The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 6 days

Pages - 448

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Source - Netgalley

Blurb from Waterstones (Goodreads one is so huge)

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.


My Review

The book opens with a plane crashing, Dawn is the main character and survives the crash. As with anyone going through something like this she evaluates her life. Married and with a teenager - job as a death doula, go back to that life, or head back to Egypt to the man she loved and left and her dreams - working on a proper archaeological dig. Her life can go one of two ways, which will Dawn choose?

The book is so busy! There are flashbacks to the past, her life and work in Egypt and of course Wyatt, the one who "got away". We see how they met, clashed, worked together and learn a whole ton of Egyptian stuff which I actually found quite interesting, even if some was a bit over my head. Same with quantum physics, there was a lot to chew over in the book, besides all the relationship/self assessing journey. I Think a glossary would have helped with some of this.

The death doula job was very interesting and emotive, we get to see Dawn in action, what she does for her clients and how hard and special that kind of job is. Examining relationships from her past, present, with her husband, daughter, clients it is a busy busy book.

Really different to what I was expecting, the opening with the plane going down was so well done, my heart was in my mouth. Some of the other topics I found interesting, who doesn't find Egyptian stuff interesting and there was even a picture or two in the arc kindle version. Huge central focus on relationships, many types, if you escaped death - would it change up how you lived your life?
3.5/5 for me this time, I do enjoy Picoult books and have a few on my tbrm still to read.

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Sole Survivor by Dean Koontz

Sole Survivor by Dean Koontz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 403

Publisher - Bantam Books

Source - The Works

Blurb from Goodreads

A catastrophic, unexplainable plane crash leaves three hundred and thirty dead--no survivors. Among the victims are the wife and two daughters of Joe Carpenter, a Los Angeles Post crime reporter.
A year after the crash, still gripped by an almost paralyzing grief, Joe encounters a woman named Rose, who claims to have survived the crash. She holds out the possibility of a secret that will bring Joe peace of mind. But before he can ask any questions, she slips away.
Driven now by rage (have the authorities withheld information?) and a hope almost as unbearable as his grief (if there is one survivor, are there others?), Joe sets out to find the mysterious woman. His search immediately leads him into the path of a powerful and shadowy organization hell-bent on stopping Rose before she can reveal what she knows about the crash.
Sole Survivor unfolds at a heart-stopping pace, as a desperate chase and a shattering emotional odyssey lead Joe to a truth that will force him to reassess everything he thought he knew about life and death--a truth that, given the chance, will rock the world and redefine the destiny of humanity.



My Review

The one year anniversary since his wife and children's plane crashed and Joe is no closer to getting over his grief. When he happens upon the mysterious Rose, taking photographs of his loved ones grave then witnessing her being attacked, curiosity is piqued. Joe embarks on a journey to find out who she is, what she knows about his family and who then men are that have been following him.

I would say this book, for me, split into two stories. The first is all about Joe, grief, the relatives of those on board the aircraft and of course the mysterious Rose. Joe finds she has visited other families who lost someone on the crash and what befell them after her contact. The second part of the story we find out all about Rose, some mysterious happenings and the need to suspend belief a wee bit. There are so many parts I could talk about, humanity, what is right and wrong, ethics however to do so would go into spoilers, something I refuse to do. Would love to gab ideas though with folk who have read it, in a private forum or gabbing so as not to spoil it for anyone else. Certainly interesting ideas and sure conspiracy fans would love it and suggest stuff like that already happens somewhere in the world.

Interesting, different and certainly I wanted to find out what was coming next. Read Koontz before and will read him again, I like this I just didn't love it. I also preferred the first half of the book I think, 3 out of 5 for me this time.

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Alive by Piers Paul Read

Alive: The True Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - on and off over 4 days

Pages - 320

Publisher - Arrow

Source - Amazon

In 1972, a Fairchild plane carrying forty-five passengers, including the Uruguayan rugby team, crashed in the Andes mountains. The thirty-two survivors were hopelessly lost in one of the most remote places on earth.

After eight days of heavy snowfall, the rescue attempt was abandoned. Even if the plane could be found, the likelihood of the forty-five passengers and crew being discovered alive was remote. Yet ten weeks later two emaciated men fell to their knees at the sight of a Chilean peasant tending his cattle in a remote Andean valley. After finally persuading the incredulous authorities that they really were passengers from the missing plane, the two men led a rescue team to the site of the crash, the remaining fourteen survivors and a tale of horrific bravery.

Putting to rest the rumours and criticism the survivors suffered, Alive exposes the inescapable truth and stark courageousness of how they lived to tell their story. Weakened by starvation, extreme cold, and by the awful knowledge that the search had been called off, the survivors had to face the torturous reality of their situation: to live, they must eat the flesh of their dead companions...



My Review

The book opens with a brief acknowledgement from the author to the folk who helped him with his writing and the honest feedback from the survivors after reading it. The book is about the true story of the survivors of the plane that crashed in the Andes mountains in 1972. We open with a wee bit of background on the country, the passengers and then follow them on their journey before boarding, during flight and after the crash. The is the true story of what the survivors endured, what happened to everyone on board and how they survived to have their story told.

I had seen the movie years ago but I had never read the book. I think whilst it is safe to say the movie itself is emotional it doesn't pack half the punch of the tale within the book. Friendship, terror, starvation, survival, situations most of us cannot conceive of, these people lived through it. I could have read the book in one sitting but for the fact it was so horrific, knowing these poor souls went through it, actually lived through it and the suffering of those who did not, heartbreaking.This edition of the book has photographs in two sections, none are graphic or show remains, it is photographs of the team before take off and on the plane, afterwards some of the survivors, rescue and the grave on the mountain.

It is not a book for the faint hearted, some decisions you just cannot imagine ever having to make, cannibalism, life and death and through it all, friendship, faith and religion. You just cannot imagine it and I had to keep putting the book down to process my thoughts and feelings and that was just me reading of their experience. I would have liked to have known more about the survivors, the book does look briefly at the immediate after but in contrast to the before and during it was very little. I hope wherever they are they have found peace, this is a book that will stay with me long after the last page was turned, 4/5 for me.

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After The Crash by Michel Bussi

After the Crash by Michel Bussi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 386

Publisher - Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Blurb from Goodreads

On the night of 22 December 1980, a plane crashes on the Franco-Swiss border and is engulfed in flames. 168 out of 169 passengers are killed instantly. The miraculous sole survivor is a three-month-old baby girl. Two families, one rich, the other poor, step forward to claim her, sparking an investigation that will last for almost two decades. Is she Lyse-Rose or Emilie?

Eighteen years later, having failed to discover the truth, private detective Credule Grand-Duc plans to take his own life, but not before placing an account of his investigation in the girl's hands. But, as he sits at his desk about to pull the trigger, he uncovers a secret that changes everything - then is killed before he can breathe a word of it to anyone...



My Review

The opening chapter starts in 1980, on the flight that crashes, leaving one sole survivor and flips forward eighteen years later. Two families claim the child is theirs, a private investigator is hired and investigates the case for those eighteen years. An account, told by him Credule Grand-Duc and written down for the girl survivor. After all this time will the truth be revealed?

A tale that flips between present day and Grand-Duc's diary going back to when he was first hired and his findings and thoughts at the time. Secrets are at risk of being exposed, some people will go to any lengths to protect them, including murder. The child, now adult, has her eighteenth birthday and is on a mission of her own. Her brother and protector Marc is desperate to find her and stop her & some members of the family who lost out on the child just can't let go!

The story starts off really strong and reels you right in, we then meet the characters as the tale starts to play out. I found the diary by Grand-Duc quite hard going at times, not because of the content, rather because he gets quite long winded at parts and I got a tad bored by his ramblings. It takes a wee bit of time to figure out where the present day story is going and understand the behaviour of the girl as the narrative isn't blatant about what she is doing. Marc is as much in the dark as the reader which is a bit frustrating after a while. Throw into that we have someone prepared to kill to achieve their goal and their identity is not disclosed so you are playing detective for a while. A relatively good read, I like my ends tied up and for the most part I got that, I would have liked Grad-Duc's diary to be more to the point rather than his musings on certain accounts. 3/5 for me this time, I would read this author again, this book is available to buy in all formats.

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