The Story of a Million Years

by David Huddle

Book Overview

The acclaimed poet and story writer David Huddle weaves a masterly portrait of two couples and their shared histories, desires, and secrets. Marcy, Allen, Uta, Jimmy -- each becomes the hero of his or her own story, as all mine the past for evidence of goodness.
David Huddle moves with remarkable agility from the imagination of a precocious adolescent girl, to the fears of a man in midlife, to the longings of a wife whose reserve cloaks aching...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618082336
• ISBN13: 9780618082339
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

great little novel

This a very good book if you like to read about people's inner thoughts, interactions and reactions to the people they love and know. It is subtle in its prose, the characters are relatable, and flow of the characters points of view are perfect. This book will be in your mind even when you have stopped reading it.

Subtle, Powerful and Unforgettable

Whenever a short story writer I admire produces a novel, I cringe, remembering the legions of talented writers of shorter works who've tried longer forms and failed. So I approached this novel with some trepidation, hoping that this gifted short story writer wouldn't taint my high opinion of his previous work. I had no need to worry -- this novel is a gem.If you like your novels plot rather than character-driven, you need to look elsewhere. However, if you're interested in a multi-layered exploration of how people live, think and relate, then this one's for you.Suiting Huddle's background as a short story writer, the novel is structured around chapters with each one told from a different character's point of view. Each chapter reveals new insights about the other characters, and the speaker. By the end, the reader knows something of the secrets of each of them, and your understanding (and affection) for each deepens with every turn of the page. By the end, you know much of the interior lives of all of them, and you understand how their interactions and relationships are largely motivated by that part of their history that is unknowable to anyone, even those closest to them, and which will not and cannot be shared.Huddle's writing is unobtrusive. It hints at more than it states, and it is magnificently uncluttered. No verbal pyrotechnics here -- just good writing where every word fits perfectly and does its job. It's the prose equivalent of a Shaker chair.This book will keep you thinking -- about relationships, about the secrets you keep, and about the secrets kept by your spouse, your closest friends, and everyone else. It holds up well on repeated readings, and it will stay with you.

fascinating, challenging and real

This is one of those rare gems that you will not be able to put down!! You have a chance to objectively experience life ..through a number of beautifully described characters, their issues, secrets and self-defining moments. I absolutely loved this book...Recently, I lent this book to a friend and she spent the entire day reading!! This book is rich and meaningful!!

Beautifully Written

This is one of those books that as you begin to read it, you realize you have found a jewel. An exceptionally well-written book that *stays* with you long after you have read the last page. A thinking person's book that has become one of the best books I have ever read.

An engaging, entertaining & provocative web of stories.

David Huddle's poems and short stories have been cherished reading for me for the past ten years. His novel lives up to my expectations. Huddle has a remarkable ability to create and capture his characters and bring them to life. His characters, male or female, are made real and believable. He creates believable lives and situations that allow me to look at life from a different perspective, perspectives that never fail to give me insight into my own life. I hope you will read this book; it is both a collection of short stories and an epic tale of a group of people you will grow to care about. David Huddle is one of America's greatest short story writers, and with this book he has made a significant contribution to the finest novels of the late Twentieth Century.