We thought the character of Ellie, the “emo” girl is a great foil for Alex’s deadpan delivery. We were, however, very impressed that this is a debut novel and felt that the novel really picked up the pace and became funnier as it progressed even at times when the content became more serious.
At times the tone is didactic and we were aware of the authorial voice coming through. He tends to tell the reader everything he knows about a topic such as epilepsy, splitting the atom and physics in general. Some of you thought that at times Extence loses the narrative voice and pace by being too descriptive.
It is a rare fifteen year old that reads or develops a great love for Kurt Vonnegut but we could see quite obviously the author’s own deep passion for Vonnegut’s body of works. Certainly the hit on the head leads to his epilepsy and his subsequent forced periods of isolation which then impact upon his development. We are not sure if the author is suggesting that Alex’s differences and quirky, philosophical character are just a part of who he is, or if he has evolved that way because of his accident and then circumstances. Clearly Alex, the narrator, is an unusual boy who has had the unlikely experience of surviving a hit on the head from a meteorite. This novel was quite well received within the group but some of the initial thoughts were that the narrator does not sound like a typical fifteen year old. The Universe Versus Alex Woods is another book that we feel blurs the lines between Young Adult, New Adult and Adult fiction. September Discussion – The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
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