A Perfect Universe: Ten Stories

Scott O'Connor

Feb 2018 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Scott O’Connor’s novels have been hailed as “astonishing” (Library Journal), and “so insistently stirring, you want to lean in close to catch every word” (The New York Times Book Review). Now, from the author of Untouchable and Half World comes A Perfect Universe, a piercingly emotional cycle of stories in the tradition of Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad and Annie Proulx’s Close Range.

Welcome to the often-overlooked corners of sun-bleached Los Angeles, where a teenaged bicycle thief searches for a kidnapped boy, a young musician emerges as the lone survivor of a building collapse, and an aging actor faces the erasure of his past. There, far from the Hollywood spotlight, we also meet two sisters locked in a destructive cycle of memory and illness, coffee-shop regulars whose lives are torn apart by a stunning moment of violence, and the desperate, fraudulent writer whose fictions connect these unforgettable characters in subtle and surprising ways.

Sharply observed, exhilaratingly paced, and beautifully written, A Perfect Universe is a masterful exploration of growing up and growing old, loss and longing, identity and deception, and the search for redemption, humanity, and grace.

Ratings and reviews

A Perfect Universe is a collection of ten short stories based in California in the shadows of Los Angeles. The stories of heartbreak and loss belie the title with richly developed characters that are each fighting or struggling in some way. From the has-been actor trying to erase his past to the young bicycle thief trying to find a kidnapped boy. The stories show the characters each trying to make a connection with someone or something that is unattainable. My favorite story, Interstellar Space, is about a woman trying to re-connect with her sister who has been committed to a psychiatric hospital. Meg is lost in her world and Cate is trying to connect with her where she is now. The story is poignant and shows the depth of love that Cate has for her sister. Several of the stories seem to overlap or weave together with a plot line, a location, or a place in time. Some of the stories seem to end when it feels there is still more to the story. I found myself wanting to know more or what happens next. I’m not sure if that is a flaw in that the stories feel incomplete or is a testament to the author in how quickly he got me invested. Perhaps a bit of both. I highly recommend A Perfect Universe and will hold out a bit of hope that perhaps Mr. O’Connor will decide to turn some of these stories into full novels. 5 stars

About the author

Scott O’Connor is the author of the novella Among Wolves, and the novels Untouchable and Half World. He has been awarded the B&N Discover Great New Writers Award, and his stories have been shortlisted for The Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award and cited as Distinguished in Best American Short Stories. He has written for Fox and Universal Television, as well as The New York Times Magazine and the Los Angeles Review of Books.