
Small World
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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William DeMeritt
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By:
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Jonathan Evison
About this listen
Winner of the Housatonic Book Award
A New York Times Editors' Choice!
One of Booklist’s “Top 10 Historical Fiction Novels of 2022”
One of the Los Angeles Times's “10 Books to Add to Your Reading List”
One of Book Culture's Most Anticipated Reads
“A bighearted, widescreen American tale.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Masterpiece . . . The quintessential great American novel.”—Booklist (starred review)
“A vivid mosaic.”—BookPage (starred review)
Jonathan Evison’s Small World is an epic novel for now. Set against such iconic backdrops as the California gold rush, the development of the transcontinental railroad, and a speeding train of modern-day strangers forced together by fate, it is a grand entertainment that asks big questions.
The characters of Small World connect in the most intriguing and meaningful ways, winning, breaking, and winning our hearts again. In exploring the passengers’ lives and those of their ancestors more than a century before, Small World chronicles 170 years of American nation-building from numerous points of view across place and time. And it does it with a fullhearted, full-throttle pace that asks on the most human, intimate scale whether it is truly possible to meet, and survive, the choices posed—and forced—by the age.
The result is a historical epic with a Dickensian flair, a grand entertainment that asks whether our nation has made good on its promises. It dazzles as its characters come to connect with one another through time. And it hits home as it probes at our country’s injustices, big and small, straight through to its deeply satisfying final words.
©2021 Jonathan Evison (P)2021 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
A New York Times Editors' Pick | Joyce Carol Oates Prize longlist | One of The Christian Science Monitor's and Bookreporter's “Best Books of 2022” | One of the Los Angeles Times's “10 Books to Add to Your Reading List” | One of Book Culture's Most Anticipated Reads | An Amazon “Best of the Month” Pick in Literature and Fiction
“This is more than a sprawling, big-hearted, blue-collar novel, it’s a Dickensian saga on a grand American scale, filled with beauty and violence, tragedy and redemption. This is the kind of historical fiction that keeps you up all night, burning in your veins like kerosene.”—Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
“A creative, insightful work of fiction. Evison pulls off a wonderful high-wire act of storytelling that few would attempt, and even fewer could achieve so sharply!”—Jason Mott, author of the National Book Award winner Hell of a Book
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With her husband Bernard two years in the grave, seventy-nine-year-old Harriet Chance sets sail on an ill-conceived Alaskan cruise only to discover through a series of revelations that she's been living the past sixty years of her life under entirely false pretenses. There, amid the buffets and lounge singers, between the imagined appearance of her late husband and the very real arrival of her estranged daughter midway through the cruise, Harriet is forced to take a long look back, confronting the truth about pivotal events that changed the course of her life.
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Why I Didn't Like This Story
- By Kathy in CA on 10-02-15
By: Jonathan Evison
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Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving
- By: Jonathan Evison
- Narrated by: Jeff Woodman
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Benjamin Benjamin has lost virtually everything - his wife, his family, his home, his livelihood. With few options, Ben enrolls in a night class called The Fundamentals of Caregiving taught in the basement of a local church. There Ben is instructed in the art of inserting catheters and avoiding liability and how to keep physical and emotional distance between client and provider. But when Ben is assigned to 19-year-old Trev, he discovers that the endless mnemonics and service plan checklists have done little to prepare him.
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Unlike!
- By Pamela Harvey on 01-02-13
By: Jonathan Evison
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All About Lulu
- By: Jonathan Evison
- Narrated by: Michael Mish
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Weakness has always been a concern for William Miller. Growing up vegetarian in a family of bodybuilders will do that to a person. But William is further weakened by the death of his mother, the arrival of a new stepmother, and his irrepressible crush on his new stepsister, Lulu. As Lulu faces down her own challenges, William watches his life shift into tumult and despair. Once Lulu departs for college, Will goes into the world to find himself....
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A good listen
- By Carolyn B. Meredith on 01-22-11
By: Jonathan Evison
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How to Sleep at Night
- A Novel
- By: Elizabeth Harris
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Meet Ethan and Gabe. A devoted couple for years, they have successful careers, an adorable daughter, and a house in the New Jersey suburbs. Sure, they may have drifted to different ends of the political spectrum, but their marriage still has its spark. Then one night Ethan makes an announcement: he wants to run for Congress as a Republican—but only if he has progressive Gabe’s blessing.
By: Elizabeth Harris
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What Happened to the McCrays?
- A Novel
- By: Tracey Lange
- Narrated by: Stephanie Németh-Parker, William DeMeritt
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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When Kyle McCray gets word his father has suffered a debilitating stroke, he returns to his hometown of Potsdam, New York, where he doesn’t expect a warm welcome. Kyle left suddenly two and a half years ago, abandoning people who depended on him: his father, his employees, his friends—not to mention Casey, his wife of sixteen years and a beloved teacher in town. He plans to lie low and help his dad recuperate until he can leave again, especially after Casey makes it clear she wants him gone.
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Real and moving
- By John P. Holderer on 03-06-25
By: Tracey Lange
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Seveneves
- A Novel
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal, Will Damron
- Length: 31 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.
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Odd narrator choice
- By Josh Mitchell on 05-30-15
By: Neal Stephenson
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Mothers and Sons
- A Novel
- By: Adam Haslett
- Narrated by: Andrew Gibson, Janet Metzger
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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At forty, Peter, an asylum lawyer in New York City, is overworked and isolated. He spends his days immersed in the struggles of immigrants only to return to an empty apartment and occasional hook-ups with a man who wants more than Peter can give. But when the asylum case of a young gay man pierces Peter's numbness, the event that he has avoided for twenty years returns to haunt him. Ann, his mother, who runs a women's retreat center she founded after leaving his father, is wounded by the estrangement from Peter but cherishes the world she has built.
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Good multiple narrators. Tiresome characters.
- By CoastalReader on 02-20-25
By: Adam Haslett
What listeners say about Small World
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- ChrisW
- 08-15-23
Thoroughly Enjoyed
Since I play most audiobooks while driving, I often find novels with multiple characters difficult to follow. This was an extraordinary exception. The characters were distinct and interesting, the rhythm was enjoyable and the narration was perfect for the story. I thoroughly enjoyed every part of this production
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1 person found this helpful
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- David C.
- 03-19-22
A tale of the roots of America
Excellent construct of the stories of the varied people that make America. I loved it. Wonderfully read.
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- RueRue
- 01-15-24
Very engaging
Quite a sweeping saga of multiple characters making their fortunes -or not - in America. Even at 16 hours, I felt like it could have been a bit longer, to give more resolution to several of the characters. Maybe it was the authors intent to allow the reader to fill in those open endings. Excellent narrator.
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- Katalin T. Torok
- 04-13-24
Details of people of the historical times.
Engrossing story of immigrants, native peoples and African AMERICANS over 65 years just after the gold rush.
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- Barbara A.
- 02-09-22
Tremendously entertaining
I just would’ve liked to know a little bit more about how each character’s story ends, but I have to admire the way the author left it up to the reader’s imagination.
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- Inrange6
- 01-31-22
Accentuates our great need to never forget our history
Especially now more than ever in our world, we all need to remember our past, our story. This book is such an amazing intertwined novel of todays characters and storytelling a character from their history in the past. The ending left me wanting more. It also made me have great conversations with others about our personal history and how we can never forget what our ancestors did to help build this country.
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- zBrightEyezz
- 06-26-22
The American journey
What a wonderful story of Americans finding their way through challenges and hardships of immigration and survival. The narration is very good. The novel just terrific.
I highly recommend this.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Susan
- 08-17-24
Story of interesting lives across generations
A few of the people’s descendants do connect but the ending seemed abrupt without satisfying what happened in several people’s lives.
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- Arlieta H.
- 04-26-22
The Face of Americans
This book tied this country together from its inception until now. A person from each ethnic group from the past beautifully tied to same family now with drama and excitement. I loved reading this book.
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- Anne
- 05-26-22
Loved the narrator!
The narrator did a great job distinguishing so many personalities without making them sound silly.
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