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fiandaca's review against another edition
4.0
1/20 So far, I'm really enjoying this.
1/23 This was a great story-- a very interesting and enjoyable work of fiction.
1/23 This was a great story-- a very interesting and enjoyable work of fiction.
thrifty_librarian's review against another edition
Not for me, just can't get into it. I think you have to really be into old-school Vienna to be interested.
carlasbookishclub's review against another edition
4.0
It was hard to get through this book at first, but I was enthralled the 2nd half of the book!
bamandia's review against another edition
5.0
honestly, when i bought this book, i didn't know what i was getting into. boy was i happily surprised.
it's a cleverly written time traveling story, set mostly in 1897 Vienna, when Freud was developing his theories, Hitler was a 10 year old boy, and Gustav Mahler's music was innovative and controversial, as he was living in antisemitic times. drop in an aging 1970's rock star, and his war hero father, transported from different places/times in the future, and there's the basis of your story.
every layer of this book, as it unraveled, continued to surprise me.
there are some very interesting turns in the main character, Wheeler's, relationships with the people in his life, not only his father, but his grandfather, grandmother, teacher, and lover...some unexpected background that unfolds as the story progresses...and there's a lot of mystery, love and psychology...all tying back to his modern day life in San Francisco.
i read this book in two days, i couldn't put it down...and i know it will be a story i go back to again and again...as i feel that something new will reveal itself every time i read it.
loved it.
bsglaser's review against another edition
4.0
Despite some minor narrative flaws and some dialogue that doesn't always ring true, The Little Book works both as an original fiction and a tour of late 19th-century Vienna. The time-travel conceit doesn't come across like sci-fi (the creators of Lost could have used some of this author's restraint), but instead is used to draw non-linear connections between multiple eras in a way that felt satisfying instead of awkward or contrived. The longer I stayed in Selden's Vienna, the more I wanted to travel to the real one.
wvanausdal's review against another edition
4.0
This book was quite interesting and entertaining. There was a very mild sex scene and some basic talk about Freud's Oedipus Complex. But I didn't squirm much and I liked the writing.
brent_m's review against another edition
4.0
After polishing off [b:The Time Traveler's Wife|14050|The Time Traveler's Wife|Audrey Niffenegger|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31DB3K45TXL._SL75_.jpg|2153746], I had [b:The Little Book|4746029|The Little Book|Selden Edwards|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51l%2BJqX5pNL._SL75_.jpg|3034636] recommended to me since it was also a story of relationships and time travel.
This time, though, our hero, Wheeler Burden, gets to stay in one place: turn-of-the-century Vienna. I'll leave you to discover the circumstances behind his arrival, but what I can tell you is he gets to meet, along with Sigmund Freud and Mark Twain, a father he never knew and a grandfather he wished he never met. The characters are well-constructed, and the story weaves them together in a rich, swirly, surprising way.
Who knew Vienna in 1897 had such a concentration of thinkers, artists and scientists? Selden Edwards does a masterful job of placing historical gems throughout the story: notes about how the city was built, its history of repelling Turkish invaders, political intrigue, rising anti-Semitism, the flourishing of philosophy, music, psychology. I'm anxious to walk the Ringstrasse someday. I admit to geeking out a bit when it comes to history, which is one of the reasons I loved [b:The Historian|10692|The Historian|Elizabeth Kostova|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170833655s/10692.jpg|3061272] so much.
Edwards has a semi-anachronistic writing style that made understanding his characters a bit of a challenge, but so rewarding in the end. Maybe that's what happens when you take 30 years to finish your novel. It was refreshing, actually, after reading [b:The Lost Symbol|6411961|The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3)|Dan Brown|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51jHvD-ZUrL._SL75_.jpg|6600281]. No offense, Dan Brown.
This time, though, our hero, Wheeler Burden, gets to stay in one place: turn-of-the-century Vienna. I'll leave you to discover the circumstances behind his arrival, but what I can tell you is he gets to meet, along with Sigmund Freud and Mark Twain, a father he never knew and a grandfather he wished he never met. The characters are well-constructed, and the story weaves them together in a rich, swirly, surprising way.
Who knew Vienna in 1897 had such a concentration of thinkers, artists and scientists? Selden Edwards does a masterful job of placing historical gems throughout the story: notes about how the city was built, its history of repelling Turkish invaders, political intrigue, rising anti-Semitism, the flourishing of philosophy, music, psychology. I'm anxious to walk the Ringstrasse someday. I admit to geeking out a bit when it comes to history, which is one of the reasons I loved [b:The Historian|10692|The Historian|Elizabeth Kostova|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170833655s/10692.jpg|3061272] so much.
Edwards has a semi-anachronistic writing style that made understanding his characters a bit of a challenge, but so rewarding in the end. Maybe that's what happens when you take 30 years to finish your novel. It was refreshing, actually, after reading [b:The Lost Symbol|6411961|The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3)|Dan Brown|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51jHvD-ZUrL._SL75_.jpg|6600281]. No offense, Dan Brown.
michelle61's review against another edition
3.0
I think this book tries to cover and include too much. It has some great sections, but the interaction with real historical figures actually took away from my enjoyment of the family that the story follows.
skajder's review against another edition
4.0
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081501566.html
(What prompted me to pick it up.)
(What prompted me to pick it up.)