Play Audiobook Sample
The Story of a Million Years Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.05) - 115 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
David Huddle's short fiction appears frequently in publications including Esquire, Harper's Magazine, and The Best American Short Stories. In this compelling novel, he examines the complex mixtures of longing and contentment that make up contemporary relationships. Deeply affected by a teen-aged affair with a man nearly three times her age, Marcy Bunkleman subtly shapes the lives of everyone she meets. As she and the people closest to her tell their stories, an incredible picture emerges of secrets and lies, of knowledge and ignorance, and gradually of people longing to recapture those moments of effortless goodness in their lives. As Huddle gently strips away the layers of stories we tell ourselves and others, we find the strengths and weaknesses of people who could easily be our friends, our spouses, or ourselves. Grippingly told in a multiple-cast narration, The Story of a Million Years provides an entralling look at the drama hidden in even the most quiet lives.
Download and start listening now!
"this book is really interesting...each chapter is from a different point of view and each person has their own secret they are hiding (or think they are hiding). it is well written and a quick read- i would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a more intelligent beach read kind of book."
— Lizz (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“A stunning first novel…Impossible to put down.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“Already an accomplished writer of short fiction, Huddle applies his story-writing skills to this shimmering debut novel…The shifting viewpoints can make for a fractured, glancing narrative, but the multiple voices also create surprising dimension and texture in a slender novel. Like a shattered mirror pieced painstakingly together, every shard captures a different angle…His view of the human condition brims with wisdom, compassion and a rare grace.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“The story of some twenty years, told through seven discrete voices about lives intertwined, often intimately…The shared experiences and the different ‘selves’ that the varied voices bring to them build to a rare, complex reality, and the faceting and near-perfect prose give this reality a lustrous sheen. Highly recommended for quality fiction collections.”
— Library Journal -
“Huddle is such an accomplished short-story writer and poet, the triumph of his first novel comes as no surprise. Supple and incisive, it’s a composition for seven voices in which friends, lovers, and spouses candidly and tolerantly consider both their own failings and the disappointing but ultimately forgivable foibles of their loved ones.”
— Booklist -
“A kind of suburban Midwestern, domestic Rashomon whose finest sequences offer disturbingly candid revelations of how even the most intimate and trusting relationships are fraught with misunderstanding and secrecy…[Huddle gives] his characters vividly distinctive personalities—and the rueful honesty to see themselves as the flawed people they have somehow become.”
— Kirkus Reviews
The Story of a Million Years Listener Reviews
-
" Per the author's legacy, reads like a set of short stories instead of a holistic novel. Even towards the end, I had little empathy for the lead characters, and some were completely dropped altogether. "
— Nina, 5/11/2013 -
" Huddle was my favorite professor in college, incredibly smart, smartly funny, and most importantly - brought some of my favorite authors into my life. His class was on modern short fiction, and some of the authors he recommended/forced upon us actually changed my life. "
— Rebecca, 3/21/2013 -
" Even better the second time around!!! Love this man! "
— Robyn, 3/15/2013 -
" I read this book at least five years ago and it has stayed with me all this time. Indelible. "
— Laura, 8/10/2012
About the Narrators
Julie Dretzin, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is an actress who has appeared in Breaking Bad and several motion pictures, including the film adaptation of Alex Flinn’s Beastly.
Kate Forbes, winner of four Earphones Awards for audiobook narrating, is a professionally trained actress who has appeared on Broadway, in regional theaters, and with a renowned touring company. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College, where she was active in theater, she completed an MFA at New York University School of the Arts. With this training, she launched into a successful acting career.
L. J. Ganser is a multiple Audie Award–winning narrator with over six hundred titles recorded to date. Prized for versatility, his work ranges from preschool books to crime noir thrillers, from astronomical adventures in both science and science fiction, to Arctic Circle high school basketball stories. He lives in New York City with his family and dog, Mars.
Christina Moore is an actress and Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator. As an actress, she is best known for her roles in the television series That ’70s Show, Hawthorne, and 90210. She is a founding member of Bitches Funny, an all-female sketch group that has performed in New York City and Los Angeles.
Ruth Ann Phimister has appeared off Broadway and in numerous regional productions, including Life with Father with Robert Reed. She has also worked in television, film, and commercial voice-over.
Scott Shina is the narrator of such audiobooks as The Kid Who Became President by Dan Gutman and Finding Caruso by Kim Barnes.
Tom Stechschulte (1948–2021) was an acclaimed narrator and winner of the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. He had been a college athlete and business major when a friend dared him to audition for a play. He got the part and traded the locker room for the dressing room, eventually taking him to New York City and to recording audiobooks.
Tavia Gilbert is an acclaimed narrator of more than four hundred full-cast and multivoice audiobooks for virtually every publisher in the industry. Named the 2018 Voice of Choice by Booklist magazine, she is also winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has earned numerous Earphones Awards, a Voice Arts Award, and a Listen-Up Award. Audible.com has named her a Genre-Defining Narrator: Master of Memoir. In addition to voice acting, she is an accomplished producer, singer, and theater actor. She is also a producer, singer, photographer, and a writer, as well as the cofounder of a feminist publishing company, Animal Mineral.