THE BOOK OF TWO WAYS

When Dawn learns that her plane is about to crash and her Life is going to end in a few seconds & in that instant the only thought that crosses her mind in her moment of death is not God but her best past(her love with Wyatt) before she goes into coma & forms the very essence of the story " The book of two ways" and which nevertheless holds most of the readers with excitement to complete the book. A powerful Love story between Wyatt & Dawn(Olive) & not to forget Brian too( A sort of Love triangle) with indepth information about Egyptology,Ancient history ,hieroglyphics mummies etc. Though the Egyptology, the history,the depiction of pictures etc perhaps may intrest an historian or a research scholar but as a reader I felt distracted and got bored at times too.I also see as much a merit in Brian as a husband as I see in Wyatt as a lover. Moreover that Dawn & Brian lived for 15 long years along with their loving daughter Meerat& to imagine the relationship ending as a couple is somewhat hard to take and more so when one learns that Brian is not the biological father pales the real impact of love between Dawn ,& Wyatt.On the whole the novel didn't inspire me as much as " Small Great Things" where you endup with a "Feel Good" factor though I am awestruck with admiration their for the minute details the writer has put their into the book.

Am and will always be a fan of Jodi's...Luv her well researched and poignant books on diverse topics. Had great expectations on this one as well though it was slightly disappointing when I did go through it. Even though I have no complaints on the plot and the basic storyline, the Egyptian references were too lengthy and and did not add much to the storyline. On the other hand , they did take you away from the real story and by the time you reached back to the same, you would have forgotten what was happening in the first place. Therefore,it was disconcerting at times. It just felt that they were fillers to increase the length of the novel. In an ideal world they should have transported me to Egypt and brought out the excitement of the dig.. unfortunately it failed to do so... therefore a bit disappointed on that regard.

We live life looking forward and understand it looking backward. What if we could preempt two possible futures and choose between them?Dawn is a death doula, and spends her life helping people make the final transition peacefully. But when the plane she's on plummets, she finds herself thinking not of the perfect life she has, but the life she was forced to abandon fifteen years ago – to leave behind a career in Egyptology, and a man she loved.Against the odds, she survives, and the airline offers her a ticket to wherever she needs to get to - but the answer to that question suddenly seems uncertain.As the path of her life forks in two very different directions, Dawn must confront questions she's never truly asked: what does a well-lived life look like? What do we leave behind when we go? And do we make our choices, or do our choices make us?I chose this book because a). I’d never read a Jodi Picoult before and b). The implied Sliding Doors writing style sounded exciting.The parallel narratives build up suspense as they unveil their secrets. In one world Dawn is picking up where she left off – back in Egypt, studying dig sites with Wyatt Armstrong. In another, she is home with her husband, Brian, and Meret, their teenage daughter.The story is a little heavy on History and Science but it helps if the subject interests you. On the home front, Dawn’s life tiptoes around their family issues and provides a deep insight into the challenges of being a death doula. She displays contrasting personalities in each world showing how our circumstances mould us. The author brings the story full circle when the two worlds intersect as Dawn battles an ethical dilemma.Expertly researched and emotionally turbulent, it leaves you wondering whether life is about the journey or the destination.This ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Hodder Books.

Really struggled with this so bored only got to chapter 2.Paid £9.99 on kindle.Very over priced.Looking forward to this too.Usually love her books.Too much detail about egypt, felt more like a history lesson than a novel.Not happy I wasted £10 to end up deleting after 2 chapters.Do amazon really need to charge so expensive for kindle downloads.I know it's a new release but it's not a hard copy.I wish I would have download a sample of book first,But I pre ordered it on the back of authors other amazing books.Her books are usually fantastic.But this one wasnt for me.Sorry jodi. X

Having read everything Jodi Picoult has written, I was so excited when this arrived. I was actually even more excited when I saw that it contained elements of Egypt too.However. There are substantial sections of the long chapters that are taken up with information you would learn on a course about Egyptology. Reading the authors notes it is clear that this book was written for her son, who has studied Egyptology in depth, so nice touch.The thing is I totally understand the need to show that you have done your research, but this element of the book comes across as too educational and moves away from the story. It can feel a bit lazy when an author does this too. "I have a story, it needs some meat on the bones, what can I do...ooh I know I will educate my readers with a history lesson and some cool pictures" It doesn't work.The story in this book is actually fascinating, I really bought into the the two story lines, I liked the relationship that the man character has for the two men in her life, with the twists and turns that go with it. The overdoes of history just distracts too much.Dial it back a bit on the history and just give us the amazing stories covering the great subjects moving forward.

A real letdown. I’m a huge fan of Jodi Picoult and I’ve read all her books until this one. I dislike the characters, the story is more an encyclopaedia of Egyptian history and quantum physics. If I want to study those subjects then I’ll enrol on a course, but I found that by the time I’d trawled through the lectures I had lost total interest in what the story was about. There’s no question, Jodi definitely did her research. However, I stopped reading halfway through because I just thought ‘Life’s too short ‘!I will normally persevere with a book, especially when I spend £10 on it, but this time I’ve abandoned it. I was so disappointed as I’d been so looking forward to reading this book. Next time I will download a trial before I buy it.

Very very difficult to do a critique for this as there are many levels to the book in breadth and depth. But I will try. First, on a visceral level, did I love it. Honestly, no, I didnt. Why? Well, while there is absolutely no doubt of the immense amount of research, that went into the book, I fully recognize this and it's awesome, but knowing so much about Egyptology, putting all those stories and so much of that vast knowledge into the book, doesn't make for me, a wonderful story, there is far too much information which I accept the writer wants to impart to the readers but it felt like a text book admittedly on subjects, Egyptology and quantum physics that I only have a passing interest in. Can Jodi Picoult write ? No doubts at all. She is a wonderful writer She can write wonderfully well... and draw us into her characters. But here it's too heavy with academic research that for me detractedfrom the story. it's thought provoking and raised many questions about life and death and missed moments and whether we can ever go back in life and rewrite our history. "There's really no such thing as a wrong choice, we don't make decisions. Our decisions make us.". Do they? I don't know. Lucky Dawn, I thought, to find two different but equally amazing men to love and adore her. What the book implies is that love comes at a cost, and people whatever our choices get hurt. It's a long book, and, for me, doesn't take off until about 22 percent in but it did make me reflect on my life and choices, it's a bit Sliding Doors meets Egyptian history, and the focus on death and live in so many forms doesn't make it a lighthearted read. Heavy, slow by turns and an inconclusive ending but well written and makes you think. Not everyone s cup of tea, but a challenging, .... For me .... Read.

If I'd wanted too learn about Ancient Egypt, I would've read a book written by an expeert and not a Jodi Picoult novel.predictable. No proper ending. Definitely not worth the £9.99 I spent.