The Book of Two Ways: The stunning bestseller about life, death and missed opportunities
On sale
20th October 2020
Price: £16.99
Order Jodi Picoult’s stunning new novel about life, death, and missed opportunities.
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
‘A writer the world should be reading right now.’ Independent
Who would you be, if you hadn’t turned out to be the person you are now?
Dawn is a death doula, and spends her life helping people make the final transition peacefully.
But when the plane she’s on plummets, she finds herself thinking not of the perfect life she has, but the life she was forced to abandon fifteen years ago – when she left behind a career in Egyptology, and a man she loved.
Against the odds, she survives, and the airline offers her a ticket to wherever she needs to get to – but the answer to that question suddenly seems uncertain.
As the path of her life forks in two very different directions, Dawn must confront questions she’s never truly asked: what does a well-lived life look like? What do we leave behind when we go? And do we make our choices, or do our choices make us?
Two possible futures. One impossible choice.
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‘It is hard to exaggerate how well Picoult writes.’ Financial Times
‘A matchless talent for hitting emotional notes.’ Irish Times
‘A wise, cerebral, propulsive adventure . . . eruditely spans the worlds of Egyptology, university physics and end-of-life care, while never losing sight of its high-stakes human story . . . a captivatingly immersive, multilayered, painstakingly researched and impressively realised exploration of deeply human geographies.’ The Sunday Times
‘This complex, time-shifting romance combines moral hazard with Wuthering Heights echoes and degree-level Egyptology. And there aren’t many books you can say that about.’ Daily Mail
MAD HONEY, the stunning and compelling Sunday Times bestseller by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan is available now.
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
‘A writer the world should be reading right now.’ Independent
Who would you be, if you hadn’t turned out to be the person you are now?
Dawn is a death doula, and spends her life helping people make the final transition peacefully.
But when the plane she’s on plummets, she finds herself thinking not of the perfect life she has, but the life she was forced to abandon fifteen years ago – when she left behind a career in Egyptology, and a man she loved.
Against the odds, she survives, and the airline offers her a ticket to wherever she needs to get to – but the answer to that question suddenly seems uncertain.
As the path of her life forks in two very different directions, Dawn must confront questions she’s never truly asked: what does a well-lived life look like? What do we leave behind when we go? And do we make our choices, or do our choices make us?
Two possible futures. One impossible choice.
—————————————————————-
‘It is hard to exaggerate how well Picoult writes.’ Financial Times
‘A matchless talent for hitting emotional notes.’ Irish Times
‘A wise, cerebral, propulsive adventure . . . eruditely spans the worlds of Egyptology, university physics and end-of-life care, while never losing sight of its high-stakes human story . . . a captivatingly immersive, multilayered, painstakingly researched and impressively realised exploration of deeply human geographies.’ The Sunday Times
‘This complex, time-shifting romance combines moral hazard with Wuthering Heights echoes and degree-level Egyptology. And there aren’t many books you can say that about.’ Daily Mail
MAD HONEY, the stunning and compelling Sunday Times bestseller by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan is available now.
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Reviews
A writer the world should be reading right now
It is hard to exaggerate how well Picoult writes
How many of us have looked back on a decision that changed our lives and wondered: what if we had made a different choice? Picoult's novel The Book of Two Ways digs into this very question and the result is incredibly thought-provoking. Dawn Edelstein was once a young grad student working on a dig in Egypt, in love with a fellow Egyptologist, and getting ever closer to proving a radical new theory about ancient Egyptians' burial rituals for the road to the afterlife. Then a phone call from home changed everything. Fifteen years later, Dawn is married, with a teenage daughter, and working in Boston as a death doula, helping the dying prepare to leave this world in the best way possible. When Dawn has a near-death experience she is confronted with the question of whether the good life she has could have been a great one. Dawn doesn't just ponder the question-she returns to Egypt, and the man she once loved, to see if she can find the answer. Picoult incorporates fascinating details about Egyptology into her novel-the title comes from an ancient Egyptian tome of the same name-bringing history and a universal connection into the story. The Book of Two Ways is a provocative exploration into monumental questions: about the life we are living, who we want to be with when we die, and whether it's possible-and acceptable-to change our mind, return to the trailhead, and go another way.
Picoult always tells both sides of a story not with judgment, but with grace
A thrilling adventure ... one that will lead readers to both learn a lot and also ask themselves key questions about how to create happy lives for themselves
Similar to Alice Hoffman's depiction of complex family ties, Picoult's latest stretches the importance of recognizing our bonds to those we love. Highly recommended for open-minded readers.
The Book of Two Ways is a return for Picoult to the themes of her earliest books -motherhood, complicated romantic love . . . Picoult, at this point in her career, could skilfully build tension in a broom closet, but the best part of this book is not the suspense; it's the look at the complexity of a woman as she enters middle age . . . [Picoult] always tells both sides of a story not with judgment, but with grace.
Picoult's fans will appreciate this multifaceted, high concept work.
Picoult's fans will be more than ready for this puzzle of a novel . . .[they] will find heady themes to consider.
Powerful and compelling
The pull of the well-drawn characters and powerful themes of regret and love make this head-spinning story a compelling read
This brilliant Sliding Doors-style novel will really get you thinking
A consummate storyteller
You're sure to be moved by the questions it poses about the meaning of life and death. Food for thought in these current crazy times
This complex, time-shifting romance combines moral hazard with Wuthering Heights echoes and degree-level Egyptology. And there aren't many books you can say that about.
If you've ever wondered if you could have lived another life, you'll like this
A wise, cerebral, propulsive adventure . . . It eruditely spans the worlds of Egyptology, university physics and end-of-life care, while never losing sight of its high-stakes human story... a captivatingly immersive, multilayered, painstakingly researched and impressively realised exploration of deeply human geographies
Literary powerhouse Jodi Picoult writes novels that make you think and her latest is no exception
Riveting
Ambitious
Picoult's writing is insightful and richly descriptive
A stunning Sliding Doors-style novel about life, death, and missed opportunities