The Little Book

By: Selden Edwards

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman

A marvelous debut novel about love and basketball, time travel and rock'n'roll.

Thirty years in the writing, Selden Edwards' dazzling first novel is an irresistible triumph of the imagination. Wheeler Burden-banking heir, philosopher, student of history, legend's son, rock idol, writer, lover, recluse, half-Jew, and Harvard baseball hero-one day finds himself wandering not in his hometown of San Francisco in 1988 but in a city and time he knows mysteriously well: Vienna, 1897.

Before long, Wheeler acquires a mentor in Sigmund Freud, a bitter rival, a powerful crush on a luminous young woman, and encounters everyone from an eight-year-old Adolf Hitler to Mark Twain as well as the young members of his own family. Solving the riddle of Wheeler's dislocation in time will ultimately reveal nothing short of one eccentric family's unrivaled impact upon the course of human history.

Edwards brilliantly weaves romance, art, sci-fi, history, and culture in this unforgettable debut novel. A great YA read for those looking for a true adventure!

Critic reviews

"A soaring thing of joy whose only purpose-and I mean this as a compliment-is to delight and entertain."
-Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air

"Delightfully mad. . .a thrilling adventure."
-San Francisco Chronicle

"The product of a writer in full command of his gifts."
-Louisville Courier-Journal

"A wide-ranging novel of grand ideas. . .a graceful waltz of a book, spinning at times at dizzying speed, but leaving behind a haunting, unforgettable melody."
-New Orleans Times-Picayune

"Back to the Future for the intellectual set."
-Entertainment Weekly

"Inventive, bracing, poignant and well written. . . it should be at the top of everyone's summer reading list."
-Tucson Citizen

"It's hard not to be thoroughly taken with such an approach to both the real and imagined past."
-New York Daily News

"Required reading."
-New York Post

Fantastic historical fiction

Just listened a second time, just before and during my first trip to Vienna. What a pleasure to walk the Ringstrasse and visit a coffee house and the Mahler museum with this clever story unfolding. One of my favorites!

Delightful

I've been puzzled by the one review from Jon saying the writing is the "worst." I found this book delightful, tightly written, with a little history, a little romance, and a delightful family saga. One of the best things is that the language is absolutely appropriate to the time/place. In Fin de Siecle Vienna the language reminds me of my grandmother who was 20 years old in the same era in Chicago. The language from the WWII years comes right from my parents who were 20-something then. And the language from 70's and 80's San Francisco, comes out of my own experience. What attention to detail! This is the first time that I have started a book over immediately after finishing it and am discovering the many clues to the conclusion throughout the book! Don't be discouraged by Jon's review.

Wonderful story, great to listen to

So good! Second time I've read this. I read it the first time and listened this time and both were great. It comes together so well, and has so many interesting characters and interesting history. It makes you feel like you're really there, and you get a sense of the author's joy and wonder, which is a beautiful thing.

Someone mentioned the audio being confusing, and I did not find that to be the case at all. Even though it was my second time through the story, it's been years, and I was able to understand what was happening and who was who very clearly.

Interesting, but not entirely successful

This book was recommended to me by several people whose judgement I trust. However, I found it to be alternately interesting and annoying. Interesting in the time travel concept and the historical setting; annoying because several aspects of the story simply don't ring true. The author goes on and on about how fascinating this teacher is, and how all his students worship him, but never shows why exactly the boys admire him so sincerely. And the main character is portrayed as a godlike character...he doesn't come across as remotely believable or human, he just appears to be there to serve the author's plot purposes.

Also, the narrator uses an oddly toned and stilted voice when reading lines from the female main character...kind of breathy and contrived. I wish he'd kept to a more normal voice rather than trying to sound "feminine".

If you like historical fiction, you might enjoy this more than I did.

Beautiful

This is a beautiful, lushly descriptive book in the European style of storytelling. There are twists and turns aplenty - unique enough to keep me absorbed until the end. The narrator seemed uninterested at first, but warms up to the story and characters as he reads, acting more as the story progresses. Characters have depth and the story is rich like full-fat ice cream. I very much enjoyed the story, characters and performance.