This is a fabulous story about the power of words and the impact the act of reading something can make on someone's life. The story starts out with the author, Alice, who writes a book titled Theo after experiencing a very painful loss of her brother when she was in her college years. Next, the author switches perspectives between 9 different people as they interact with the book, and how it affects them in various ways. Even though the story switches so many times with characters, it is seamlessly written and so very beautiful. This story will remain in my thoughts for a very long time.

No Two Persons opens with this quote which illustrates the motor for the book:

“’No two persons ever read the same book or saw the same picture.’ -The writings of Madame Swetchine”
Alice Wein has been a reader and a writer since childhood. When tragedy strikes, 25-year-old Alice starts writing her book, Theo in earnest. Theo is a stirring book about a boy who swims in order to escape from his abusive father. As is often the story, every literary agent passes on the project, until her college professor contacts an old friend who has become a powerful New York agent. The agent passes the book on to her assistant who loves it, and the rest is literary history.

No Two Persons is a collection of stories about nine very different people who experience a wide variety of major life changes in response to the book: The agent’s assistant who is experiencing post-partum depression, a homeless high school student who is hiding out in a school garden shed, a 62-year-old widower who goes to take care of an abandoned hotel in a ghost town, the 76-year-old agent who brokered Alice’s book deal whose health is quickly deteriorating, and a bookseller whose scientist girlfriend doesn’t understand the point of reading novels:

“Science heard that fragment of a second and wondered how to make it fit into a whole. Fiction wondered what hearing it felt like.”
Each person’s story is heartfelt, unique, full of self-reflection and completely engaging, and I was riveted from the start.

Erica Bauermeister is a fine, veteran author. I loved her books The School of Essential Ingredients and The Lost Art of Mixing, but I think No Two Persons might be my new favorite. It is, in my estimation, one of the best books of 2023 so far, and I highly recommend it to both men and women who believe in the power of books to transform the reader.

Thanks to #NetGalley for sending me an arc of No Two Persons in exchange for an honest review!

Hardcover 320 pages, Audiobook 8 hours 11 mins.

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister is the story of how one book, one story changes the lives of its readers in different ways. Alice Wein always wanted to be a writer. She had an amazing talent but her stories were safe with little emotion. It isn’t until she suffers a tragic loss that breaks her heart and she pours out her emotions on the page. The debut novel impacts the nine readers from the assistant for a literary agency to the narrator for the audiobook to a widower struggling with life after the loss of his beloved wife. Nine individuals from different careers, walks of life and passions are drawn into the words of the story, discovering an aspect of the story which changes their perspective and opens a new path in their lives. No Two Persons reveals how books affect each reader in beautiful and unexpected ways and connect readers in ways beyond imagination.
As a lover of books since I was a teenager, I understand the life changing power of books. No Two Persons takes the famous quote ““No two persons ever read the same book” (often attributed to writer Edmund Wilson) and celebrates the different ways books can and have deepened the lives of its readers. Some of the readers' stories were more moving and others were impacted more intensely than others. However the results are the same: each reader is never the same after reading Alice’s book. No Two Persons is my second book by Ms. Beauermeister and she hasn’t disappointed to deliver an emotionally moving story. I enjoyed that she highlights how different readers can read a book, get differing viewpoints, thoughts and feelings about the same words that another has read. Truly, no two persons ever read the same book. I would also add that no one reads the same book twice as different readings can give new perspectives. I highly recommend No Two Persons.

No Two Persons will be available May 2, 2023 in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook

It's no secret that I absolutely love books about books. There are days when I read reviews for books I have read and I wonder if we even read the same book because I loved it and they disliked it or vice versa. In the end, I have always believed that space, time, place and where we are in our lives dictate what we may or may not take away from any given story. I nearly always find a nugget or two that resonates with me. This book is about exactly that. The author wrote her story...what spoke to her. Once that story went out into the wild, we hear how the book affected other readers and all in very different unique ways depending on what they needed at that specific time. Was it an earth shattering novel? Who knows. What we do know is that it our author (both real and fictional) wrote something that resonated with very different people for very different reasons. I enjoyed how several (or most) storylines intersected with each other in small ways. This is a must read for anyone who loves books about books as well as someone who may be struggling to see something in their lives as positive when it seems that there is nothing good happening to them.

What an interesting concept and amazing book! The way each person viewed the book differently and how it resonated in their individual lives. Then when realizing how so many intertwined with each other's own story. I couldn't wait to get to the next chapter. I want more and need to know what happened with Theo. Absolutely one of my favorite books of all time. I will be buying the physical copy for my trophy shelf and recommending to everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to read this story.

✌🏼 No Two Persons - Erica Bauermeister

4.5 ⭐️- This is a book for everyone. Books can unite us and spark conversations about differences as well. This book is a book that proves books are subjective and while we all may have a different feeling or insight, books bring us together no matter if we agree or disagree.

Alice has always been a writer. When a devastating event breaks her heart, she turns her words into a debut novel. Her words find their way to an array of different readers - a homeless teen, an artist, a diver, a bookseller, a widower. Each person is drawn to the novel and teaches them each a difference lesson and alters their perspective on the path of their life.

This book was magical in its own cool and unique way! With an interesting concept of basically a book of short stories that have an overlapping connection, this book has something for everyone to connect with. It was so interesting to see how each person connected and felt about the same book… kinda like bookstagram? We often see so many reviews for books we love but how about the ones we don’t like and others do? Or vise versa? It was so interesting to see this effect in book form. I definitely recommend this one for something a little different than still makes you laugh, cry, love, and learn. The audiobook has a full cast so I definitely recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin Press for the ARC!

Not everyone reads the same story. That is the thought I have a lot of times when reading reviews, and this book follows this statement perfectly. One book, nine different people, and ten lives forever changed. Each person in this books gets their own little chapter. It starts with the writer, whose book then goes to the assistant, then actor, and so on. Each person has a different connection to the writers story and it’s amazing to see it bring so many lives together. I loved this book so much I finished it in a day.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy provided by NetGalley. The book is officially released on May 2.

One of my favorite things as a reader is how we as readers can each partake in the same book and each walk away with vastly different experiences and perspectives after reading said book. No Two Persons takes this theme and runs with it.

I loved how original this premise was... it was refreshing! I found this to be a unique, heartfelt, and emotional read. It's definitely a book that made me feel, which I always love, and I will be carrying those emotions around for quite some time.

In No Two Persons, each chapter is a separate story. While that did keep it interesting and I found myself looking forward to each new chapter, I did struggle just a tad bit. Since we as readers follow these characters for a shorter duration, I felt like some of the depth and character development was sacrificed.

All in all, however, I really enjoyed this book. I'm excited to see what Erica Bauermeister comes out with next...I'll certainly want to read it!

What a wonderful and unique story about the experience of readers all discovering the same book and how each experiences the book in very personal ways.
The connections between the chapters come slowly and honestly I enjoyed each chapter, from a different reader, all on their own but when I realized the connections I was blown away. Also, it's interesting to note the research the author did so each character was so well developed. This is a story I could definitely reread again . I will definitely be recommending this one to lots of library patrons.

This book!! Profound, interesting and extraordinary! I LOVED "No Two Persons" by Erica Bauermeister and highly recommend it to everybody. Many fantastic characters with their stories of hardship and despair, pivot and transform as they read the same book. Flawless intertwining of people, beyond uplifting and powerful. Just WOW!!! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance reader copy, all opinions are my own.

This was an interesting book. One book can touch everyone’s lives differently. Sometimes it’s liked and others it’s not. Each chapter/year was different, I found I liked some better than others. Some I wanted to keep going, I wasn’t ready for it to end. It’s a good book
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

“No two persons ever read the same book,” is a quote attributed to Edmund Wilson, an American writer, literary critic and journalist. As thought-provoking as his writings were, I doubt that his words went beyond this alluring and spell-binding story written by Erica Bauermeister.
No Two Persons is the story of a reluctant writer named Alice and the impact of her novel on ten different readers, each of whom is struggling with a significant life issue. And each one is changed by finding a needed answer in Theo’s story. Each character is developed and described in words that are clear and succinct.
What a deeply moving book, one that touches the reader and the writer in all of us. Have we not all read a book that affected us, that spoke the perfect words, and our brokenness was mended? I found some lines so moving, so musical, that they flowed with a rhythm that called me to read them again and again. What a unique and beautifully written tale. It’s a story to be savored.

Have you ever wondered how one book can effect others? How it may change different people’s lives in multiple different ways? That’s what this book explores. We follow ten stories as we read, beginning with the author, then nine readers who have the book come into their lives in different ways.

I really enjoyed this book. Sometimes we never think of how a story can impact others and different ways than just an escape for a little while. I also really enjoyed how we got to see some of the process that a book goes through when we followed the story of it being written and the audiobook being recorded.

My one problem was that I didn’t think I got enough time with each character to really connect with them. And it seemed like their stories were a bit choppy because we were jumping through their timelines. I really loved how we discovered other connections between the characters, but I would have liked to have felt them a little bit more.

Overall this is a truly fantastic book that shows you the power that a single story can have, and the changes it can urge you to make or discoveries that you may have.

I really highly recommend that you check this one out!

Read if you like:
📚 Understanding how books impact different people
❤️ Connection through words
💔Trauma/Loss
💜 Multiple POV

I absolutely loved this one! I love how we got to see how the same book had dramatically different impacts on 10 different people based on their liver experiences. I also loved how it was also subtle in providing interconnection between the individuals impacted by the book Theo.

It was just so thoughtful in the way this book was written and I couldn’t get enough and loved how it came full circle in the end even though it ended with a somber note it was also hopeful.

I highly recommend checking this one out as it was unique and truly made you feel so much with even just one section per person and their impact the book had on them.

Thank you so much St. Martin’s Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review! I truly hope others are impacted by this book the way I was!

I loved this! this was a surprising, delightful little read. Having read Bauermeister's earlier release, 'The Scent Keeper' bc of the Reese bookclub and not loving it, I felt trepidation about reading this one but I kept seeing nothing but 5 star review after 5 star review, and it was short so I figured I would try it.

It's length is deceiving, there is so much within this little book, It is essentially about Alice and the book that she manages to get published, and then about the many ways that her book has affected different people, and also the way that one book can transcend it's pages and mean many different things to many different people. As a book lover myself of course I was drawn to this book after reading the blurb but I did not realize the scope would be quite as large as it was.

This was full of many little stories within one story, many different character's and their storylines all interconnected by having read Alice's book, which is actually one of my favorite tropes in books, and when it's done well and I am invested in many or all of the storylines these can be some of my favorite books. This was coming along well and had a chance at becoming a 5 star book but I felt that it got a bit convoluted at the end and we could have done without one or two of the stories. Still a solid 4 star read for me though, I'm definitely interested in looking out for this author's future work, I have a feeling it will just keep getting better and better.

Five HUGE stars for No Two Persons. This book swept me up in its embrace, and I simply couldn’t put it down. This is a story for readers and writers and lovers of books, an imaginative tale spun out of the many iterations of the life of one novel. The magic is in its unfolding, and you will not regret one second spent in its pages. Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my advanced reading copy.

It’s easiest to explain Erica Bauermeister’s No Two Persons through its premise: the book is a series of interconnected short stories centered around a book called Theo. Bauermeister’s novel begins with Alice, the author of Theo, exploring the origins of the book, which are connected to her own life, though it’s not completely autobiographical. Each new section explores the presence of Theo in the life of someone new—the artist who designs the cover, the assistant of the literary agent who discovers it, and myriad readers.

Through the short stories, characters reappear—we see Alice more than once—weaving a tribute to the power of books in our lives, the ways that they can change the way that we see ourselves, each other, the world.

The writing here is just gorgeous, and we see enough of Theo to have an idea of a book, though this isn’t completely a book-with-a-book situation (so there are no long passages of Theo building into the inclusion of the book in its entirety). Instead, it’s the idea of this novel, of the way it’s one thing for Alice and another thing for each person who comes into contact with it, that captures our attention.

The title comes from a quotation about no two persons experiencing a book the same way (and there’s a great story at the end from Bauermeister about the origins of the quote), and the way Bauermeister brings life to that concept resonated.

There’s deep empathy here, a nuanced understanding of the fact that we can only know the smallest part of the lives of most people we know but also a strong message that empathy can—and should!—arise from even that limited knowledge.

I think that anyone who’s a reader, anyone who has seen the way a book can touch someone deeply, anyone who has the urge to share a book with someone they know, will love this book.

“𝓝𝓸 𝓽𝔀𝓸 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓼 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴, 𝓸𝓻 𝓼𝓪𝔀 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓹𝓲𝓬𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓮.”

✂️ P L O T L I N E
One book, one writer, nine readers, ten changed lives. “No Two Persons” is a beautiful story about how one single book can save your life and change your perspective on your path forward. Each chapter follows a different characters journey in finding the book “Theo,” and reveals how this one book changed each of their outlooks on life. Heartfelt, heartbreaking, and a book that will resonate with all.

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
I highlighted the crap out of this book (on my IPad 😅). There were so many amazing quotes that hit so close to home. It was so hard to pick my favorite one! There were a couple characters that I connected with so deeply. I think that’s what makes this book a blessing, and a curse…because each chapter follows only one certain character, I felt like I wanted so much more from some of the storylines. Regardless of what I wanted, I understand that was not the purpose of this book and I appreciate that so much. Just like the book mentions, “life doesn’t get tied up with a bow very often.” Pick this book up when you feel like your life might falling into pieces and you don’t know what to do. I think this story will provide you with relief in knowing that there is possibility in whatever lies ahead 💕. Make sure you have your tissues ready.

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
💫Thought provoking reads
💫Emotional reads
💫Multiple character POV
💫Intertwined characters
💫Books about books

⚠️ 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: death, overdose, childhood trauma, sadness ⚠️

📖𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾📖
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💕Q U O T E: “𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈 𝓈𝓅𝑜𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒸𝒾𝒻𝒾𝒸 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒸𝒾𝒻𝒾𝒸 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑜𝓃𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑜 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝓁𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓈.”


🙏Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Erica Bauermeister for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts 💕

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
I've yet to come across such an eye opening novel. A novel with a compilation of short stories about, you guessed it, a novel.
Each short story glides into the next one effortlessly and relevantly. All of the character's are connected somehow and eventually the author perfectly comes full circle when reaching the end.
You have "The Writer", "The Narrator", "The Bookseller", "The Caregiver"....The list goes on. Reading each character's knee-jerk reaction of the novel entering their lives at just the right moment, was a special experience.
It's true. No two people read the same book.

Having read an earlier work by Erica Bauermeister, I was drawn to her latest, “No Two Persons”. From the beginning, I realized I was in for a reading experience like none previously encountered. While some describe it as a book of essays, it’s really a book of “connected essays.” Each character connecting with a book titled, “Theo” written by The Writer, Alice, whom we meet in the first essay. The epigraph sets the stage for a book that makes an impression with nuanced and unexpected connections between characters created through an exquisite narrative.

I finished this book a couple weeks ago and it continues too resonant deeply within me. This beautiful book is one of the most unique and creative reading experiences I’ve had in a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister in advance of the release.