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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
This wasn't what I expected at all. I guess I didn't read anything about it before I started. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And drew a few stares while crying in the lunch room over the ending. This was a very touching story.
I loved this story. I was hooked from the very beginning.
I wasn't sure if the story was going to drag on too much at the very beginning, but that wasn't the case at all. The narrator is a teenager telling the story of what led up to the predicament he has found himself in at the very beginning of the novel. His voice is young, fresh, naive at times, but also insightful and honest.
It's a beautiful story about friendship, life, and being an outsider.
I wasn't sure if the story was going to drag on too much at the very beginning, but that wasn't the case at all. The narrator is a teenager telling the story of what led up to the predicament he has found himself in at the very beginning of the novel. His voice is young, fresh, naive at times, but also insightful and honest.
It's a beautiful story about friendship, life, and being an outsider.
It's very rare that I fall in love with a novel from the opening couple of pages. From the narrator (who sounded a little like Hugh Grant) to being set in England, to a story that is both relatable and extraordinary all at the same time. The Universe Versus Alex Woods is everything I love about reading a novel. It's both deep and comical. It has a depth of understanding that most books only scratch the surface of.
The novel is as you've probably guessed already, about Alex Woods. A young boy who is struck by a meteorite in his childhood and as you'd imagine his life is altered from that day forward. The book is about a kid growing up and about facing some of life's toughest questions.
At this point if your interested I'd stop reading my review because I'll get into vague spoilers here. There is a point in the novel when suicide comes into play and the idea of choosing one's time to die. It's a topic that's been talked about a lot with Brittany Maynard in Oregon and I think The Universe Versus Alex Woods does a great job with it. For me I've got no idea why anyone would be against it, especially in the case of terminal illness.
But maybe that's for a different post. Regardless, The Universe Versus Alex Woods is one of my favorite novels of recent memory. It's not for everyone. But if you have an open mind and love a good coming of age story you can't go wrong with The Universe Versus Alex Woods. I absolutely think it will be a novel in contention for my favorite of 2015.
The novel is as you've probably guessed already, about Alex Woods. A young boy who is struck by a meteorite in his childhood and as you'd imagine his life is altered from that day forward. The book is about a kid growing up and about facing some of life's toughest questions.
At this point if your interested I'd stop reading my review because I'll get into vague spoilers here. There is a point in the novel when suicide comes into play and the idea of choosing one's time to die. It's a topic that's been talked about a lot with Brittany Maynard in Oregon and I think The Universe Versus Alex Woods does a great job with it. For me I've got no idea why anyone would be against it, especially in the case of terminal illness.
But maybe that's for a different post. Regardless, The Universe Versus Alex Woods is one of my favorite novels of recent memory. It's not for everyone. But if you have an open mind and love a good coming of age story you can't go wrong with The Universe Versus Alex Woods. I absolutely think it will be a novel in contention for my favorite of 2015.
I knew nothing about this book when I bought it a couple of days ago following an Amazon recommendation and good reviews. It started out really interestingly, then for a short while I feared the story was losing momentum, but just in time it picked up again and from there it was simply an amazing journey. It's probably a very subjective thing but I just love authors who are able to write with such a great deal of compassion.
The book refers to the works of Kurt Vonnegut quite a lot, of whom I've started reading 'Slaughterhouse five' a couple of weeks ago and it has really made me want to explore this author in depth as well.
"The universe..." is just one of those books that, although sending a very clear message, never feels patronizing and really gets you thinking on so many levels.
The book refers to the works of Kurt Vonnegut quite a lot, of whom I've started reading 'Slaughterhouse five' a couple of weeks ago and it has really made me want to explore this author in depth as well.
"The universe..." is just one of those books that, although sending a very clear message, never feels patronizing and really gets you thinking on so many levels.
This book was great. It was one of those books where you're anxiously assessing how few pages are left and wondering how to pad it out so you don't finish too quickly and are left bereft.
I did really enjoy this book, although it was not quite what I expected. I was anticipating quirky and fun, but it was a quirky and sad. Humor . . . but also terminal illness. So, just a head's up there.
a thoughtful, amusing and interesting. timely too, dealing with life, death and dignity
I now feel reasonably informed about Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and the laws surrounding premature end of life in Switerland, but I still don't get the appeal of Kurt Vonnegut.
Some dark topics handled deftly with humour and humanity.