“The Book of Two Ways” by Jodi Picoult

Title: The Book of Two Ways
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher:  Ballantine Books
Year: 2020
Genre(s): contemporary, women’s fiction, romance
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Summary: Dawn’s steady life as a death doula, wife and mother is suddenly thrown into flux as she starts to wonder if this was the life she was meant to live. She recalls how she wanted to be an Egyptologist and realizes she has unfinished business in Egypt. Heading back to the country, she reconnects with her work and the man she left behind over a decade ago. As she determines her future, does it lie in her past or some place else?

Review: I’m a bit torn about this book. And I don’t know if I can explain why without spoiling anything but I’ll do my best. So let’s just say you start the book thinking it’s laid out one way and then as you reach the end, you realize that’s not the case at all and it was a bit off-putting to me.

Other than my frustration at the end, I think that would’ve brought this to a 4.5 moon review.

It still wouldn’t have been 5 moons because it was a bit difficult to get into and had a lot of info dumping, especially when it came to Egyptology, early on the book. It made it difficult to get through some of the earlier chapters but I am glad I did it.

(I will note that it is clear that Picoult did her research and is able to write about everything very well and I felt like I also learned a lot from these sections, even if I was eager for the story to really get a move on).

Dawn is a good protagonist and Picoult does a good job at weaving her backstory throughout the book. It does mean we jump around in time, going back to the past and then returning to the present. But they usually inform each other so it’s not too distracting. It might take a little getting used to in the beginning but it’s a quick adjustment. Dawn has a pretty good arc and we watch her go from being more passive back to an active participant in her life once again.

While romance is not truly the driving force behind the story, it does play a large part. We have a triangle with Dawn trapped between Wyatt and Brian, both who represent different but valid forms of love. Wyatt ignites and feeds Dawn’s passion and understands her in a way not many others can. They share a language all their own. Brian represents stability and support. He gives Dawn a good life and is a partner to her. Personally, there was one I preferred over the other – and that person did a few things that made me feel he was more manipulative than Dawn (and maybe even Picoult) thought.

Picoult does a good job with descriptions and setting, though the parts set in Egypt stronger to me than Boston. I could really picture everything there but when she was in Boston, it felt rather nondescript and bland. But that could’ve been done on purpose, to show how different her life was in both places.

I guess that’s just another thing that’s up to the reader to decide about this book.

Bottom line: A good premise that gets bogged down in history and could’ve had a better execution.

Sex: Yes.

Moonlight Musing

Do you ever wonder how your life would be different if you made a different decision?