An Open Universe

by Matt Arnold

Far more important than point A or point B is the journey in between. After graduation, Stan Hachure and his housemates head out in four different directions. Stan's journey includes a year on the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1587365936
• ISBN13: 9781587365935
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Wheatmark
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Anybody who went to college will love this book

Excellent tale of four college buddies and how their lives go off in different directions after graduation. If you've been out of college awhile (like me), you'll find the story nostalgic. If you're just out of school, chances are you'll relate to at least one of the four main characters. The book is well paced, an easy and enjoyable read, and has a poignant ending.

A life full of adventure and heartache

Once again Matt Arnold has taken an ordinary character and made you want to know more. Stan -- a character from his first novel leaves on an adventure after college and finds it. I can't help but wonder if there is more to his story and if we will soon see another novel with this interesting character. The story has love, loss and the importance of friendship. Another good read, and a great way to spend an afternoon! I look forward to more of his work!

Parallel Lives

After reading this story of five guys who had bonded and formed lasting friendships while in college. The book picks up at the tail end of their college time. Once done reading this book, I had to ask the author if there was any paralleling in his life with the book. He didn't answer my question which leads me to keep pondering and thinking about the lives of these young men. There were times where I caught myself rooting for each guy. It was fun to join them on their journey through the different US states to find what they had hoped to be the money making career. Isn't that why we spend four years in college, to get a job paying the big bucks. These guys traveled alone, together, picked up people along the way, and took crappy jobs just to have money. There were a couple of events (which I won't spill) that had me tearing up. Matt Arnold has a way of making you feel like you are part of his books and like that about his style of writing. I look forward to when he writes his third book.

Great Book about Friendship and Growing Older

As an author and voracious reader of so called "Coming of Age" books, I was hesitant to read another one but I found the story of Stan and his friends so real and believable, I felt I was their fifth friend, the narrator of the story. Like most great fiction, and especially "Coming of Age" books, as the reader, you can't help but wonder how much of the story is based on real events from the author's life; because the writing is so gripping, you can't imagine someone making this stuff up. It didn't hurt either that the narrative was so descriptive. Stan Hachure is one of those characters who, long after reading his story, you wonder, "What would Stan think of this?" or "What would Stan do?" That, to me, is the definition of a great book. I might even start listening to The Grateful Dead now!

A coming of age story and more.....

Stan, John, Terry and Curtis are four friends embarking on new lives after their graduation from Cornell in 1979. Their journey takes them in different directions, but the power of their friendship endures through several years, success, failure, loss, and tragedy. Stan Hachure is the main character and linchpin that binds four friends together throughout. Stan comes from a solid working class background. His intelligence, focus, and innovative applications of what he learned at Cornell save the family egg farm during his first year after graduation. Friend John lives and works in Seattle. Stan plans to join him there after a meandering cross country road trip. He rushes through the heartland of America so he can explore Colorado, the Continental Divide, Rockies, and Grand Canyon. A spirited Native American girl he meets while camping in the mountains introduces the naieve Stan to the truest passion he has ever experienced. By comparison, Seattle is a let down at first. Stan is forced to crash with John because the Ivy League college grad and experienced accountant can't find a job. Stan finally finds the perfect job, working as part time accountant and later manager of Bean's. Bean's is a pre-Starbuck's coffee shop, a Seattle icon featured in Arnold's first book, Crossroads. At Bean's, the sixties meet the eighties with a mixed bag of customers and philosophies holding court under Stan's efficient management. John's talents, also, are rewarded as he relocates to Austin after being courted by by an up and coming microchip company. Terry is the picture of a successful yuppie who makes big bucks and likes to live the part. The three friends worry about Curtis, who seems to be in a destructive downward spiral as he moves from job to job. The beauty of this story is following four friends as they separate and come together over time. Together, they celebrate triumphs and share sorrows. The glorious Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest provide an incidental backdrop through Arnold's descriptive prose. If you enjoy coming of age stories, An Open Universe is well worth the read.