Amazing. I read this
because it was on a list of books for a reading challenge. I'd never heard of the author, but from the
first few pages I was hooked. The
stories just blew me away. I'm not even
sure why they were so good, but the writing pulled me in and didn't let
go. The emotions were powerful, the
characters compelling, the subject matter unusual. Many of them took some strange small thing
and made it central in such a beautiful way that I just kept thinking, "I
wish I'd written this." The
settings and microcultures were real.
Everything…just a masterpiece.
None of the stories wrapped us as much as I like. They all left me hanging, hungering for more,
wanting these characters to find more peace, more definite solutions, more
answers. Yet despite my preference for
conclusions that are…well…conclusive…I loved these. There was always just enough…just a bit of
hope or a bit of closure. Yet they kept
me thinking about them afterward.
I enjoyed the common thread that wove through most of the
stories—a movie that was important in different ways to different people. However, it did seem strange that this common
thread was missing in only a couple of stories.
However, maybe I just missed it because I wasn't watching for it in the
beginning. I'll have to read the whole
collection again. And for the first time
in a long while, I look forward to re-reading a book.
Five stars, no question--and I do not give five stars
lightly. In fact, I just looked back and
for the last 50 novels or short story collections I've read, this is only the
second one I've given 5 stars.
I will absolutely read more by Scott O'Connor
Warning: a bit more
profanity than I like, but not excessive.
And it's not exactly a light and happy read.
Check it out from your local library or buy on Amazon: A Perfect Universe; Ten Stories
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