The Universe versus Alex Woods: An UNFORGETTABLE story of an unexpected friendship, an unlikely hero and an improbable journey

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Alex's first person narrative in this extract and the rest of the novel is one of the reasons it is such a compelling read, since it is straightforward and accessible (even the complicated astrophysics!) with a humorous slant on things which written in a different way could easily become depressing. This is particularly important as a large part of the novel unfolds to be about a person's right to die when and how they choose. The other characters (except for the bullies) are also easy to care about. I also liked that it incorporated Kurt Vonnegut and how fitting his novels are to Alex and Mr Peterson's lives. And of course, the classical music. If a book makes you want to learn more about stuff, and makes you want to go read all of Kurt Vonnegut's books, then it can't be all bad. Od první chvíle jsem si uvědomoval, že po dočtení té knihy mi bude smutno. Je to další z knih, u kterých víte, jak dopadne. Příběh tedy není o tom, co se stane, ale jak se to stane. Meteorit, který zasáhne Alexe Woodse a dílem této nehody dostane epilepsii je spouštěč řady více či méně bizarních událostí. Alex Woods se začne zajímat o neurologii a astrofyziku (aby ne, když na vás sletí meteorit a praští do hlavy) a brzy se seznámí s panem Petersonem, válečným veteránem a podivínem. Spřátelí se a Alex se pro něj brzy stane nejbližším člověkem. Jejich přátelství Alexovi přináší nová témata, nad kterými musí přemýšlet a musí je řešit. Vesmír versus Alex Woods je kniha o dospívání, takže vám určitě připomene slavnější knihy na podobné téma. Jedním z témat knihy je eutanazie a tady musím zvednout obočí. Nedávno jsem viděl dokument Terryho Pratchetta "Choose to die" a je evidentní, že Gavin Extence od Pratchetta opisoval. Některé motivy z dokumentu zazní v knize, nicméně celkové vyznění této části knihy je opačné, než u Pratchetta (konkrétnější být nechci). Je to trochu škoda, protože Extence si mohl dát tu práci a do příběhu zakomponovat polemiku, kterou v dokumentu dost sugestivně začal Terry Pratchett. To je vlastně má jediná výtka vůči knize – že téma asistované sebevraždy je zde podáno příliš povrchně. Alex’s voice is very hard to sum up. His epilepsy caused him to miss a large portion of secondary school and as a result he is very awkward socially, a misfit, pretty geeky (and not in a good way). He doesn’t really get euphemisms or sarcasm and seems a little naive for his years, but despite this (or maybe because of it) at times he just seems to cut through to the truth of things. The chapter where Alex explains misuse of the word ‘gay’ is hands-down the funniest thing I read all year.

And, if you're reading this review, then you probably already know what I didn't know -- that this book centers around Vonnegut, and devotes a significant part of the book to Slaughterhouse-Five.A tale of an unexpected friendship, an unlikely hero and an improbable journey...This novel might just strike you as one of the funniest, most heartbreaking novels you've ever read. This is the story of seventeen-year-old Alex Woods - born to a clairvoyant mother and a phantom father, victim of an improbable childhood accident - who is stopped at Dover customs in possession of 113 grams of marijuana and the ashes of his best friend, Vietnam veteran Isaac Peterson. What follows is a highly original and compelling account of Alex's life and the strange series of events that brought him here.” Alex himself is growing and rising to the task that Peterson puts him to - it’s a very remarkable literary journey. This was a very sweet coming of age novel. I enjoyed learning about meteors, tarot cards, epilepsy and Vonnegut. If you enjoyed The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I highly recommend this. My critisism is that I found Alex to be a bit one-dimensional. I realize that at sixteen you are mostly an innocent, but I prefer characters with some flaws.

The Universe Versus Alex Woods is the kind of book that makes you think, compels you to reevaluate your beliefs and the lengths you're willing to take for a friend. From early on, it’s clear that Alex himself is in control of his story — no obscure first-person narrator here, thank you. And in this, Extence shines a light on the very nature of storytelling, the way that only one character can really guide the pace and direction of a story. Narrative pointers are scattered through the text, as are philosophical musings on life itself as a kind of story. There is nothing awkward, then, in Alex pointing out to the reader what they should pay particular attention to. In English author Gavin Extence’s debut novel, The Universe Versus Alex Woods, the titular teenage protagonist embarks on a geeky and surreal journey after forging an unlikely friendship with a marijuana-addled Vietnam veteran. Many critics have compared the book to the works of Kurt Vonnegut and Mark Haddon. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2021-08-09 13:01:00 Boxid IA40203204 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifierAn introverted bookworm epileptic who loves learning about math, physics, astronomy, and who openly admits that his hobbies are definitely "gay" (in the high school context) Perfectly crafted and beautifully written... The Universe Versus Alex Woods may be a debut novel but it is an outstanding novel by any standards. Unforgettable." - Red (UK) Well, of course, it's going to appeal to my sensitivities. It's bound to tug at anyone's heartstrings. Forced to stay off school until his fits can be controlled by a mixture of meditation and medication, he reads Tolkien, conducts a charming correspondence with a meteor expert and helps in his mother's shop. Rejoining the local secondary, he is bullied, but unharmed, by thugs who one day chase him into a neighbour's garden shed.

Pariah Town. a pariah is someone who's excluded from mainstream society. And if you know that at twelve years of age, you're probably an inhabitant of Pariah Town.”The storyline itself has many strands. It’s about the difficulty of social acceptance, coming of age, friendships, the right to die, all of which are dealt with sensitively and thought-provokingly, but also with humour and the ending was one of the most moving I’ve ever read.

As a result of the meteorite injury, Woods becomes epileptic, given to suffering seizures. He also has a large scar on his head. Around the neighborhood, he is known as "the boy who lived" or "the boy who survived." Reading Alex Woods was enjoyable and thought-provoking (there's one major moral dilemma delved into here). And I love books that make me think. It makes that book stay with you for a while longer. The ultimate moral dilemma here, of course, is do we really have the right to our death? Assisted Suicide was new to me, but I found that it was not appalling at all. This part of the story was handled really well by the author. As a nurse, I've seen too many patients who suffered unnecessarily, sometimes because the family decides for them, or the elderly were too weak to decide for themselves. The only thing to do for them is to give them a dignified death. Since this was my first NetGalley ARC, I didn't know it had an expiration date, so I chose one of the ARCs I received and read it. I found I did not want to put it down. A bittersweet, cross-audience charmer, this debut novel will appeal to guys, YA readers, and Vonnegut and coming-of-age fiction fans." - Library Journal

The Universe Versus Alex Woods

Lccn 2012277741 Ocr tesseract 5.0.0-alpha-20201231-10-g1236 Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 1.0000 Ocr_module_version 0.0.13 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA15317 Openlibrary_edition I really liked Alex’s mum - it was really refreshing to read about a single parent and someone who lives a very alternative lifestyle (she is a clairvoyant and owns a tarot card shop) who isn’t a flake or dropout. Mr Peterson was superb, as was Alex’s friendship with Ellie, the foul-mouthed girl in the year above.