The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult – 400 pages (Audio)
ARC from Ballantine and Netgalley for an honest review
Book Blurb:
Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She’s on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband, but a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong. Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, her beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, where she helps ease the transition between life and death for patients in hospice. But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a job she once studied for, but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made.
After the crash landing, the airline ensures the survivors are seen by a doctor, then offers transportation wherever they want to go. The obvious option for Dawn is to continue down the path she is on and go home to her family. The other is to return to the archaeological site she left years before, reconnect with Wyatt and their unresolved history, and maybe even complete her research on The Book of Two Ways–the first known map of the afterlife. As the story unfolds, Dawn’s two possible futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried beside them. Dawn must confront the questions she’s never truly asked: What does a life well-lived look like? When we leave this earth, what do we leave behind? Do we make choices…or do our choices make us? And who would you be, if you hadn’t turned out to be the person you are right now?
My Review: 4.5 stars
The Book of Two Ways is another wonderful notch in Jodi Picoult’s belt. She’s one of my favorite authors that I’ve witnessed write amazingly powerful books, grow to fame, get caught in a rut with some formulaic best-sellers, and has evolved into a refined storyteller.
Before I started this book, I was wary. I’d read conflicting reviews and was warned about the lengthy sections about archeology and Egyptology. I began to read and realized that in my current stressed out, pandemic harried brain that I shouldn’t be reading anything. I literally took about ten days off from reading, yet was able to get the audio version on Overdrive through my library. Audio books have been a blessing this year!!
Needless to say, as you can see from my rating, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s an existential story and covers everything from quantum physics, multiverses, death, life, love, parenting, the choices we make, second chances, art, history and of course Egyptology.
Honestly, I was riveted. I found the main character’s career choice, a death doula, to be fascinating. I learned so much from this book and was charmed by many of the smart and meaningful quotes peppered throughout.
Kudos to the narrator for keeping me engaged and Picoult for creating such a unique and out of the box plot.
Quotes I liked:
When you lose someone you love, there is a tear in the fabric of the universe. It’s the scar you feel for, the flaw you can’t stop seeing. It’s the tender place that won’t bear weight. It’s a void.”
“Sometimes you hurt the people you love. And sometimes you love the people who hurt you.”
“…having someone with you when you die should not be a privilege but a right.”
“There are five things we need to say to people we love before they die…: I forgive you. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. Goodbye.”
“Life asked death, “Why do people love me but hate you?” Death responded, “Because you are a beautiful lie and I am a painful truth.” —Unknown”
“I once read that every story is a love story. Love of a person, a country, a way of life. Which means, of course, that all tragedies are about losing what you love.”
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