SPOTLIGHT ON … JODI PICOULT

THE TALENTED AUTHOR CHATS TO WHO ABOUT HER LATEST NOVEL AND WHAT SHE’S READING

Is The Book of Two Ways your 26th novel? Do plots come more easily these days, and how did the idea for this one come to you?

I don’t count, but I think it’s my 26th? All plots arrive differently. This one came to me when my son Kyle, who is doing an Egyptology major at university, came home reading an ancient text with that title. I said, “That’s a great name for a book.” I learned that it was a funerary text found in the coffins of nobles in Ancient Egypt – and it’s the first known map of the afterlife. If you had the right knowledge, you could choose a water route or a land route, and wind up at the same place – the Ancient Egyptian version of heaven. Suddenly, the concept for my book fell into place – a woman looking back at the path her life didn’t take.

How much of a challenge was it to write this book, given Dawn’s two possible life outcomes that you reveal?

The most challenging thing about writing The Book of Two Ways was the structure. It metaphorically follows the Ancient Egyptian Book of Two Ways: there are two paths … but with a twist. Keeping the stories straight – and figuring how and why they wove together – was very complicated.

What’s something you think your readers might be surprised to learn about you?

I’m a very strong swimmer and routinely swim 1600m of the crawl as exercise.

What are you reading at the moment, or what have you read and loved recently?

Three to The Emily mind: Midnight Henry’s books Matt come Library, Beach Haig’s Read and Shelby Mahurin’s Blood And Honey. I’m also about to dive into Sue Miller's Monogamy. (The Book of Two Ways is out Sep. 22)