Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE PRIX JOSEPH KESSEL 2020
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GRAND PRIX DE L’ACADÉMIE FRANÇAISE 2019
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GRAND PRIX DES BLOGUEURS LITTÉRAIRES 2019
Chosen as one of French booksellers’ Top 5 Titles of Autumn 2019 in Livres Hebdo
‘On the mountain, the only monsters are the ones you take with you.’
Stan has been hunting for fossils since the age of six. Now, in the summer of 1954, he hears a story he cannot forget: the skeleton of a huge creature – a veritable dragon – lies deep in an Alpine glacier. And he is determined to find it.
But Stan is no mountaineer. To complete his dangerous expedition, he must call on loyal friend Umberto, who arrives with an eccentric young assistant, and expert guide Gio. Time is short: the four men must descend before the weather turns. As bonds are forged and tested, the hazardous quest for the earth’s lost creatures becomes a journey into Stan’s own past.
Reviews
‘Poignant, short but powerful … explores ideas of comradeship, the persistence of childhood trauma and the nature of obsession.’ Sunday Times
‘brief, unusual, but supremely effective… explores the limits of human physical endurance with total conviction.’  The Tablet
‘This is an unforgettable novel, beautifully written and utterly gripping.’ Mail on Sunday
‘A sublime and beautiful book’ Carys Davies, author of West
‘Every line is golden. It’s impossible to describe it without selling it short. It is a small, perfect thing, beautiful and devastating’ Sara Taylor, author of The Shore
‘Spare, elegant and poetic, this slender novel is quietly devastating’ Daily Mail
‘Breathless and heartbreaking . . . the story is thrilling and wrenching by turns . . . Tracing a treasure that waits just out of reach, A Hundred Million Years and a Day speaks to the adventurers within us all’ Foreword Reviews
‘The description of the mountain environment is beautifully rendered, majestic, full of beauty and ultimately an overarching power that is beyond mere mortals . . . A wonderfully told tale over c.170 pages’ TripFiction
‘Using beautiful imagery and poetic language, Andrea takes us to the mountains for an adventure that is as cruel as it is magical’ Le Figaro
‘Gripping and poetic, it keeps you hooked until the final page’ La Croix
‘Under Jean-Baptiste Andrea’s skilled penmanship, the alpine adventure novel becomes a moving tale of personal discovery, and the fossil, a brilliant metaphor for the search for perfection’ Le Nouveau Magazine LittĂ©raire
‘The author’s voice has the imagination to move mountains, but shows an awareness that the journey means more than the destination. We’re with the narrator every step of the way, admiring his determination to fulfil his dream’ LibĂ©ration
‘Go and buy it now. . . Andrea’s beautiful words are both heartrending and comforting’ TĂ©lĂ©matin
‘The poetry of the language and intensity of feeling give nature an intoxicating splendour’ Le Matricule des Anges
Praise for Ma Reine
‘A powerful, magnetic novel’ Lire
‘A book of great charm. Poetic, otherworldly and original’ TĂ©lĂ©matin
‘A poetic, dreamlike little gem’ Le Figaro LittĂ©raire
Bonus Material
The Bookanista interview with Jean-Baptiste Andrea
