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 best description that I can think of for this book is that it reminded me of "a mixture of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Up, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and The Fault in Our Stars." While that may seem like a strange combination, elements from all of these works are seamlessly combined to create a humorous, poignant novel that will leave a lasting impression. The protagonist, Alex, is a logical, naive, introverted young man with a compelling, authentic voice. There is a lot of social disconnect between him and his peers, due to the fact that he enjoys learning, voices his opinions - regardless of their appropriateness - and tends to go off on many tangents. As a biology student, I found all of the detailed information that Alex provided in regards to his scientific learning to be very interesting (which, from what I've seen, places me in the minority on that count). It is hard not to empathize with Alex, whose childlike innocence and unique worldview make him quite easy to like.

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. 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.” 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.” The Story: Alex Woods knows that he hasn't had the most conventional start in life. He knows that growing up with a clairvoyant single mother won't endear him to the local bullies. He also knows that even the most improbable events can happen - he's got the scars to prove it. What he doesn't know yet is that when he meets ill-tempered, reclusive widower Mr Peterson, he'll make an unlikely friend. Someone who tells him that you only get one shot at life. That you have to make the best possible choices.

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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. What a sweet book. It's about a boy from a small town in England who is odd and a loner, but also very smart and likeable. He rather reminds me of the autistic kid in Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend - or the main character of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - but more social and less autistic - but he seems like he's on the spectrum or at least a kid with some quirks. Toward the middle of the book, I start seeing similarities to John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. BTW, if you have not read any of the three books I just mentioned, add them to your pile as they are 4-5 star books. 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. Vielleicht startet genau dann endlich die Geschichte rund um ein sehr wichtiges und interessantes Thema (ich spoiler hier nicht, habe mich aber aktiv spoilern lassen), doch ich hatte einfach keinen Nerv mehr auf Alex. Das ist schade, denn Mr. Peterson hätte ich gern näher kennengelernt. 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)You certainly couldn’t describe The Universe vs. Alex Woods as brief, but Alex’s teenage voice is so brilliantly honest and effortless that this long coming-of-age tale feels strangely nimble. And, despite having a pretty good idea of what is going to happen, it’s hard not to be deeply affected by Gavin Extence’s warm, witty story of an odd teenager struggling with growing up, friendship, morality, and a heartbreaking dilemma.

Overall, this was an excellent novel that will leave you with many ethical and existential questions, and will inspire you to read some of Kurt Vonnegut's works. I don’t even remember how I came to read Gavin Extence's debut novel "The Universe Versus Alex Woods" in the first place but while having forgotten over lots of books since, “Alex” has stayed with me because this is more than a coming-of-age story. 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.It is the story of an unlikely friendship, that's definitely true, and it's a beautiful story from my point of view. It's fairly apparent from the first chapter, to me, what exactly is going on here: what matters is how we get there, and how much less funny/quirky it seems by the end, and how much more sad and true and beautiful. But if you don't want to know, don't read any further in this review. Though this may now sound like a depressing book, it really is more 'life-affirming', due to the style with which it is approached, and the inclusion of Alex's other anecdotes, like his relationship with older teen rebel, Ellie. I would recommend it to anyone over the age of 13, as euthanasia itself is an extremely important moral subject, though here is approached in an accessible and occasionally entertaining way, such as their adventurous break out from the hospital. The novel does not simply preach about the morality of euthanasia (even though the reader is encouraged to make their own judgement as Alex himself does), but is also an enjoyable read for the quirky characters and their interactions with each other. In life, there are no true beginnings or endings. Events flow into each other, and the more you try to isolate them in a container, the more they spill over the sides, like canal-water breaching its artificial banks. If you don't understand why someone would want assisted suicide, this might help. If you don't understand why someone would want to help someone commit suicide, I think this would definitely help. And if you already understand both of those things, then it's still something that articulates all this very clearly, and might just give you words or clarity for yourself in the future.