Selden Edwards' "The Little Book: A Novel" is a wildly creative mix of historical fiction and fantasy, packed with twists and turns that would translate beautifully to the big screen. The lovingly detailed depiction of turn-of-the-century Vienna is utterly captivating. The interactions with historical figures like Freud, the young Hitler, and Gustav Mahler feel incredibly authentic, and Freud even plays a key role in the story's resolution. I found myself wondering how Freud's Oedipal theory mig...

I picked up *The Little Book: A Novel* a while back and finally decided to finish it. I'm a bit torn, to be honest. I enjoyed the historical aspects, but the constant jumping back and forth in time, along with the shifting characters and narrators, got pretty confusing. And the book never really bothered to explain *how* they were traveling through time—they just did. The historical stuff is genuinely interesting, though. Selden Edwards has definitely piqued my curiosity enough that I'm consider...

Selden Edwards poured over thirty years of his life into crafting *The Little Book: A Novel* – a project he started in 1974, constantly revising and perfecting the story until 2007, when he finally declared it finished (check out http://www.seldenedwards.com/about-little-book for more). This incredibly well-written tale throws you headfirst into time travel, genuine love, rock-and-roll, turn-of-the-century Vienna (yep, the 1800s), baseball, destiny, family (the whole shebang: lives, loves, and d...

I really wanted to love "The Little Book: A Novel," to completely lose myself in its pages. I kept reading, hoping for some kind of resolution, some harmony between the voices, the mingling of historical and fictional characters, some reason to keep going until the end. But when the end finally arrived, I was just relieved to put the book down. The idea of time travel, especially to fin de siècle Vienna, a vibrant and glorious era, was so appealing. But I just felt bogged down. Stray, competing ...

Do you love stories brimming with love, music, and a touch of time travel? Do you get a kick out of celebrity cameos and historical threads weaving together? Are you inspired by teachers who think outside the box and storytellers who know their craft? If you're nodding along, then you absolutely need to pick up "The Little Book: A Novel" by Selden Edwards! This book is a must-read for fans of captivating fiction. I started "The Little Book: A Novel" with a little hesitation (time travel can be t...

Time-travel stories, as intricate as they are, demand a special touch, a keen grasp of cause and effect. That's what makes them so easy to botch and, at the same time, so challenging to nail.There's a rich history to these cyclical narratives, arguably starting with Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, The Flying Trunk, and continuing a century later with Richard Matheson's Somewhere in Time in the 1970s, and more recently with Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife.Selden Edwards' *The ...

First of all, BEWARE of reviews that give away too much of the plot of *The Little Book: A Novel* (looking at you, Amazon!), because knowing too many intricate details will ruin your reading experience. I'm intentionally vague here because some reviews I read gave away key plot elements. The time-travel aspect might make you think it's sci-fi, but it's really more historical fiction with its exhaustive detailing of 1867 Vienna. It also touches on psychology, romance, and philosophy (those who l...

I really wanted to give "The Little Book: A Novel" three stars, but I just can't. To me, it felt like a wonderful idea – sort of Jack Finney meets John Irving – unfortunately landing with someone who just doesn't have the skill or the ease to realize it effectively. The writing itself is perfectly sound and literate, but for me, Selden Edwards didn't have the command to carry off his ridiculously complicated structure. It features multiple narrative lines, multiple time periods, and constantly c...

Dilly Burden was a legend, a true hero. He was a star at his Boston boys' school and at Harvard, a phenomenal baseball player, and he gave his life in World War II, enduring torture and death at the hands of the Gestapo in France. His only son, Wheeler, has no memories of his dad but has spent his entire life trying to live up to that legendary figure.Where Dilly was an icon, Wheeler is more of an eccentric. He followed his father's path to the same Boston boys' school, and despite the guidance ...

Selden Edwards’ *The Little Book: A Novel* is not just a book; it's an experience. A sprawling, ambitious, and utterly captivating journey through time, love, and the enduring power of music. From the moment I cracked open the spine, I was hooked. Forget everything you think you know about historical fiction; this novel bends genres and expectations with gleeful abandon. The protagonist, Wheeler Burden, is a character you'll root for from page one. His quest to unravel a family mystery leads h...