Hundred Million Years and a Day

FROM THE WINNER OF THE PRIX GONCOURT 2023
Described as 'unforgettable' by the Mail on Sunday, A Hundred Million Years and a Day is a pocket-sized epic adventure story of a professor's journey to an Alpine glacier.

'Powerful' Sunday Times

When he hears a story about a huge dinosaur fossil locked deep inside an Alpine glacier, university professor Stan finds a childhood dream reignited. Whatever it takes, he is determined to find the buried treasure.
But Stan is no mountaineer and must rely on the help of old friend Umberto, who brings his eccentric young assistant, Peter, and cautious mountain guide Gio. Time is short: they must complete their expedition before winter sets in. As bonds are forged and tested on the mountainside, and the lines between determination and folly are blurred, the hazardous quest for the Earth's lost creatures becomes a journey into Stan's own past.
This breathless, heartbreaking epic-in-miniature speaks to the adventurer within us all.

About the author

Jean-Baptiste Andrea is a director, screenwriter and author. Born in 1971, he grew up in Cannes. His first novel, Ma Reine, was published in 2017 and won 12 literary prizes including the Prix du Premier Roman and the Prix Femina des Lycéens.

Summary

How far would you go to follow your dreams? One man's obsession with a mythical dinosaur fossil takes him and his team to the very edge of the world, and of life itself.

Additional text

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

‘Unforgettable’ Mail on Sunday 

‘Powerful’ Sunday Times 

'Spare, elegant and poetic, this slender novel is quietly devastating' Daily Mail 

'Breathless and heartbreaking . . . 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

‘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 Littéraire 

‘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’ Libération 

‘Go and buy it now. . . Andrea’s beautiful words are both heartrending and comforting’ Télématin 

‘The poetry of the language and intensity of feeling give nature an intoxicating splendour’ Le Matricule des Anges

‘A sublime and beautiful book’ Carys Davies

‘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

Praise for Ma Reine:

Winner of 12 literary awards, including the Prix du Premier Roman and Prix Femina des Lycéens.

'A powerful, magnetic novel' Lire

'A book of great charm. Poetic, otherworldly and original' Telerama

‘A poetic, dreamlike little gem’ Le Figaro littéraire

Report

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
'Unforgettable' Mail on Sunday
'Powerful' Sunday Times
'Spare, elegant and poetic, this slender novel is quietly devastating' Daily Mail
'A tense exploration of obsession and camaraderie, made more arresting still by the contrast between its slender form and the epic nature of its backdrop' Hephzibah Anderson, The Observer
'Breathless and heartbreaking . . . 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
'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 Littéraire
'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' Libération
'Go and buy it now. . . Andrea's beautiful words are both heartrending and comforting' Télématin
'The poetry of the language and intensity of feeling give nature an intoxicating splendour' Le Matricule des Anges
'A sublime and beautiful book' Carys Davies
'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
Praise for Ma Reine:
Winner of 12 literary awards, including the Prix du Premier Roman and Prix Femina des Lycéens.
'A powerful, magnetic novel' Lire
'A book of great charm. Poetic, otherworldly and original' Telerama
'A poetic, dreamlike little gem' Le Figaro littéraire

Product details

• Authors: Jean-Baptiste Andrea
• Assisted by: Sam Taylor (Translation)
• Publisher: Pushkin Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 02.03.2021
• EAN: 9781910477878
• ISBN: 978-1-910477-87-8
• No. of pages: 168
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences; FICTION / Historical / General, France, FICTION / Literary, FICTION / Action & Adventure, Alps, 20th Century, Mountains, Fiction in translation, Italy, Fiction: general & literary, c 1950 to c 1959, C 1945 To C 1960