The Universe versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence

The Universe versus Alex Woods

by Gavin Extence

A tale of an unexpected friendship, an unlikely hero and an improbable journey, Alex's story treads the fine line between light and dark, laughter and tears. And it might just strike you as one of the funniest, most heartbreaking novels you've ever read.

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.

So when, aged seventeen, Alex is stopped at Dover customs with 113 grams of marijuana, an urn full of ashes on the passenger seat, and an entire nation in uproar, he's fairly sure he's done the right thing . . .

Reviewed by elvinagb on

5 of 5 stars

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First I saw the cover. Interesting I thought, I try and like the cover when I buy books. Read the synopsis on the inside cover. More interesting. A seventeen year old, cross a border with a lot of pot and some dead guys ashes on the seat.
I was not prepared for Alex, his meteorite bashed in head, his quirky weirdness, his intelligence and his compassion.
This is a wonderful, heartfelt, funny and inspiring read. The descriptions of the clinic in Switzerland were what I remember seeing in a documentary by Terry Pratchett. That part of the story bothered me far less than the descriptions of the fight on the bus with the boys who bully Alex.
I only wish I could give it more stars.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 29 July, 2013: Finished reading
  • 29 July, 2013: Reviewed