The Universe Versus Alex Woods cover art

The Universe Versus Alex Woods

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Universe Versus Alex Woods

By: Gavin Extence
Narrated by: Joe Thomas
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Only £0.99 a month for the first 3 months. Pay £0.99 for the first 3 months, and £8.99/month thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Start my membership

About this listen

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 heard.

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 17, 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.…

©2013 Gavin Extence (P)2013 Hodder & Stoughton Contemporary Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Funny Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Witty Feel-Good Tear-jerking Emotionally Gripping

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The End of Time cover art
The Rookie cover art
Slaughterhouse-Five cover art
After Dachau cover art
Paper Cup cover art
While We’re Far Apart cover art
The True Meaning of Smekday cover art
A Prayer for Owen Meany cover art
The Tarzan Duology of Edgar Rice Burroughs cover art
The Pharaoh's Daughter CA cover art
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz Bundle (Annotated) cover art
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer cover art
Sanctum: A Jake Crowley Adventure cover art
The Fault in Our Stars cover art
600 Hours of Edward cover art
Breakfast of Champions cover art

Critic reviews

"It's Mark Haddon meets Kurt Vonnegut" ( Observer)
"An eccentric young protagonist meets his match in a compelling comic debut" ( The Bookseller)
"One of the year's most anticipated debuts" ( Time Out)
"The debate around assisted suicide is eternally controversial but, when it comes to an argument for allowing sick people of mind the right to die, The Universe Versus Alex Woods trumps any Dignitas spokesman . . . Where this novel shines is in its characterisation: the brittle outer layers of socially awkward people are unpeeled to reveal big hearts and raw emotions. The sparring between Alex and Mr Peterson is a joy to read . . . With wit and warmth, Gavin Extence shines a light on one of the darkest, most difficult subjects of our time." ( Sunday Express)
"One of the funniest and most heartbreaking double acts in ages...an exceptionally good debut novel 5*" ( Heat)
"With wit and warmth, Gavin Extence shines a light on one of the darkest, most difficult subjects of our times." ( Sunday Express)
"Extence's sad but funny novel was the subject of fierce bidding wars between publishers last year and early reviews pit it as a certain star read of 2013." ( Stylist)
"A comic tale of friendship and the nitty gritty of life" ( Shortlist)
"Alex’s story treads the fine line between light and dark, laughter and tears" ( GQ)
"This is a story that will have you smiling through your tears, a story that touches on the most potentially devastating of human dilemmas, without an ounce of sentimentality. It is also enormously uplifting. Perfectly crafted and beautifully written... The Universe vs Alex Woods may be a debut novel but it is an outstanding novel by any standards. Unforgettable." ( Red)
"Fans of quirky tales will love this debut novel" ( Bella)
"This is an extraordinary debut novel. For me Gavin Extence has produced in his narrator and hero Alex one of the most intriguing literary young people since Mark Haddon's Christopher. He's reminiscent of a better behaved Just William as an 11 year old, combining a hyper-intelligence with naiveté that's as quirky as his upbringing" ( The Bookbag)
All stars
Most relevant
Educational and moving both in terms of story and writing. Protagonist is a very special lad, likable and believable. However, if you're afraid of death and loss and seeing the best in both, this is not for you

Amazing book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a really good book. The friendship between Alex and Mr Peterson is a strange one, but it is a deep one and I hade difficulties stop listening. I liked the narrator very much as well. So have you bought this book do not stop listening to it, I definitely think it will grow on you and when it is over you will have a good feeling. I know I had.

Great story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Alex Woods is a logical science geek, with ADD tendencies, who is blind to the intricacies of human interaction to the point where I wondered if he had Aspergers. This makes for quite a humorous and touching novel.

It was great to read such a powerful YA title that was set for the most part in the UK. I spend so much time reading US literature that to have a frames of reference in a book that I understand first hand was a true pleasure. The cover, with Glastonbury Tor on the front is gorgeous – although Alex never actually walks up there…

I guess if I had to pick one thing I disliked about this book it was some of the earlier ‘tangents’ Alex went off on when talking about science – I found myself skim reading those. I liked this novel best when all the many unique characters in Alex’s life were on stage.

I’m not sure I’d give this to anyone younger than fourteen. There’s lots of swearing (I loved Ellie, but she did have a filthy mouth!) and themes that are quite dark in nature – although Alex’s narration cushions the blow of most of these. He’s just too darn entertaining.



Sales Pitch: Ever feel like your life was just one misfortunate accident slathered in improbability after another? Alex can relate – but his life will make yours look like its a reasonable approximation of normal.

Great Reader, Interesting Main Character

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, this is a funny, yet heart wrenching story about love, loss, and finding your place in the world.

Which character – as performed by Joe Thomas – was your favourite?

The main character

Very unexpectedly funny from the first chapter

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
intriguing listen, beautifully read. I was totally captivated throughout this well crafted tale of human relationships

totally captivating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews