The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

Hey book lovers! I hope you’re having a nice weekend. I’m here with a book review for The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult, which I received in a “Once Upon a Book Club” book box from my husband for Christmas. After LOVING Small Great Things, I was really excited to check out her newest novel, and this was a great read, BUT it wasn’t the mystery/twist/poignant read that I was expecting.

“The Book Of Two Ways” may be the oldest illustrated “book”. It speaks of the two ways to reach the afterlife; by land or by water. The book is a map of the underworld, helping the deceased find their way to the realm of Osiris.

An even older version of the book was discovered in Deir el-Bersha. It is believed to be 4,000 years-old.

Fragments from a “Book of Two Ways” discovered recently by Harco Willems, an Egyptologist at the University of Leuven in Belgium. It was found on the coffin of a woman named Ankh, in a long-abandoned burial shaft in the cliff-side necropolis of Deir el-Bersha. — https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/science/archaeology-books-egypt-underworld.html

About The Book 📚

Title: The Book Of Two Ways

Author: Jodi Picoult

Publication Date: September 2020

Publisher: Ballantine

Suggested Reader Age: Adult

Genre: Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Egypt

My Review

› Dawn has her own business as a “death doula”. She helps others navigate their death, just as “The Book Of Two Ways” helped Egyptians navigate the underworld to reach the afterlife. She’s married to Brian and they have a fifteen-year-old daughter named Meret. After a near-death experience surviving a plane crash, Dawn flies to Egypt, where she was once a university student working with the first love-of-her-life, Wyatt. She joins Wyatt’s team searching tombs, looking for “The Book of Two Ways”. As Dawn assists in the search for artifacts she’s sorting through her feelings for Wyatt, pondering her life choices and wondering what could have been.

“Everything that can happen does happen – in another life.”

› I use the CAWPILE method to rate books.
0-3 Really bad
4-6 Mediocre
7-9 Really good
10 Outstanding

› Characters: 7
The characters who are in Africa are more developed than Dawn’s family back “home”.

› Atmosphere: 7
Again, the atmosphere and world-building in Egypt are better than the American setting.

› Writing Style: 7
There is A LOT of information and I mean a LOT. I enjoyed all of the cool Egyptian and quantum physics info, but I have a degree in anthropology so this was right up my alley. The story is told in two timelines, flipping back and worth, and this is done very well.

› Plot: 6.3
beginning 8
middle 5
end 6

› Intrigue: 7
I wanted to know what was going to happen and finished it quicker than I thought I would, however it’s longer than it needs to be.

› Logic: 8

› Enjoyment: 8
I enjoyed this despite the lack of character development and world-building.

Average 7.2

1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★★★

› Final Thoughts
• The Book of Two Ways is about love, life, death, and second chances that left me pondering the paths I’ve chosen. I recommend this to readers who are into Egyptian history.