Name: The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano
ISBN: 9780008370664

Donna Freitas

ONE QUESTION. ONE CHOICE. NINE PATHS TO THE REST OF HER LIFE...

The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano

"An emotional novel about motherhood--about a woman who has never thought she wanted to become a mother, and how she does or does not decide to go ahead and have a child"--

Christina Pappas

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!

KADY BURNS

Not normally something that I would go for but I loved it so much I finished in one sitting. Knocked off a star for the ending though

Brittany Harper

This was good, but not great.  I feel like they marketed the book wrong - I thought the book would be all about a woman (who didn't want children) and the different possible paths that her life may go.  However, Rose ultimately ended up with a child in each version of her life - either a child she had herself or her boyfriend's child.  I just felt this wasn't really the point of where the book was marketed to go.  I initially pictured the nine different lives to be vastly different (and parts of the story were), but it all ended the same.  Also, I got all of the lives and timelines very confused.  I didn't really pay attention to the dates/years at all.  And I had a really hard time keeping track of the different lives.  They all overlapped details so much, that I had a hard time keeping them all straight.

I have copied a portion of Karen's review, as I felt their words put it perfectly: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4061901336?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1
"Unfortunately, it seems to me that Frietas failed a bit in her attempt. Because in the end--unless I missed something--Rose Napolitan0--the woman who doesn't want to become a mother--becomes a mother in some way in every one of the nine lives described in the book. (Only one life ends without a happy ending. But even in that life, Rose has a baby. SPOILER ALERT: She just doesn't have time to regret the decision.)
And so, the book ends with the idea that motherhood changes a woman's life in many different ways, but all, apparently, for the best. So it seems as if the moral of Fritas's story is--Every woman should become a mother to someone--either through birth or association--because it will always be a fulfilling experience. While I sincerely hope that every woman who does become a mother sees that role as a fulfilling experience, I'm here to tell you that it is possible for a woman to feel perfectly happy and fulfilled in life without being a mother.
(I also suspect there are some women who regret the choice of motherhood--even if they love their children--but that's another issue.)"

Elizabeth Garza

I believe the format of this book is known as the "butterfly effect" (???), and though at first confusing, the format really adds a layer of emotional nuance to the story. It's basically all the what-if situations surrounding this One Thing/Issue between Rose and her husband. It was a great book that explored what it means to be a woman in general, a woman who doesn't want kids, and a woman who does or has kids. And all the variations in-between.

I listened to the audio and thought the narrator did a fantastic job. It was a great, impactful, oddly chill, feminist women's fiction read.

The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano

Reviews

Highlights