Mummies, love, and a plane crash – oh my!
Shortest Summary Ever: Dawn Edelstein nearly dies in a plane crash. This moment draws her back to Egypt where she left her former life behind (and a man named Wyatt) 15 years ago. Then there’s Bryan and her daughter Meret back in Boston – the life she’s created that’s also dear. Where should she go?
Thoughts: I love Picoult when she’s not giving the expected, and so I enjoyed this book. To keep my review spoiler free I can say this – it’s brutally honest, which is brave and ballsy. I absolutely love honestly. I don’t need “perfect” or I’d be reading romance (barf). The characters aren’t infallible – they are human, and humans are full of imperfection. I LOVE THAT. I have never married so for me it was enjoyable to sit on both paths – a life with Brian her steady true hubby, or what life would be like with “the one who got away.” I could easily put myself in these characters’ clothes, try em on for size, and stroll around for a while. Riveting and thought-inducing to try those outfits on.
Picoult’s characterization is her brilliance – she’s able to make the reader see and feel every side of this story down to 14-yr old Meret and her discomfort with her body, Brian and his steadfastness in his marriage, Wyatt and his facade of confidence, and Dawn and her questioning of everything that is LIFE. Damn that’s good.
The book is cerebral which is also tough to pull off. I’m a thinker and I’m pretty smart (don’t let the snark fool ya… I graduated Summa Cum Laude suckas!) so I enjoyed the LEARNING… but that brings me to my one star deduction.
I adored the information about what the book of Two Ways was, its meaning, the Egyptology (I Googled soooooo much stuff!), until it became ad nauseam Egyptology where every emotion Dawn was feeling had to be compared to some old dead dude and his wife. Then quantum physics was sprinkled in and flashback dashes of philosophy class (ugh I hated that class)… it seemed too jumbled in some places. But I FEEL crazy smart now and it’s the first time I’ve understood ANYTHING physics (don’t judge).
All my reviews available at scrappymags.com around time of publication.
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Women’s Fiction/Chic-Lit
Recommend to: You have to be ready for cerebral because you’ll be schooled.
Not recommended to: It’s not a quick and done so be ready.
Thank you to the author, Random House Ballantyne, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my always-honest review and for the education in all things Egypt tombs.
