The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano

There wasn't enough difference here to keep the lives straight and I just didn't get the feel I expected

As someone whose Spotify Wrapped skews towards “yearning” and “nostalgia”, it's no shock that I was drawn to this book of what-ifs. But it's not simply looking back on roads not taken - it's an actual exploration of nine of them. (Yes, like Sliding Doors.)

Rose married Luke knowing they wouldn't have kids. He's since changed his mind. All nine lives are sparked from the same moment - Rose had begrudgingly agreed to take prenatal vitamins, Luke discovers the bottle's full - but each time, she reacts differently and a new future is created. Some include a baby, often under pressure, raising big questions of social norms and identity and consent; others don't. Some include divorce, affairs, career pivots. You see some of her most important relationships strengthen or wither across lives, while others are universally present, just in different ways.

What I loved about this book is that I couldn't always predict which choices would lead to which outcomes. And honestly, as someone who agonizes over making the “right” choice, I found it deeply soothing that there was joy and heartbreak in (nearly) every life Rose chose.

I loved reading this book. I'm shocked that it didn't get more attention when it came out last year - I'm not always a book club person, but this was made for book club discussions. At risk of getting personal, it would be fascinating to hear which choices and lives resonated most with each person and why.

My only caveat is that the lives aren't written linearly - you jump from life to life - so I'd recommend having a hard copy to make it easier to flip back and recall where the life you're in left off!