• The Present

  • By: Jay Martel
  • Narrated by: Fred Berman
  • Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (407 ratings)

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The Present  By  cover art

The Present

By: Jay Martel
Narrated by: Fred Berman
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Publisher's summary

Adam Diehl is an 11-year-old in crisis. He knows his parents are going to split up - today - and he'd do anything in his power to stop them. If only he could turn back time....

As it turns out, he can.

What his parents don't know - what his sister and brother would never suspect - is that Adam is a genius, and the computer he stares at all day has opened a gateway to knowledge beyond our comprehension.

But not Adam's.

Now, he has a plan. He's going to repeat this day over and over until he finds the version of it that ends with his parents staying together. But he can't keep resetting the day forever.

Because the laws of time are strict, and they're starting to push back.

©2021 Jay Martel (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

About the Creator

Jay Martel is a novelist, essayist, screenwriter, director, and actor. For his work in TV, he's received Emmy, Peabody, and WGA awards. He recently adapted his previous novel, The Present (also available on Audible), into a movie, which will be released in 2023 starring Greg Kinnear and Isla Fisher. His first novel, Channel Blue, is also available on Audible and is being developed as a feature by Paramount Pictures.
Martel served as a showrunner, executive producer and writer for Key & Peele. He’s fulfilled the same functions on many comedies including Alternatino, Teachers, Halfway Home, and Strangers With Candy. He also cowrote the comedy Get Hard. Martel is a contributor to The New Yorker, where his humor appears regularly.

About the Performer

Fred Berman is an award-winning narrator of more than 200 books. A New York native, Berman brings energy and enthusiasm to every project, whether it’s mystery or fantasy, biography or YA. He is an accomplished actor of both the stage and screen as well, performing on Broadway as Timon in The Lion King and Off-Broadway in The Normal Heart, Room Service, and Bury The Dead, among others. On television, he has had roles in HBO’s High Maintenance as well as the NBC series Smash and Law & Order and Forever on ABC. His film credits include: Putzel, The Judge, Twelve Thirty, A Very Special Episode, and Directing Eddie. Fred is also a drummer and played for many years with the NYC rock legends, Lisa Jackson & Girl Friday. He lives in New York with his wife and two kids, banging out Rush songs on the drums in his basement in his spare time.

What listeners say about The Present

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Explosive family drama

A well written, complex exploration of the fall out of an expected divorce announcement. The children’s voices especially powerful and unusual given two of them being on the spectrum. The depth of each child’s fidelity to the concept of family is remarkable. Their parents seem ditzy in comparison. And yet they represent safety and solidity. The length’s the children go through to keep them together are herculean. Definitely recommend to others.

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35 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Character Voices

The story was not disappointing, and quite captivating. However, why do you use the same one person to do all the voices? It was difficult sometimes to know “who” was doing the talking.

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31 people found this helpful

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loved it

if you are into sci-fi I highly recommend this book. it was very clever and interesting especially from the point of a 11 year old autistic boy

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fun Time Travel Story

The day the Diehl's tell their children they are getting a divorce is a very bad day, indeed. The youngest child, Adam, is an autistic six year old computer/math whiz with a bad case of agoraphobia. From his basement refuge where he spends his entire day on his computer, Adam figures out how to repeat D-Day over and over again, hoping to change the outcome to his parents staying married. Good character development, fun story, and great narration. Look forward to more from this author.

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16 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent time loop story

I fully enjoyed this story, it was a lot of fun and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves time travel stories. One of the most unique approaches I've seen, and I love time loop stories a great deal.

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15 people found this helpful

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  • HC
  • 04-13-21

Thrilling and imaginative

From the producer of Key and Peele comes an well crafted story about divorce and how it can rip the unexpected apart. Imaginatively told from the perspective of different narrators this engaging novel is heartwarming, cleverly written and keeps you engaged from beginnings to ends. Wonderfully narrated bringing the perspectives and emotions of the characters to life.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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ehhhhh

Not sure why I finished it. Its an alright story but the overall plot is predictable. Not a book I would listen to again.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Quirky Insightful Captivating

This story by Jay Martel is told from the point of view of each family member. Engaging the reader/listener to question your own view of love, relationships, time and reality. Leaving us to ponder the space-time continuum. Told by someone who understands the searing pain children feel when their parents come apart. And their fervent wish to keep them together.

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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A clever, well written adventure

I loved this book! I was hopelessly hooked after the first couple of chapters. The story is imaginative and it draws you in...hoping for the same outcome as Adam, the main character. Well done!

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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

fantastic

this book was great, from the plot to the delivery wish it was longer or a part 2

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6 people found this helpful