'The Universe versus Alex Woods' | Gavin Extence

A very (late) happy new year to you all! I hope you’ve all had a lovely holiday and that it’s not too much of a struggle settling back into the usual routine – I for one have a lot of work to undo the overindulgence of food and drink alone!

I have been a terrible blogger over the last month or so with exams and catching up with everyone over Christmas so intend to make more of an effort now to make up for it.

So, without further ado, I’ll move on to one of the books I read over the festive period. The Universe versus Alex Woods, winner of the Waterstones 11 literary prize, is Gavin Extence’s impressive and quirky debut novel. At a superficial level, I don’t think the little blurb on the back of the book gives enough credit to the novel itself:

“A tale of an unlikely friendship, an unexpected hero and an improbable journey, Alex’s story treads the fine line between light and dark, laughter and tears.”

For me this was all very clichéd and cringe worthy, but I assure you the novel is nothing like this when you start reading. Alex Woods, the young hero of the story, has had a very unconventional start in life, with a clairvoyant single mother, constant bullying and an extremely unlikely event marking his life and future. Sometimes naïve, sometimes perceptive, Extence’s depiction of Alex is warm and lifelike.

Alex, by chance, befriends an elderly neighbour and the two share their different stories, learn from one another and form an unlikely bond. Mr Peterson is an American war veteran and Kurt Vonnegut enthusiast who helps Alex start a rather philosophical book club and introduces him to new ideas about morality and values. But Mr Peterson starts to suffer from ill health and the two outsiders help each other in the riskiest of ways. *SPOILER ALERT* It is at this late point in Extence’s narrative that we realise the primary theme is not bullying, friendship or innocence, but assisted suicide.

Of course from here the writing adopts a much more sombre tone, but is still characterised by light-hearted moments and amusing dialogue – my favourite part is where Alex essentially kidnaps Mr Peterson from hospital in order to drive him to Switzerland.

Look past the lukewarm blurb on the cover on this book and you will be rewarded – The Universe versus Alex Woods is charming, dark, eccentric and profound all at once.