Perfect Circle [Paperback]

Sean Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

William “Dead” Kennedy is in trouble. He’s thirty-two, in love with his ex-wife, has lost his job, and he’s been dreaming about ghost roads again. Sometimes a guy is haunted for a really good reason.

— Nebula and World Fantasy Award finalist
— A Book Sense Notable Book
— Best of the Year: Booklist, Locus, San Francisco Chronicle
— A Locus bestseller

"Stewart's quicksilver wit makes Perfect Circle perfectly hilarious. And, a supremely skilled storyteller, he saves the best for last."
—Texas Monthly

"Stewart's mastery of Will's first-person narration is unflinching and unfaltering. The voice conjured here is absolutely authentic and affecting."
—Washington Post

"Stewart's compelling account of how DK comes to grips with his ghosts, both actual and metaphorical, is alternately poignant and hilarious, with some genuinely creepy moments and one or two powerful jolts.... Compelling ... with strong potential for crossing over into the mainstream."
—Publishers Weekly

"All-around terrific."—Booklist (starred review)

"By turns heartbreaking and hilarious, Perfect Circle is ... an impressive example of an author using genre resources to stake out a territory that, for the moment at least, no one but he occupies.
—Locus

"A read-at-one-go novel.... Everything is both stated and understated, elegant, full of the mundane horror and fear that inform a normal, frustrated life.... And it is well, well worth the reading. A highly recommended work."
—F&SF

Sean Stewart's much-anticipated eighth novel is a dark, funny, fast-moving thriller that you won't want to put down. William "Dead" Kennedy has problems. He's haunted by family, by dead people with unfinished business, and by those perfect pop songs that you can't get out of your head. He's a 32-year-old Texan still in love with his ex-wife. He just lost his job at Pet-Co for eating cat food. His air-conditioning is broken, there's no good music on the radio, and he's been dreaming about ghost roads.

When Will's cousin ("My dad married your Aunt Dot's half-sister") calls in the middle of the night about a dead girl haunting his garage, it seems like an easy way to make a thousand dollars. But nothing is ever that simple, especially when family is involved. Will's mother is planning a family reunion of epic proportions. Will's ex-wife is married to a former Marine. His twelve-year-old daughter Megan thinks Will needs someone to look after him. And recently his dead relatives seem to want something from him.

+++ punk attitude: country & western life +++

"Perfect Circle is a perfect read, exciting, unique, everything here but the Second Coming, but, Sean Stewart himself is the prize. What a talent. Write on, my man. Write on."
—Joe Lansdale

"Needy Ghosts, bar fights, concealed weapons, R.E.M., and ramen noodles—Perfect Circle is an irreverent Texas treat. Sean Stewart is one bright, funny writer."
—Stewart O'Nan

"Will Kennedy has some troublesome relatives. Especially the dead ones. Perfect Circle is Sean Stewart at his spooky, funny, sad, and haunting best."
—Karen Joy Fowler

 

"A ghost story for grown-ups, frightening, funny, and finally redemptive. It kept me up way past my bedtime."
—Harley Jane Kozak

"I read it all in one gulp, by turns fearful and joyful for Stewart's likable loser protagonist."
—Cory Doctorow

"If Oprah read science fiction...This quirky, engaging novel tells the story of William "Dead" Kennedy, a thirtysomething former punk rocker and down-on-his-luck divorced dad—who sees ghosts. After a visit to his haunted cousin goes horribly wrong, "DK" finds himself getting lots of attention—mostly the wrong kind—from both the living and the dead. Funny and thought-provoking!"
—Carol Schneck, Schuler Books and Music, Okemos, MI

"My favorites among Sean Stewart's books are those that hover on the edge of our reality. His characters, like William "Dead" Kennedy are much like my friends and relatives -- although if any of my relatives are seeing ghosts, they haven't mentioned this to me. Will leads a not-quite life in Texas, working in dead end jobs, and yearning to reconnect with his ex-wife, and trying to avoid ghosts. When a cousin calls with a ghost-busting request, his financial offer is more than Will can resist. But accepting the job opens Will up to a whole new level of darkness. Great prose (Stewart has some of the best metaphors going) and a melancholy mood, like music half-remembered."
—Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy Bookshop, San Diego, CA

Sean Stewart is the author of the "I Love Bees" and "Beast" search operas, two short stories and seven novels: Perfect Circle, The Night Watch, Nobody's Son, Clouds End, Passion Play, Resurrection Man, and Galveston. With Jordan Weisman, he is the author of Cathy's Book and Cathy's Key. His novels have received the Aurora, Arthur Ellis, Sunburst, Canadian Library, and World Fantasy awards. He lives in Davis, CA, with his wife and two daughters.

 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ghosts are like homeless people, we are told by DK "Dead" Kennedy, the hero of World Fantasy Award winner Stewart's latest blend of magical realism and Texas regionalism: most of us look away, but he can't. This ability to see the other side complicates life tremendously (he can't drive because at night ghosts look just like the living, and he's wrecked cars avoiding them), especially when a distant cousin hires him to exorcise the ghost of a girl the cousin murdered. Part of the novel deals with DK's offbeat career as an alternative exorcist, but what Stewart seems really to focus on is how these abilities now threaten his relationships with family, both immediate and extended. DK still loves his ex-wife and is active in the life of his daughter, but comes to realize that he's like a ghost in their lives: "Not all ghosts are dead, but all are hungry." Stewart's compelling account of how DK comes to grips with his ghosts, both actual and metaphorical, is alternately poignant and hilarious, with some genuinely creepy moments and one or two powerful jolts. This compelling story is a genre title with strong potential for crossing over into the mainstream.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* DK--William "Dead" Kennedy, that is--is a haunted man. Literally. He sees dead people with unfinished business. Has all his life. Moreover, he is haunted by an ex-wife he can't get over, and, recently, long-deceased Uncle Billy has been pestering him for something as yet unidentified. But never mind the dead; things are tough, anyway. DK isn't exactly a financial success. Always struggling to close the gap between his hourly wage and the cost of fixing his air conditioner, or of taking his savvy 12-year-old daughter to Six Flags, he has just lost his job at Pet-Co for eating cat food in front of a customer to make a point. So when a long-lost cousin calls at 2 a.m. to tell him about the ghost in his garage, it looks like a fast way to a much-needed chunk of change. It is just DK's luck, however, for a simple plot to thicken like lumpy gravy, and suddenly murder is afoot. Dead funny, a little bit scary, and sometimes warm and fuzzy, but not too, among the greatest of Perfect Circle's virtues is that daughter Megan, like father DK, is quirky and totally believable. She is also, unlike him, wise and hip, and she knows when to keep her mouth shut. At last, DK begins growing up, moving on, and, with Uncle Billy's help, bringing his past to a close. All-around terrific. Paula Luedtke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 243 pages
• Publisher: Small Beer Press (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931520119
• ISBN-13: 978-1931520119
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #847,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sean Stewart is the author of the innovative I Love Bees and Beast search operas, two short stories, and seven previous novels: Galveston, Mockingbird, The Night Watch, Clouds End, Resurrection Man, Nobody's Son, and Passion Play. His novels have received the Aurora, Arthur Ellis, Sunburst, Canadian Library, and World Fantasy awards. He presently writes lots of things that have Non Disclosure Agreements attached so he cannot talk about them. Stewart is tall, energetic, uses big words easily, coaches his daughter's soccer team, is a great reader, has taught writing, and lives in Davis, CA, with his wife and two daughters.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seeing Ghosts, September 14, 2004

By 

Richard Stoehr "Idle Rich" (Bremerton, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Perfect Circle (Hardcover)

"Ghosts don't do things to you. Ghosts make you do unspeakable things to yourself."

Here's what Sean Stewart's newest novel is not: it is not predictable, it is not trite, and it is most definitely not boring. It is also, quite frankly, not quite like anything else I have ever read, from Sean Stewart's hand or anyone else's.

On the other hand, "Perfect Circle" is one of the most remarkable and original novels I've read in some time, and of the three Stewart novels I have read, it is easily my favorite (which is saying something -- I enjoyed "Galveston" and "The Night Watch" quite a bit as well). "Perfect Circle" is clever, spooky, funny, sad, sharp, observant, honest, thoroughly modern yet somehow timeless, and very, VERY well-written.

In the pages of this short novel, clocking in at fewer than 250 pages in total length, Sean Stewart accomplishes what most writers can't seem to do in a work twice as long. He tells an emotionally honest, unique, and gripping story, featuring characters that are accessible and full-bodied, expressing themes and ideas that resonate long after the reader has turned the last page and closed the book.

"Perfect Circle" is a book about ghosts, about loss, about grief, about responsibility, about family, and about coming to terms with one's lot in life. It is a fantasy novel of sorts, in that it expresses ideas that fall outside the "natural" laws we accept today, but it is a fantasy novel bearing the dark edge of reality. This is no escapist fantasy, but rather a strange sort of realist fantasy. It is a combination which Stewart had always danced with in his other work, but never more effectively than in this book.

As always, Stewart's prose is a marvel in itself. In his other work I could always see the flair of a poet in his words, and it's here too, but more balanced than before by a succinct, efficient use of words and dialogue. Stewart tells us just enough, never too much, and lets the reader fill in many of the blanks. His use of dialogue is witty and very real, on a par with Quentin Tarantino's handling of dialogue in his films, or Nick Hornby's novels.

Comparisons to other authors (Nick Hornby and Stephen King come to mind most readily) are somewhat apt but do not provide a whole picture. What Sean Stewart has really done in "Perfect Circle" is to establish himself as his own voice, mostly unlike anyone else's. The book could be applied to several genres but not firmly pegged in any of them, and the author is in a class all his own.

To put it simply, this is one of the best books I've read in quite a while. Sean Stewart was already an excellent author in my eyes, but with "Perfect Circle" he has outdone himself. He has written that rarest of things: a truly unique story told in a truly unique way. It is not the story itself which stands out so much as how he tells it, and what it does to the reader. Like a great movie or a really effective piece of music, this little book will echo in your mind and in your heart long after you've put it down, and it will stay with you.

"Perfect Circle" is, in the best sense of the word, haunting.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars East Texas Meets Ghostbusters, September 13, 2004

By 

R. Kyle (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Perfect Circle (Paperback)

Will "Dead" Kennedy can't quite seem to get a break in this life. Ghosts, clad in black and white, haunt him. He can't drive a car, keep a spouse, or a job....

A distant cousin, Tom Hanlon, calls him desperate to have a ghost removed from his garage. When Will gets there, he discovers Hanlon is a "Tell Tale Heart." He murdered the girl and to cover up will kill Cousin Will as well.

Though shot, Will manages to escape. He then has to cope with the police believing he's murdered Cousin Tom, the sudden notriety of being a 'ghost talker', some interesting business offers, and Cousin Tom's revenge.

I read this book in one sitting. Couldn't have put it down if I wanted. Have read most of Stewart's work---next to Galveston this is the best.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Circle, January 3, 2006

By 

Jonathan Zabe; (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Perfect Circle (Paperback)

I came across Sean Stewart after his striking work writing the Halo 2 ARG (Alternate Reality Game), ILovebees. Stewart's latest offering shares little in common with the virtuoso science fiction setting he crafted for the world of Halo, but his main asset as a writer remains well intact: his stories focus on the human aspect of the events they depict, and they're quite believable.

Enter William "Dead" Kennedy (DK for short), stage left. He's seen ghosts his entire life, black and white specters that are easy to mistake for the living at night. Though I'm no English major, Stewart seems to draw heavily from magical realism, a genre in which magical elements appear in an otherwise realistic setting.

DK is one of those thirty-somethings who has slowed down so much life is starting to pass him by. He can't even keep a job steady enough to pay his air conditioning bill, leaving him to roast in the Houston heat. (Regionalism permeates the novel with great lines like "East Texas has four great natural resources: heat, oil, mosquitos, and cousins.")

Though vengeful spirits abound, this is no mere campfire horror story. Poor DK realizes that to his ex-wife and the rest of the Kennedys he's nothing more than a ghost everyone can see, and his subsequent struggle to reconcile with his daughter Megan is alternatively touching and heartbreaking. Neal Stephenson's seemingly outlandish claim on the cover that Perfect Circle is "Stephen King meets Ibsen" might not be so far off after all...