“No two persons ever read the same book, or saw the same picture”. - The Writings of Madame Swetchine, 1860.

What I loved about this unique story, is that it wasn’t necessarily a story from start to finish- but a story of ten different characters whose lives were all affected differently just by the writing and reading of one particular book called “Theo”.

We have ten characters, with one being Alice Wein, who is the writer of the book. We hear her story first, and from there her book gets written and the lands into the hands of Lara, Rowan, Miranda, Tyler, Nola, Kit, William, Juliet, and Madeline.

I loved reading about each of these characters and was so emotionally connected to each one. It amazes me the power that words can hold over people, especially in a book. Books touch each person so differently. Through this story we are able to see how one book was able to change just these few characters lives. It really makes you stop and think- especially when you are a book lover such as I am.

I also love the title of the book and the opening line that I used in this review. No Two Persons is fitting because no two persons ever read the same book. While I love this book and many others, there’s plenty of my book friends who probably won’t like this book as much as I do and they haven’t liked many others that I have liked and vice versa. This book was a true eye opener and I loved every page! I highly recommend reading this book!

I would like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC of this fantastic book that I had the pleasure of reading and providing an honest review.
Publication date: May 2, 2023

I was so pleased to see an ARC of this on NetGalley because I loved Erika Bauermeister’s books from the early-mid 2000s. The premise sounded very interesting, so I had high hopes.
The main protagonist of this is a book. The idea is that an author writes a book, but every single reader interprets that book differently. If you’re in a Book Club or enjoy talking about books with random strangers, you know this to be true.
No Two Persons starts out with the growing up of Alice, the author of Theo, the book in this book. From there, we see her get her great big idea. It then moves on to 9 other people, from the assistant of a literary agent, to the audiobook narrator, and several readers, over the span of 10 years. We never quite know what Theo is about, but we see different glimpses into it that coordinates with which person is reading (With the first reader, we see a bit about the beginning; the middle readers, a bit of the middle; and the last reader, a bit of the end).
While I believe Ms. Bauermeister was attempting to show us how it affected all of them differently, I feel it fell short in doing that. There is a major theme throughout each of the characters that shines like a beacon, but I didn’t really get how each reader was truly affected.
This book mostly reads like a series of vignettes about people with the only commonality being Theo. Each story, if you will, gives you a bit of backstory about the character and where they are in life when this book enters it. Each story ends so abruptly it’s truly hard to see what Ms. Bauermeister wants us to see.
Upon reading the Author’s Note, Ms. Bauermeister states she wrote this during the Pandemic. That explains so much about the tone of this, but it still doesn’t give us what we were meant to get.

Every now and again you find the perfect book to suit your mood and reading preferences. This is that rare gem that grabs your attention on the first page and keeps you up late at night reading, is thoughtful but not dense, and easily recommendable to all. While the plot isn’t original, the characters came to life and will stick with me for awhile. A delightful read!

Interesting premise with one book being the common thread among ten different stories. Some worked better than others, one being a standout.
The author's note was so interesting in describing the origin of the ideas for many of the stories.

With great thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for this e-ARC!

SO many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book. Erica Bauermeister’s No Two Persons is “a gloriously original celebration of fiction, and the ways it deepens our lives.”* I can't describe this wonderfully magical novel any better than that. And, as Nina de Gramont so perfectly stated," it made my reader's heart sing."

I will be putting this book into the hands of everyone I love. I'll be shouting its praises to acquaintances and complete strangers.

This book is a gift to book lovers and is a book that is going to live in the hearts of readers forever.