Play Audiobook Sample
The Little Book Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.00) - 2,455 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
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!
Download and start listening now!
"I loved this book. It was within the first few audiobooks I listed to, so that probably got me through the first few chapters without putting it down. I say this because it did take a bit to get into it. but in the end I really enjoyed the mystery of what happened to Wheeler. I have since read Somewhere In Time (which this book has been compared to a lot) and feel that The Little Book has more intent and closer. I felt more uplifted at the end of The Little Book. Along with this great story is the incredible word pictures Edwards paints for us of Vienna."
— Brook (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“A sweet, wistful elegy to the fantastic promise and failed hopes of the twentieth century.”
— Publishers Weekly
The Little Book Listener Reviews
-
" Still one of my favorites ... a great 'time travel' and mystery, plus a bit of historical fiction all wrapped up in one book - loved it!! "
— Vickie, 2/18/2014 -
" This was a book club book and was quite different than a "normal" one. It actually led to quite a bit of discussion. Quite a bit of time travel with interesting time and place. Some threads of the story werre a little weak, though. "
— Marilyn, 2/11/2014 -
" Perfect reading right after a Vienna vacation if you're into the Secession movement. "
— Sue, 1/27/2014 -
" This was a very, very bizarre book. But I think I liked it. My question is (not to be too spoilerific), who was the ambassador?? Is his name ever mentioned? "
— Sarah, 1/22/2014 -
" what a great book! Has lots of things I love -- time travel, stories in stories, history, great writing! super beach book without being too popcorny. "
— Erin, 1/10/2014 -
" Excellent book. I particularly enjoyed Wheeler's childhood. It did get a little tedious reading all the "facts" about Freud, Vienna, etc., but probably most readers are into that stuff. Wheeler's childhood friend Bucky/Buddy (can't remember), and the way the author used Wheeler's memories of him, was my favorite part. "
— Gwendolyn, 1/6/2014 -
" I really enjoyed this book but fell just short of being great. To many times the story falls back on repeating details, and I found the end of the book fell really flat for me. So overly romantic mush. Bad end to an otherwise really good book "
— Kevin, 1/5/2014 -
" Time travel steampunk, victorian manners, Vienna, with some good and bad guys and daring women, and strange overlap of relations ( well time travel will do that). A fun read. "
— Linda, 11/18/2013 -
" I'm currently re-reading this to brush on it for book club discussion at the end of the month. It's the kind of book that ties together a lot of threads at the end, so it's been fun to read it again knowing the whole story. You catch a lot that went right past you the first time. "
— Jennie, 11/11/2013 -
" I like the part in Boston better than the part in Vienna. "
— Jill, 11/11/2013 -
" I really wanted to read this book. And I tried. And I tried. But I just couldn't get into it. After maybe 50 pages, I couldn't bear to trudge through the remaining 350-ish pages. "
— Dawn, 10/24/2013 -
" A nice story. And nice to read it while in Vienna. A little too cheesy (insincere?) at parts for me though. "
— Katie, 10/12/2013 -
" It was okay, but not one I would normally read. Time travel, Hitler, Vienna, music and family. Some parts were good, other sections dragged on and on! "
— Linda, 9/30/2013 -
" If you were into Time Travler's Wife you might like this... I didn't fall in love with the characters but the rich descriptions of turn of the century Vienna kept me reading. "
— Christina, 7/6/2013 -
" Strange, can't get into it. "
— Joyce, 3/18/2012 -
" Very interesting - takes place in Vienna 1897. A bit complicated but good. "
— Susan, 2/17/2012 -
" Too sentimental. Things had to happen the way they did because the plot demanded it. That's annoying. "
— Aramis, 2/5/2012 -
" Another fascinating historical fiction in which the author makes time travel necessary in order for the past to develop. "
— Jennifer, 8/25/2011 -
" A good , if not , confusing book. "
— Tobi, 6/10/2011 -
" Really enjoyable read. It takes a good 50-70 pages to get into, but worth it in the end! "
— Susan, 4/25/2011 -
" I have always been hooked by a good story of time travel. Late 19th century Vienna is always an interesting time period. "
— Barbara, 4/14/2011 -
" what an interesting book. intriguing, thought provoking and a testament to love. i'm glad i have it on my Kindle. I plan on reading it again. "
— Sandra, 3/25/2011 -
" This was a fun. I learned about Vienna, Austria in the late 1800s: Mahler, Freud, Hitler, and European politics. Fascinating story line. I thought the ending lagged a bit, but everything else was enjoyable! "
— Kathy, 3/22/2011 -
" I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book after something of a slow start. It only gets four stars, though, because certain plot elements left me unsatisfied. "
— Anne, 3/16/2011 -
" Time travel, historical perspectives and fiction all in one "
— Mike, 3/13/2011 -
" Really enthralling story, with loads of thought-provoking themes running thru it. I applaud the author for not giving up during the 20-odd years it took to write! "
— Cori, 3/10/2011 -
" Awful. The happenstance of a Forrest Gump written by a John Irving wannabe. "
— Don, 3/9/2011 -
" I give this book an A for originality and historicity and boldness. I give it a B or C+ for teh writing, which was a bit clunky. "
— Leif, 2/27/2011 -
" This book is clever and not badly written but I just had difficulty caring about the characters or what happened to them. I attribute this to not enjoying time travel stories that much. This one has pretty good execution but it just wasn't my cup of tea. "
— Jay, 2/21/2011
About Selden Edwards
Selden Edwards spent his career as headmaster at several independent schools across the country, and for over forty years has been secretary of his class at Princeton, where he also played basketball. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.
About Jeff Woodman
Jeff Woodman is an actor and narrator. He is a winner of the prestigious Audie Award and a six-time finalist. He has received twenty Earphones Awards and was named the 2008 Best Voice in Fiction & Classics, as well as one of the Fifty Greatest Voices of the Century by AudioFile magazine. As an actor, he originated the title role in Tennessee Williams’ The Notebook of Trigorin and won the S. F. Critics’ Circle Award for his performance in An Ideal Husband. In addition to numerous theater credits on and off Broadway, his television work includes Sex and the City, Law & Order, and Cosby.