Okay, so, colour me surprised. I'm not normally one for short story collections - I find they're often too short for a real journey to be tread, or on the flip side, that I've been cheated as I've gotten to know a great character and feel suddenly cut off from them.

These stories didn't make me feel either. Each one is a complete narrative, told through the eyes of someone teetering on the brink of something life-changing, or chasing something that's just out of their reach. All of the stories build the character and their story beautifully, and for such a short tale, often leave a deep impact. Where other short stories left me feeling cheated out of getting to know a character more, these let me know the characters and their stories just well enough to leave me bittersweet at the end; happy and fulfilled at their story arc, but somewhat sad to say goodbye.

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. They are immersive and creative and evoke different emotions and aspects of the human condition. Well written.

Gallery/Scout Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of A Perfect Universe: Ten Stories. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

As it seems the norm with short story books, there were a couple of stand outs among the average and the weak offerings. The strongest story for me was "Hold On", a tale about survivor's guilt. Robert's anguish, both during and after the tragedy, was clearly felt and seemed the most realistic. I also liked "Golden State", a story about a boy who finds a father figure in a neighbor. "It Was Over So Quickly" could have been good, but the quickly changing perspectives left the story disjointed. "Soldiers" was one for which I could not see the point. I could not get into the story and felt no connection to the characters. As for the rest of the stories, they were hard to like. Mainly sad and depressing, there really was no hope for the characters in their current situations.

A Perfect Universe was clearly not the book for me, but it might appeal to readers who like short stories whose characters are tested by difficult circumstances.

Even though I didn't love this book, I can say that the writing was amazing. I really admired the fact that every characters' voices were sooo different from each other! I mean, we had ten stories with many characters in each, and still I didn't feel like I was reading the work of the same author. And I think that's great, because it's not always achieved.

“A Perfect Universe“ is a collection of ten stories all set in California, yet not the Hollywood California of stars and success, but the part where life is a bit sadder and less full of hopes. It’s about a young man buried under a building which had crumbled, a business woman hated by the other clients in a coffee shop, a relationship which ended and does not provide solace anymore, a woman’s preparation for a big day which ends in a disappointment, a girl hearing voices, a class of men trying to control their emotions and others. Scott O’Connor provides a huge variety of topics, yet all taken right from life. His characters are not the rich and famous, not the especially talented or gifted. It’s the average boy and girl or their grown-up version.

As always in collections of stories, you like some more and others less. I cannot really say why this is the case, since it’s neither due to the topic nor the protagonist that I prefer some. The first one, “Hold On” got me immediately. The man waiting to be rescued, finding comfort and hope in the woman’s voice who is reading out their names, thus signalling them that they are not forgotten but searched for. His anger when the mayor decides to give up and the joy of surviving after all – you could easily feel the emotional rollercoaster Robert went through.

“Interstellar Space” also caught me, but this time there isn’t much hope, it’s a really melancholy story of schizophrenia. Her slowly deteriorating condition is sad to read. She seemed to be bright, joyful and lively and suddenly her mind decides to play tricks on her and have her finished in a hospital, locked-up in her body and the world outside shut out.

One which made me ruminate a bit was “The Plagiarist”. I often wonder if there can be indeed something completely new that can be written or if not rather all has already been said somehow. How can today’s works actually be “original”? There are some plot concepts that you can easily recognize, phrases that have been used again and again – so, what is invented and what is rather copied?

I think it is rare to be able to write a good short story. I think it is even more rare to be able to pull such a cohesive collection of stories together without feeling like they are too derivative of the story before. O'Connor does a great job with this collection and brings you into a new universe with each one. I look forward to more from this author.

The good short story is no easy task. Ten good ones together is really surprising. This one has many great stories-even the one that didn't strike an emotional chord with me fit so well with the others that I didn't hold a grudge.
These all pull you into a full universe right at the start, and make you feel like an explorer for the few pages that you're in them. Heartbreak and hope, the small heroic actions and the long-term consequences of a momentary lack of attention- they dance with each other in these LA-based stories.
The fictions that sustain us and the ones that break us are all a part of this wonderful universe of stories. It reminded me of my favorite parts in Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders: the truly human, American stories of life and love as well as the stories we tell ourselves. Writing the truth in fiction is Scott O'Connor's greatest strength, and his writing is elegant.

I am blown away by this collection of short stories. I requested it on a whim from NetGalley because of my love for short stories and their ability to be as touching and impactful as any novel. O’Connor did not disappoint; in fact, the collection wildly exceeded my expectations.

Each story is a window into a life sequestered in some corner of California, my beloved state, and you get the sense that each of these protagonists are someone walking past you right in that moment. They are as real and ordinary as any I have read. Each is flawed and somehow broken, even the children, but that adds to their mysterious reality. I enjoyed the tidbits about Southern California and one story's deliverance from it.

These stories are tragic and heart-wrenching, even at their brightest moments. The absurdity of life and the strange ways of wrong-place-wrong-time combine to create stories that are surprising without being hokey. Normal people in moments that become somehow extraordinary.

There is a hopefulness to the stories too despite the darkness that surrounds all of them. No matter how close the character comes to being unlikeable, the reader will find themselves rooting for their happiness in the end, which is often left up to the reader’s interpretation.

Out of the ten stories, there was only one that I did not enjoy. My favorites were “Golden State”, “Interstellar Space”, “Colnago Super”, and “It Was Over So Quickly, Doug” in that order.

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this collection via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Gallery Books, and the author Scott O'Connor for the opportunity to do so.

A Perfect Universe: Ten Stories by Scott O'Connor is a highly recommended collection of short stories set in California. This sublimely written collection features stories that are observant of human nature and reactions, while capturing some of the heart break and absurdities that life can bring. Most of these people in these stories are ordinary souls caught in a moment of their lives as they reflect on or have an inner dialogue about their circumstances. Some of the people are at the mercy of events beyond the power of their control and must deal with the aftermath.

Hold On: A man trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building clings to the memory of the voice of the woman who read the names of the 146 people believed to be in the building and told them, "Hold On. We’re coming for you"
It Was Over So Quickly, Doug: An incident is told through the dialogue of a self-important business woman on her phone, bud in her ear, a man waiting for coffee in line behind her and a barista with an attitude.
Jane's Wife: Liz worries about the weight she has gained since Jane left.
Golden State: Claire and his mom move to California where she tries to get on The Price is Right.
Interstellar Space: "Meg started hearing things when she was ten."
In the Red: A man attends a required anger management class where attendees "learn to deal with our hostile emotions in a safe and responsible manner."
Flicker: An aging actor, who is occasionally recognized, must now deal with his one hit being excised.
Soldiers: A young boy meets some other children and joins their game while trying to avoid his drunken, irritable father and friends.
The Plagiarist: A young scholar points out that a novelists career was based on copying material from other sources.
Colnago Super: A teenage bicycle thief searches for the child she babysits after he disappears.
4.5 stars
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Gallery/Scout Press.
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These short stories are excellent. The first, a young musician buried in rubble following an earthquake, is everything a short story could be, and each additional story outshines the last. I felt complete sympathy with the barista at the beginning of her tale, and for Liz and Flicker and Frank but in just a few words, O'Connor can turn that around and make you question your own naivety. These stories are perfect examples of what short fiction is all about.

I received a free electronic copy of this collection of short stories from Netgalley, Scott O'Connor, and Gallery/Scout Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

These are beautifully written short stories that really come to life on the page. The characters are realistic and very well described. The stories are sad and poignant and have a ring of reality and truth to them. Even through the sadness I somehow felt hope in them. Each story was a little gem begging to be read for a second time so no nuances would be missed. I enjoyed the book a lot.

This is a very modern collection of short stories showcasing the best in contemporary writing. Scott O'Connor reaches into the the very guts of the reader, taking them on an emotional journey.

This isn't a feel good collection full of light hearted stories. This is sad and dark and exhausting and desperate. These are stories about real life.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This short story collection was truly masterful, and made me feel SO MUCH. The stories ranged from fairly brief to a bit longer, varied in plot and style, and were somehow truly piercing. The first story, "Hold On," was intense, and you got the sense of being inside the man's head with him, as he traverses a new world in which he is the sole survivor of a collapsed building during an earthquake. He's grieving for something, for who he was? the world he was in before? the him he was before he was a survivor? But you feel, with him, that what's happening externally is alien, unknown, bad in some unknowable way, but making him feel something. The second story, "It Was Over So Quickly, Doug," was brilliant. I'm still confused about feeling simultaneously irritated and saddened and shocked. Told only through broken alternating dialogue and thoughts of 3 different people, it provides a setting, a rushed morning feeling, an irritation of customer privilege, a build up of irritation, then a climax, and it all unravels. All from dialogue and thoughts gone on not more than 3 pages. Amazing. The third story, "Jane's Wife," is a bit longer, but equally devastating in its simplicity and ability to hone right in beyond the extraneous to the meat. "Golden State" was longer, written to describe the pure expansive, somewhat lonely, feel of L.A./California suburbs, about connection within this vastness of empty space. "Interstellar Space," "In the Red," "Flicker," and "Soldiers" were longer, and more emotionally raw and 'violent' in this rawness. Hard to describe, but they didn't resonate quite as much as the first 4 stories. And the last story, "Colnago Super," was long, and similar in feel to "Golden State," with a bit more freedom and speed interwoven.

A Perfect Universe, by Scott O'Connor is a masterfully crafted collection of short stories. Ten different circumstances, brilliantly tied together in an ironically not-so-perfect universe. Thank you NetGalley, Scott O'Connor and Books Gallery/Scout Press for the early reading edition of this wonderful book.

All the characters in A Perfect Universe fall short of living in that ideal, but they are wistful enough, even in the face of adversity, to hope that somewhere the ideal may exist. While not linked the stories are bound together by the California setting. Subtler, is the author’s use of a failed science fiction movie that occasionally plays in the background of several of these tales. Sometimes it is at the forefront, other times it is just a thread that would pass unnoticed in the greater theme of that tale. My favorite story is “Hold On” about a survivor of a building collapse. Obviously suffering from PTSD, he finds it hard to reconnect to his past or even imagine how to proceed into his future. Another favorite is “In the Red,” where men are remanded to an anger management class that yields results ranging from the catastrophic to a bare glimmer of hard-earned hope. “Flicker” is about a faded “almost one-hit” movie star whose life is burdened by the professional and personal past he envisioned for himself. All these stories introduce the reader to people leading seemingly ordinary lives under great pressure, sometimes self-inflicted. It is what is happening under the surface that makes these stories so compelling.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher to read this outstanding story collection.

As the stories spin out from the opening sentence, vignettes overlap, lives are united in unusual ways and mysteries come together. All the characters are plagued by subjective emotional confusion and unrest and bound by a desire to reinvent themselves in one way or another. Most of the tales are disquieting to say the least and their individual conclusions leave a lot of room for the reader’s personal interpretation.

In general, I am not a science fiction connoisseur nor is the genre a favorite. That said, this ”sci-fi light” narrative is drenched with enough California sunlight to illuminate the harshest of truths and to demonstrate once and for all that, no matter how much we may seek to rid ourselves of the anxiety and apprehension involved in everyday living, that a PERFECT UNIVERSE exists only in our daydreams.

Scott O’Connor’s A PERFECT UNIVERSE, a collection of ten stories, has drawn comparisons to the work of Jennifer Egan and Annie Proulx. Alas I haven’t read either of those authors so I cannot say whether the comparisons hold water. However, I can say that O’Connor is a talented writer and his flawed, damaged characters and poetic prose reminds me of Richard Lange, a writer I have read and greatly admire. Add to this a blurb from the magnificent Attica Locke and you have a book I had to take note of, happily. A PERFECT UNIVERSE is a quick, engaging read. A perfect escape, you might say.

The short story may at first sight appear to be one of the easiest of literary formats to master but in reality it is perhaps the most difficult. The successful short story author needs one particular talent and that is the ability to grab and then hold the reader's attention. Scott O'Connor certainly has this ability which he admirably demonstrates in this exquisitely interwoven collection of ten stories. Having started one is hooked for the duration of the compilation.

Each story is situated in a California that lies in the shadow of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, but the locations give the tales an extra resonance. The stories are interconnected and for me concern how the characters react and search for meaning when their lives take an unexpected path sometimes of a traumatic nature. Indeed coming to terms with the past is a reoccurring theme in many of the stories. A long forgotten actor now driving the shuttle bus at the airport or an author who has plagiarised throughout his career must now confront their past and attempt to find some elements of redemption.

The concepts here are profound and the reader is drawn into this world of unfulfilled dreams as each story adds another level of insight and comprehension. The ten stories are of roughly equal length and are set either in the seventies or present day but for me have a timeless quality.

This collection certainly made an impression and I would fully recommend it for those who enjoy the exploration of themes concerning the human condition conveyed through observant stories .

Never heard of the author, selected this one randomly on Netgalley, took the title to be ironic and the irony appealed. Lo and behold, while the universe's perfection might be questionable, these ten stories are dangerously close to perfection. Stunningly so. When it comes to short fiction, I expect the same thing as of a novel...tell me a story. I don't want a character sketch or an episodic glimpse or an experimental one off, I want an actual story, with a plot, a character development and an arc, a proper beginning and a proper end. And that's just what this collection offers, ten complete narratives, exceptionally well written and emotionally intelligent, the stories that will leave you with a more profound understanding of the world through a variety of variously traumatized characters usually on some sort of a precipice or at some sort of crossroads in their lives. I can lavish praise on this book with a gamut of completely sincere superlatives, but that wouldn't be quite right for such an understated collection. Suffice it to say this book connected with me on that precise level a reader always hopes for a book to connect with, I loved every single story. What a great discovery. Passionately recommended. Thanks Netgalley.