place will she choose either going home, to her husband and daughter and career as death doula, or to Egypt, to a previous love, life and career as a Egyptologist?.
The book then splits and we get a glimpse in to the consequences of each of Dawns choices.
This book had a different vibe to most of her previous but it explores that "What if?" thought that most adults will have had in life. It pulls on your heart strings and is very thought provoking.
I thought about it long after I had put it down, certainly one I would recommend.
My thanks go to the publishers, author and Netgalley in providing this arc in return for my honest review.

Not my favourite of Jodi Picoult's books. I appreciated that she tried to do something different but I didn't quite work for me. Too much technical information, not enough plot and I found it really hard to sympathise with the main character. I feel like she tried to do too much in one book and had she focused down on just one or two topics then it would have read better.

This, my fourth novel by Jodi Picoult, though immersive, was definitely not my favourite. Dawn Edelstein, a death doula, is on a journey home when the plane on which she is travelling suddenly plunges out of the sky. As her life flashes before her eyes, Dawn's thoughts dwell on the life she could have had if she had chosen to remain in Egypt and finish the project she’s started 15 years ago when she was working as an Egyptologist, and met her first love - Wyatt Armstrong - rather than her current life with her husband, Brian and teenage daughter, Meret in Boston. As The Book of Two Ways explored the path a soul can take to the afterlife, I soon found myself embroiled in this thought-provoking story. With Dawn playing a game of 'What If' she also tries to come to terms with a life she thought she was comfortably settled in.

Jodi Picoult's fluid, smooth prose made it a good book to lose myself in, as she wrote about choices made although I found some of the Egyptian history and the references to Quantum physics rather heavy going at times. Her characterisation of protagonist Dawn as she reflected on what might have been was truly first-class. On the whole, I would say that reading The Book of Two Ways was a rewarding experience.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.