Sometimes, it’s hard to describe a book without spoilers. Erica Bauermeister’s latest novel, No Two Persons, is one of those books. She says the title comes from a quote. “No two persons ever read the same book, or saw the same picture”, from The Writings of Madame Swetchine, 1860. No Two Persons is for those who want a story about books and words, and the power of both to change lives. It’s not one story, although characters pop into someone else’s story for a minute or two. It’s the story of a writer, the book she had to write, and nine readers who all saw something that touched them in the book. And, I’m guessing that each of us who reads Bauermeister’s book all the way through will be touched by a different person.

Because I can’t say too much about the story, I’ll mention a few things I noticed. Most of the characters are identified only by their first names, and their role, “The Writer”, “The Caretaker”, “The Bookseller”. We know Alice Wein’s name, the author of the book, but we don’t discover that until later in the story. We know the agent’s name who accepts Alice’s manuscript, but we don’t “meet” her as a person until late in the book. But, we don’t know the last name of the new mother struggling to read manuscripts at home who discovers Alice’s story in a slush pile. There’s the handsome actor who reads the audiobook of Alice’s book, Theo. Most of the time, it’s their personal connection to Theo that is important. We don’t need to put a last name with the character.

Alice is introduced in 2010 where she lives in Maine. We learn about her loss, and her mentor, and her final attempt to break through and write the book her professor always knew she was capable of writing. The novel takes us to 2019, and we have a glimpse of Alice’s life. But, she isn’t the focus of the story. It’s her book that offers something different to nine readers. I had two favorites, and yours might not even be the same. One was Nola, a high school senior when we meet her, a girl who reads Theo in class. My other favorite is Kit, a bookseller in Maine. Kit thinks of himself as a “book yenta”, someone who matched books and customers.

I can’t say much more without spoiling this story. I can quote a passage. “Your first read of an extraordinary book is something you can only experience once.” There’s a lengthy passage about fiction and history that makes so much sense, but you need to read it for yourself.

If you love the thought of how books can transform people, you might want to read Erica Bauermeister’s story of “The Writer”, “The Assistant”, “The Teenager”, “The Caretaker”. Watch for the subtle connections between characters. You might identify with a role in No Two Persons.

I love a well-crafted book that comes together on multiple levels as the story builds, and this one was as close to perfect in weaving a tapestry of theme and character as I’ve ever read. Erica Bauermeister expertly entwined the interactions of her main characters as she explored how one novel can impact individuals in different ways. She starts us off with her fictional author crafting her own novel, and then in each chapter slowly reveals the essence of that novel as it impacts the individuals of different backgrounds and ages who interact with it. I fell in love with the book more and more with each new character and their own unique and powerful story.

I am SO glad I read this book. It is one I will re-read often, and Bauermeister is an author I will seek out.

Thank you to St. Martins Press, Netgalley, and the talented author Erica Bauermeister for early access to this lovely story.

I really enjoyed this book! It is a nod to booklovers everywhere and books about books is a storyline I love to see over and over again. And that is exactly what you get here- nine separate times actually! Each chapter is a unique story about a character who was touched in some way by the fictional book, "Theo."

The formatting of the book is part of what makes it so unique, but for a reader who LOVES character-driven novels, this style was both a blessing and a curse. I finished the first chapter and wanted more about the writer. And then I finished the next chapter and wanted more about the assistant, etc. I mean, it's not my fault each character was written SO WELL that I craved more.

Although each character had his or her own unique experiences that didn't even closely resemble my own (diver, widow, famous actor, etc.), I found the emotions expressed to be more than relatable I'm not one to annotate books, but if I was, this book would be a rainbow of colors and sticky tabs.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my eARC in exchange for an honest review!

No two persons is a winner for anyone who loves reading and books. Interconnected tales follow the life of a book and how it affects each reader. A young woman writes a novel after suffering a loss. An editor finds it and takes a chance and it spins off from there. Each person who reads it is struggling with something and each finds an answer, consolation or solace within the story. The tales connected nicely and it came to a good ending.

Alice writes a story that becomes a widely popular book after enduring some hardships during her teenage and young adult years. The book impacts a wide variety of its readers in many different ways, as they read Alice’s story and connect with her character.

I loved this book. The reader gets Alice’s story to begin with, which gives you insight into who she is as an author and how her story came to be. Then we get other characters who are touched by Alice’s book in some way. Each one is facing a different challenge and Bauermeister makes these people so full and real in one chapter that you are hurting and loving them within one chapter. Her personification is amazing in such a short amount of time. The stories are easy to connect and empathise with. I adored how the power of reading and books is a theme that is woven throughout. Obviously all of us on bookstagram can relate to that.

Rich and substantial. The writer and readers of one particular novel, and how that echoes and resonates through each of their lives. I loved this beautiful, thoughtful book, adorned with the exquisite details I've come to expect from Erica. Don't miss it.

This is the second meta book about, well, books and readers of said books I’ve read in the last couple of weeks (the last being Taylor Adams’ thriller The Last Word) and I’ve got to say I’m not hating it. This one is maybe a little more relatable simply because every time I go to write an ARC review I can see what other reviewers think of the same book I just finished reading and sometimes it seems like they read a totally different book than I did. That’s the thing about art, though: It’s subjective. Art is meant to be seen differently by every person that views it. Books are meant to mean something different to everyone who reads them.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. It’s subdivided into ten different parts, one for the writer of the book, and then nine others for readers of the book and how it affected their lives. At first, this format is enjoyable. Somewhere around the sixth part, though, the format (and the book, really) starts to become less entertaining and begins to lose steam and impact. In my opinion, it begins to quickly lose the resonance that came through so clearly in the earlier parts. Did I like the ending? No. It was wrapped up too neatly for my tastes. It seemed too serendipitous for a book that is full of messy people and messy lives.

That doesn’t change the facts: No Two Persons is a beautifully written book about a very simple and relatable concept that happens every day. It’s about people from different walks of life who somehow all pick up the same book in different ways and it affects them all differently, which causes them to do what all of us do every day: Think, make choices, change plans, make decisions, move on, maybe even get inspired.

And, hey: Maybe you should pick it up, simply because you’ll get something different out of it than I did. That’s the whole point anyway.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All views, ideas, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Literary Fiction/Women’s Fiction

What a unique idea for a novel! A book within a book. This is a collection of short stories that are all connected in some way to the first chapter. We are initially introduced to a young author who writes a novel called Theo. I usually steal away from short stories but I was intrigued and I can honestly say I was not disappointed.

📚Book Review📚
I kept seeing glowing reviews for this book and now I know why!

Alice writes a book, Theo, that impacts the 9 other main characters in this book - each in different but profound ways. One is a homeless teen, another a mentally broken free diver, one is an actor questioning his career and yet another is an aging publisher of Alice’s novel.

Oh boy did I highlight a lot of sentences!
Here’s one that will probably resonate:

“He’d worked in a bookstore long enough to know that no matter how good a book is, someone will hate it, and they’re likely to tell you. But as long as that book is only in your head, it is still perfect.”

As this book is about, well, a book, there are a lot of amazing quotes like the above. The writing is beautiful and each character is carefully crafted. Even though each isn’t necessarily connected to the last I still felt such a sense of who each

4.5 stars

Erica Bauermeister’s new book No Two Persons is unlike anything I have ever read before. I was swept up in the story of this book within a book. Instead of a traditional protagonist, this contemporary tale follows a book from person to person as it influences lives, eventually coming back to where it started.

Each chapter is named for one of ten people who encounter the book Theo: The Writer, The Bookseller, The Actor, The Artist, The Caretaker, etc. Each of these people is influenced in some way by this book—whether they read it or not. Some of them are inspired. Some of them are comforted. All of them are affected.

I loved this book and the way it shows how literature affects people in different ways. It begs questions like, What does it mean for someone to pass on a book to someone else? What can a work of fiction really tell us about ourselves? How can a reader further inspire a writer?

The characters Bauermeister has created are varied and intricate. The stories of The Teenager and The Caretaker are the two that have stuck with me the most as I’ve considered this book. Not every story is resolved on the pages of the book. We don’t see every step of the book’s journey. We don’t see every connection between characters. But each character’s story adds something to the whole and shows us how our lives are all interconnected in many ways.

I found it interesting that Bauermeister even considered those people who have a book and choose not to read it. It can still affect them. It can still influence them.

“No Two Persons” by Erica Bauermeister is a beautifully written book reminding us of the impact a book can have on each reader based on their life’s experiences and what is currently going on in their life. This is one of the best books I've read in 2023.

Alice Wein is a novice author who takes five years to write her book, “Theo”, and then struggles to get it published. Her book is about the life of one boy. The reader comes to know pieces of Alice’s novel as you are immersed in each separate story of the 9 people into whose lives the book lands. The book reaches each reader in a different way and often serves as a catalyst for change.

The uniqueness of each story along with the in-depth character development grabbed my attention right away. There are such beautiful passages about loss, grief, love, and life’s many challenges that had me going back to re-read the well-crafted sentences. I found it hard to put down this book and will seek out other books by this author as this was my first. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves readying and thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A book that demonstrates how one book affects every person who turns its pages. As a booknerd, I deeply appreciated how a story can land with those that find themselves immersed in its words. To witness how Theo touched each person made me think about how all the books on my shelves have affected other people.

The full cast of characters each had a moment in time when this novel found them. Their story through the story was touching, eventually the author weaves their storylines together for its conclusion.

No Two Persons is a heartfelt read.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the complimentary copy.

How can one book change ten lives? Alice finally is able to write her first novel, and it turns out to be a very special work of fiction that touches the lives of various people. A wonderfully compelling read about the power of fiction to change our lives.

Stop what you’re doing and find a copy of this wonderful book; a collection of interconnected short stories about one book and how it affects the lives of many different people. I’m head over heels for it. It’s a love story to book lovers everywhere, in all aspects of the industry. I finished it and wanted to start again at the beginning.

I had a digital review copy (DRC) of the ebook but was lucky enough to nab an advanced listening copy (ALC) of the audiobook, and it's knocked my socks off!

Thanks, NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press, for the DRC and ALC!

A story about books, and about people reading books. Does it get any better than that? I don't think so. Erica Bauermeister has written some of my favorite books and I love it when she has a new one out. They are always so magical.

No Two Persons first takes us into the world of one author, just doing her thing and trying to pen some words that people might read. The story is then spun around nine readers who find the book at different points in their lives. The magical part of the story is that each reader gets something unique from the author's words and it affects each person differently. The same book for all but each reader gets what they need from those words.

The author has written a wonderful escape book as well as a story that made me think. You never know what someone is going through and how words can impact their lives at any given time. And that we each get something from every experience, and that experience is different for each of us. Oh, and also that reading is such an important part of everyone's lives.

I loved No Two Persons and if you are a reader, which you probably are since you are reading this, you are going to love it too. Power to the words!

This book wasn’t what I thought it would be, but was better than my expectation.
I have no idea about the author’s intentions, but the ironic (and maybe satirical?) undertone that a story about “writing a book” was narrated by breaking the so-called contemporary “writing rules” (looking at you, show-don’t-tell) was NOT lost on me. And that was one of my favorite things about this book. Debut authors everywhere can only dream, am I right?
Sure, there’s no space and time for the reader to connect with the characters in a more emotional level, but I still felt something. Sometimes I didn’t even understand what in the world was happening (Juliet’s story was a bit on the creepy side, and Miranda’s ripping the book apart made me cringe), but the metaphorical door is left open for readers to fill in the blanks: what really happened in Tyler’s past? Did William make back home? Did Nola get in trouble for not calling 911 when Madeline collapsed?
Not everything was perfect, obviously. For one, it was hard to suspend disbelief when it came to how the book Theo so deeply affected the cast of characters. Maybe I’ve grown cold and cynical toward the publishing companies. Maybe I haven’t read a book that changed me in the same way. Maybe it’s just me.

I also enjoyed learning about the author’s own process and the history behind the epigraph: “Not two persons ever read the same book.” And that’s the truth!
I recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐️ I was so excited to read this book when I read the synopsis. This was such a unique and beautifully written story. Each character describes how the book “Theo” impacted them and their life. Each chapter was so great and I loved getting to read the different perspectives. I will definitely read more from this author. I loved her writing style. This would be a perfect book club pick! Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Erica Bauermeister has written a very unique book that totally took me by surprise. Alice works on her first novel for many years and finally finishes it. It is rejected over and over until a young mother employed by a publishing company currently working from home reads the first line and knows immediately it is special. Each chapter introduces a new character whose lives are touched and affected by the book, Theo. There are 9 readers, each very different from the other. My personal favorite was Rowan, the actor, who transitioned to narrating audio books. His approach to narration was absolutely fascinating.
While I definitely enjoyed the unique concept and the writing, I had difficulty forming a “bond” with any of the characters. The books that speak to me most are those that seem to place me down in the middle of the action enabling me to feel part of the story.
This book will remain with me for a long time due to the power of its message. No two readers will ever have the same feelings after completing a book…each one speaks to each individual reader and each reader gleans their own pearls from their unique perspective given their personal experiences. Erica Bauermeister was truly a genius, finding a unique way to share that message with the world.
Many thanks to Erica Bauermeister, St Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for affording me the amazing opportunity to read an arc of this just published book. I highly recommend it for readers everywhere.

Any book lover will love this book! It's almost like 10 short stories, of different people who read the same book (or have the book affect them in some way.) How the characters are all subtly intertwined was brilliant as well! Loved it!! (I wanted to give it 5 stars but it didn't have that "Gasp!" moment for me.)

And, I absolutely love the cover!

No Two Persons,” by Erica Bauermeister ” is about the power of books and how their stories change and impact each of us in different ways. From the author Alice who after tragedy strikes opens up on the page bringing her debut novel to life. to a teenager hiding the fact that she’s homeless, an artist angry at the world, a bookseller searching for love, a grieving widower and a diver pushing himself to the brink; each voice in this novel connects to a readers soul.

What I Love
-Well developed characters
-Its a book about books which just tickles me
-unconventional structure paired with a simple and straight forward writing style makes for a unique reading experience.


What didn't work as well for me
Due to the number of stories being told pacing was uneven at times.


Who would I recommend this title to

No two persons is a delightful read for any reader who has ever wondered what another might connect to on the page in front of them.