I’ve only read a couple books by Jodi Picoult in the past — many are on my list, but my list is long so I haven’t gotten there yet — which might have helped because I didn’t have the same expectations as other reviewers. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.
The book opens with Dawn Edelstein sitting on a plane that is crashing. Miraculously, she’s one of the few survivors, and the airline tells her they’ll fly her anywhere she wants for free. Does she fly to Egypt where she was once an Egyptologist studying The Book of Two Ways with the first love of her life, Wyatt Armstrong? Or does she fly back home to Boston, where her husband Brian, their daughter Meret, and her career as a death doula wait for her? In this book, she does both. In alternating chapters, we find out what happens to her depending on which path she chooses, which was a really interesting set up for this book.
The author explains that the Book of Two Ways is an Egyptian text included in the coffins of the dead to help them find the path to the afterlife. There are two paths to the end — one by land and one by water — and they ultimately get you to the same place if you follow the map. I loved how the author had Dawn follow her own Book of Two Ways throughout this novel, and while the ending left me wanting more, it absolutely worked for the whole overlying message of this book.
Yes, it helps to have an interest in Ancient Egypt to really love this book, but the love stories work anyway.
However, the part of this book I didn’t love quite a much was Dawn’s relationship with her daughter Meret. She says all the right things, but she doesn’t do what needs to be done to really connect to her. I felt so sorry for Meret from the beginning of this book all the way through the end since it just seemed like no matter what path Dawn ended up on, Meret was always an afterthought.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Ballantine Books in exchange for my honest review. It did not influence my opinion.