The Book of Two Ways is an interesting look into life choices and Egyptology. There's lots of information about pharaohs tombs, how they are discovered, what happens after the discovery, interpreting hieroglyphics and how the academic world is involved. The main characters are compelling and move the story along. There are two timelines that tell Dawn's story. One is Dawn as a graduate student transferring to Yale to join a group already working on a tomb near Cairo. The second is Dawn as a wife and mother who works as a death doula helping terminally ill patients and their families. There are relationships in both lives that are important to Dawn. The ending was a surprise. The reader is left wondering which life Dawn will choose.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from Ballantine Books through NetGalley.The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
#TheBookofTwoWays #NetGalley

The idea of "what if" you had a different life is an interesting one. I enjoyed the characters however, the history and history of Egypt was a bit too involved for my tastes. Not one of my favorite Jodi Picoult books.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

***I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for a fair review.***
I love a good Jodi Picoult book as much as the next reader, but the direction of her writing this time around left me baffled. The Book of Two Ways begins with an interesting premise- the survival of a near death experience. This prompts archaeologist Dawn Edelstein to re-examine her choices, ultimately giving the title of this book a double meaning. See the reader might wrongfully assume the focus of this book will be about the comparison of her current life to the one she once had. I suppose you could say it ultimately evolves into this as in fairness, I didn’t finish the novel. The problem I had was how abruptly the reader was thrown into the story without any real regard for backstory beforehand.
Presumably Dawn has reservations about the life, namely, the man, she left behind. However the reader doesn’t get to know her current life at all before being thrust into her old existence. I suppose at some point Picoult might work backwards and explain, but this wasn’t even the most disappointing aspect of the story.
While I give her kudos for picking a different location (Egypt) and a different profession (archaeology) then most contemporary novels do, after reading a bit of this, I have to believe there’s a reason for the avoidance of this topic. In a nutshell, it’s boring. It’s a very narrow topic that without prior interest or curiosity, ends up reading more like a laborious text book rather than an alluring work of fiction.

Picoult should have tried to walk the line a bit more, but with the archaeological subtext being so strong, it was hard to find the actual story that ironically, was somewhat buried amongst the remains.

Jodi Picoult never disappoints with any of her books! This book is one that many can relate to as we often wonder about the choices that we make in life.

This book, like the vast majority of Jodi Picoult books, was awesome. It does take a little work, though, as the heavy details on Egyptology and quantum physics are likely over most of our heads. The story centers on Dawn, a death doula who questions her choices and is exploring whether she picked the right path in life. Like many of us, she has a lost love out there and a near-death experience as the book begins gets her thinking about what might have been. The book explores 2 scenarios, Dawn staying with her husband, with whom she worries she has fallen out of love with, and child; or revisiting that first love and starting over there. The chapters alternate through those 2 scenarios.

Picoult is so good at taking things that seem disparate and tying them together gloriously,, and this book is a great example of that. The way she attributed the principles related to both ancient Egyptians and quantum physics into the day-to-day life things that Dawn experienced was masterful. It was clear she did extreme research in these areas and I was impressed at the knowledge she demonstrated in these areas. The characters were flawed but likable and felt very human and real. I am not super comfortable reading about death but the way Dawn's experience with death in her personal life as well as in her job was just really well done, but poignant and almost pleasantly uncomfortable at the same time.

My one complaint about the book was that it did go into extreme detail in the Egyptology stuff and it was boring and/or confusing at times. Overall, I didn't think that level of detail was necessary to have told the story well. The way it all came together at the end made all of that worth it by the time I got to that point though.

Overall, I'd recommend this book, even if it it seems like a lot when you first start reading. It's both a clever and memorable story with characters to which you can relate. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WOW! Jodi Picoult never fails to amaze me -- with her creative stories, unpredictable yet realistic twists, and the incredible amount of research she puts into every single story. This was very heavy on Egyptian folklore and mythology, which was fascinating and definitely added to the story. It is abundantly clear how much research Jodi Picoult puts into her work beforehand and it pays off. I love the idea of multiple universes for every choice we have ever made. There is a trigger warning for people who have recently lost a loved one - death is very prevalent in this story. However, I found it to be more cathartic than painful because it was handled in such a sensitive way. Another win for Jodi Picoult - a must read author!!

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I fell right into this story from the very first page, anxious to know where the journey would take me. Whether in Egypt or America, Picoult knows how to take the reader into the story so deeply that they can feel the sand in their toes. I finished the book in a single day.

3.5 stars

Jodi Picoult combines Egyptology and the work of a death doula in her new book, The Book of Two Ways. She even throws in a side helping of quantum physics and multiverses. The story is emotional, wise, and engaging but also sometimes a bit dry and hard to follow.

Main character Dawn McDowell is currently a suburban wife and mom with a unique job as a death doula. Meaning she helps people navigate the last few months (or more) of their lives, and helps families afterwards. But, it’s not what she expected her life would hold when she was a graduate student. And, like many women, Dawn and her husband struggle to stay connected with each other and their teenage daughter.

Twenty years earlier, Dawn studied Egyptology and spent part of each year digging tombs in the desert. She had a world-renowned mentor, and was in a friendly competition with a fellow grad student. Her path forward seemed mapped out. But then life got complicated, and everything changed on the dime of one phone call.

Picoult weaves together a story of both time periods, and the diverging paths Dawn traveled. More importantly, she explores what happens when the paths converge again, because of a spontaneous directional adjustment. Picoult functions as professor, medical explainer, and writer in order to blend these disparate subjects into Dawn’s life. Like reality, it’s sometimes unclear, but in the end I was glad for the journey.

My conclusions
Having just read a book about Cleopatra and ancient Egypt, this was an unexpectedly perfect pairing. What the other book lacked was details about real life in Egypt. And while this book (and Dawn’s fictional research) focused more on death protocols and beliefs, it also invited me into the culture. Honestly, I wish I could pull out just the Egyptology parts and read them again. Because I’m sure I lost some of the copious details among other aspects Dawn’s story.

Mostly I liked Dawn. I can relate to life changes and to regrets, having lived now for over fifty years myself. Her commitment to a specific educational path and future is typical twenty-something behavior. I appreciated her intense focus. And yet, I know that many of us change course. I understand the pull of family obligations like Dawn’s. So all of this was relatable and interesting.

In the course of the book, Dawn sorts through feelings for her parents, her brother, two different romantic interests, and even her daughter. It’s a lot. And rather than moving chronologically, Picoult shifts us back and forth across time. This was a both an advantage and a challenge. It made for some twists, which prove the author’s storytelling chops. Still, the constant shifting sands frustrated me, especially at the end.

All in all, this is a solid story of a likable character. I appreciated the learning opportunities, and Picoult’s willingness to embrace the facets of death and grief. I’d recommend this to book clubs for its many possible discussion topics.

Acknowledgements
Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, and the author for the opportunity to read a free digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Let me start by saying that I have read several of Jodi Picoult's books, but I find that her writing style had changed for this book and her last one.
For me, novels should be entertaining, but unfortunately this book reads like a lesson on tombs, hieroglyphics and life in Egypt during that period. It did not hold my attention and was really too technical.
A shame because I was excited to read it and it did start well, but then turned into a history book.
Not for me, but maybe someone who has a great interest in Egypt and the tombs would find it fascinating.

I always love books that make me smarter and Jodi Picoult's books always teach me something new! I'm always incredibly impressed with the amount of immersive research she puts into each of her novels. The Book of Two Ways is no exception!

The Book of Two Ways is a story about the path in life not taken - and how things would have turned out if we had the chance to take that path.

The main character, Dawn, is a former student of archeology as well as a current Death Doula. She has spent her adulthood studying death, whether it was through ancient Egyptian digs or guiding clients in hospice through the end of life. When her world is turned upside down, Dawn has the opportunity to discover what life would look like if she chooses her current life with her husband and teenage daughter or chose to return to Egypt and the man and life she left behind.

This book made me think a lot about life and death, and whether given the opportunity to choose the path not taken, would I want to return to see how it all would have turned out.

I highly recommend picking this book up. Jodi Picoult does it again!

I was thrilled to see a new book from one of my favorite authors! Her books always makes me question "what would I do?" MC Dawn Edelstein experienced a life altering change and in a split second she is forced to chose going home to her family in Boston or to reconnect with Wyatt at an archaeological site and their unresolved history, and maybe even complete her research on The Book of Two Ways, the first known map of the afterlife. This is a beautiful story that reminds us to live life to the fullest with no regrets even if it may hurt or is not the obvious. Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an ebook ARC. This is my honest review.

Publication Date: September 22, 2020

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

I feel like gushing but I will try to articulate instead of just saying over and over, "Oh my gosh this is such a good story." It is, but let me try to explain with a little more detail.

A few years back I watched a show called Fringe. It was about parallel timelines, in each timeline were the same people but they lived very different lives in their own universe. It was really interesting. The Book of Two Ways is also about parallel timelines but in less of a sci-fi way.

Dawn McDowell-Edelstein has just survived a plane crash. And as she saw her life flash before her eyes she was surprised about who she saw. As she walked away from the crash she makes a snap decision to go see this person she hasn't been in contact with for 15 years. He represents her other life, the one she had to give up. In her first life, Dawn was on track to be one of the top Egyptologists in the field but was derailed by loss. In her first life, Dawn had fallen in love with someone she thought she hated. In Dawn's now life she is a death doula, a wife to Brian, and a mom to Meret. In Dawn's now life she is fairly content until just recently. She and Brian have been so steady for 15 years but recently something has shifted and this plane crash is just another event in the unsettling of things in Dawn's now life. Ever since she has known him Brian has talked about the dual timelines he believes people can live. It's a running joke between them but recently it feels like maybe she should be living in that other timeline.

The Book of Two Ways is a guide for the afterlife in Egyptian lore. It's painted inside the coffin and Dawn was writing her dissertation on it, in her first life. In her now life she is still studying it but in a very different way. As a death doula, she is helping dying people and their families navigate the ways of death. A modern-day bok of two ways...kind of. One of her newest clients stirs up Dawn's first life and she travels toward it - she has to know, before she lives much more life, if the first life was a figment of her imagination or if it held reality. So she walks away from a plane crash to get on another plane and flies to Egypt and Wyatt Armstrong. They haven't seen nor spoken to one another in 15 years, she's not even sure he will be at the dig site but returning to Egypt feels right. Wyatt is there, the dig site is just as she remembers - with a few modern improvements, and she asks if she can stay and work there - to remember what her first life was like.

Going back and forth between land and water, as the book of two ways does, Picoult takes the reader on a journey of Dawn exploring her timelines in real time. I believe everyone has their own version of a "mid-life crisis." It's not always a crisis, I think vary rarely is it, but it is an examination and then a deconstructing of a life lived so far in preparation for the life yet to live. The way that Picoult presents Dawn's mid-life examination was breathtaking for me. It was so rich with meaning and intimate to Dawn because of her first life goals. And Picoult made it rich and intimate for the reader. She laid the groundwork for the deeper themes and symbolism in the first couple of chapters and brings it all together throughout the rest of the book. She highlights so many of the feelings and ponderings one does in that mid-life season, which I happen to be in myself. She somehow is able to describe the ache of mid-life without ever using the word ache. But it is, it sits there in the soul as one examines and deconstructs and figures out life past mid-life. It's an ache that unsettles, comforts, and realigns.

Now, I need to gush again. Indulge me, the book is so wonderful, so gush worthy! It's a must-read. I LOVED it.

I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult's writing and am always eagerly anticipating her latest novels. The Book of Two Ways is different from her usual fare, as it's not about a controversial topic or a courtroom situation. I will admit that I originally wanted to give up on it when Jodi introduced all the details about Ancient Egypt. However, I decided to stick with it and see where it went...and I was pleasantly surprised.

I ended up skimming the parts about Egyptology at the beginning, but then the story suddenly picked up and the momentum kept going throughout. The story is told in a strange way that will keep readers on their toes trying to figure out what is happening. I liked learning about Dawn's death doula career (given I've spent 10 years of my life going through death notices as part of my job). It's morbid, but so interesting the way she describes the experience. It takes a special person to be able to do such a career. I also liked seeing the dynamics between Dawn and Brian and Wyatt in the different story lines. I could relate to her relationship with her daughter and their talks about body image. Aside from Egyptology not being my thing, there were some interesting parts that took place in Egypt. However, this had more to do with interpersonal dynamics than with hieroglyphics. I wish there was a glossary for some of the terms and a pronunciation guide, as both would have been really helpful.

At a certain point, the story just blew my mind and I had to keep piecing together what was really going on. Jodi tends to intersperse flashbacks with present situations and it sometimes was easy to confuse what was happening and when it was taking place. She also puts in a lot of anecdotal information, which I'm used to from her other novels.

Overall, I liked this more than I was expecting to, but it's not my favorite of hers. I like her controversial stuff better, aside from Second Glance, which is one of my favorites. What I did like were her thoughts on life, death, and love/relationships. The characters were interesting, as well. This is a worthwhile read if you're willing to stick it out past the first chapter.

Movie casting suggestions:
Dawn: Bryce Dallas Howard
Wyatt: Eric Johnson
Brian: Josh Dallas
Win: Ashley Madekwe
Anya: India de Beaufort

This book features characters who are faced with their own mortality, examining their choices, missed opportunities, and relationships. It’s a good story, albeit somewhat predictable....and rich with knowledge and history re: Egyptology and Physics. At times perhaps too rich, found myself skimming some if the textbook heavy references. Overall an interesting read, but admittedly it was a bit of a slog for me, compared to other Jodi Picoult books. Thanks to @netgalley for the advance copy.

I see I’m in the minority with only giving this book 2 stars. It started out very slow and it didn’t grab me so i stopped at 25%. Too much Egyptian lingo for me. I found myself skimming through a lot of the little part I read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

Wow just wow. I think this is Jodi Picoult's best book yet! At first, I wasn't sure what I was reading. Science and so much science that honestly I was so very confused. I talked to my friend and she was like keep reading! Boy am I glad I did. This book is the ultimate love story. A mother's love for her daughter, a wife's love for her husband, a woman's love for the man she always wants to be with her in the end. This amazing book with its wonderful characters will live in my heart forever. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Thank you so very much to Jodi Picoult, the publisher, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for granting my wish for an early ARC of this 'can't wait to read' book.

This book brought to light a few things that I had never heard of before, such as a death doula. However, after reading about the career that Dawn has and the patience she has with the clients who are dying as well as for their family, truly sheds some intense respect for people who do this day in and out.

I also had no clue what the Book to Two Ways was, and to know that it is the first known map of the afterlife, and the pictures that were drawn inside the coffins in Egypt that represent this is quite amazing, and to know that Jodi's son studies this is quite extraordinaire.

I resonated with Dawn and the not knowing of what her other life would have been had she of stayed in Egypt and worked on her The Book of Two Ways, and have her life there. I loved how Jodi went back and forth between Dawn's life today, and in the past and how Dawn felt within each part of her journey.

I also enjoyed that Jodi put in a smaller background story of the daughter and how her weight was affecting her (as we see this in today's society a lot). The secret that we learn towards the end of the book with Dawn and her daughter, really snuck up on me, but it was a pleasant surprise.

My only thought is that I would have liked a definitive ending, especially after being invested throughout Dawns journey. Thank you so much again for allowing me an early read of this next best seller.

A fun read, especially if you are a closet archeologist. You will learn a lot besides being wrapped up in a love triangle.

There are no two ways about this – I didn’t enjoy this like I did with many other Picoult’s books. I was expecting this to be like her previous books which stories seemed to be picked from headlines. I never skimmed her books. This one though, I skimmed quite a lot, and like some reviewers have mentioned, felt so textbook-driven filled with research about Egyptology, quantum mechanics, neurology, and even art.

This story goes back and forth in time and place – Dawn in Egypt, Dawn in Boston. Before marrying Brian and settling in Boston, Dawn was studying to be an Egyptologist alongside someone she initially hated, Wyatt. But like all love stories, they fell in love with each other. But, like all love stories too, happily ever after don’t happen in the beginning, no, not without some fight or obstacle. This came in the form of a phone call from home with bad news – her mom was dying. She had to go home to care for her and her brother. So bye bye Wyatt.

Throughout the course of caring for her dying mom, she met Brian and fell for him. He became her knight in shining armor – he was there when she was desperate and exhausted, he was there to cushion her every fall, to make things right. So bye bye Wyatt, hello Brian! They got married and had Meret, their daughter. Fifteen years into their marriage, she suspected Brian of having an affair, while she couldn’t keep her mind off of Wyatt.

When she survived a plane crash with 36 other passengers, she realized she had been given a second chance to live. And upon crashing, all she could think of was Wyatt. Now in the hospital, she kept thinking what would she do? Go back to her ex-lover whom she left 15 years ago, or go back to her old life?

Fifteen years into their marriage, she felt she had had enough of doing things for others. It was time to do things for herself, to get her hands dirty again in those Egyptian tombs, to be in Egypt, but most of all, to be with her captivating, charming, blue-eyed boy, Wyatt. Her Re. She, his Sakhmet.

The title of this book came from The Book of Two Ways, a detailed graphical composition of the Coffin Texts found on a few coffins from the Middle Egyptian necropolis of Deir el Bersha. “It showed two roads snaking through Osiris’s realm of the dead: a land route, black and a water route, blue, which are separated by a lake of fire.” It is thus, one of the main themes of the story – the afterlife, how do we prepare ourselves for it? How should we live our ‘today’? Do we let our choices define us, or us them?

Watching Win, one of Dawn’s clients who had less than a month to live as she made her last wishes, made Dawn contemplate on her life and the choices she had made. Is this how she wants to live her life? As a death doula? As a mother to Meret? A wife to Brian? What about her aspirations to earn her doctorate? What if she goes back to Wyatt? Back to her passion? Would she be happier?

I found my attention wavered every time I read loooong paragraphs of explanations, theories, and findings and researches, not only on Egyptology but also quantum mechanics. It felt like everything was just dumped into one paragraph each time an idea or a theme is explored. In my humble opinion and with utmost respect to the author, for a subject like Egyptology which is rich in imagery, I find, is best ‘told’ with the help of images and colors, not just words.

Also I found it so hard to like Dawn. She was like two different people with Wyatt and Brian – so smart and all gungho with Wyatt, ‘a lioness’ and a ‘goddess’ as Wyatt called her, but with Brian, she was so ‘needy’, always expecting him to be whomever she wanted him to be.

This is my take, should Dawn or Win pick their ex-lovers, they’d still contemplate on ‘what-if’ they’d made the other decision. There would be many what-ifs, no matter what decision we make in life. One will never be fully happy or contented in life. Something will always be amiss. It’s human nature to want more, or to want something different. The point is to stick to our choices, and to make the best of our current situation, or there’d be no end to it.

And why the open ending in the story? I usually like open-endings but not in this case, with Dawn. After all her searching and contemplation, she owes us an ending, a closing, and not leave us hanging.

This book felt like watching a Discovery Channel program with a love story from Hallmark thrown in. If you like the sound of it AND you have an interest in Egyptology, this one’s definitely for you. I’m just not the audience for this. I know readers of love stories will love this, and some of Picoult’s fans will too, just not me.

That said, I'd still recommend it to readers, but selected ones and I'm still a fan of Picoult's as long as she keeps writing books like the ones before this. I'm looking forward to reading her next book!

Thank you so much Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

I'm a fan of Jodi's and have read almost every book - But this one failed to keep my attention. I may try again, but after the first couple of chapters, the chemistry just wasn't there.