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Ostrich
A brilliant and moving coming-of-age story in the tradition of Wonder by R. J. Palacio and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon—this debut novel is written with tremendous humor and charm.
This is Alex’s story. But he doesn’t know exactly what it’s about yet, so you probably shouldn’t either.
Instead, here are some things that it’s sort of about (but not really):
It’s sort of (but not really) about brain surgery.
It’s sort of (but not really) about a hamster named Jaws 2 (after the original Jaws (who died), not the movie Jaws 2).
It’s sort of (but actually quite a lot) about Alex’s parents.
It’s sort of (but not really) about feeling ostrichized (which is a better word for excluded (because ostriches can’t fly so they often feel left out)).
It’s sort of (but not really (but actually, the more you think about it, kind of a lot)) about empathy (which is like sympathy only better), and also love and trust and fate and time and quantum mechanics and friendship and exams and growing up.
And it’s also sort of about courage. Because sometimes it actually takes quite a lot of it to bury your head in the sand.
Advance praise for Ostrich
“Irresistible! Ostrich is loaded with wit, charm, and wisdom. Alex is one of the sweetest and most inspiring narrators I’ve ever encountered. I dare you not to laugh, cry, and fall utterly in love.”—Maria Semple, New York Times bestselling author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
“One of the bravest novels I’ve read in a very long time. Matt Greene lets the reader become detective, and clue by clue we uncover not only the truth of Alex’s world, but the deepest truths of what it means to love and lose.”—Carol Rifka Brunt, author of Tell the Wolves I’m Home
“Ostrich has given me the most enjoyable reading experience I’ve had all year and has one of the funniest and most engaging young narrators I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Matt Greene is seriously funny and in Ostrich proves comedy can be the finest of arts.”—Matt Haig, author of The Humans
This is Alex’s story. But he doesn’t know exactly what it’s about yet, so you probably shouldn’t either.
Instead, here are some things that it’s sort of about (but not really):
It’s sort of (but not really) about brain surgery.
It’s sort of (but not really) about a hamster named Jaws 2 (after the original Jaws (who died), not the movie Jaws 2).
It’s sort of (but actually quite a lot) about Alex’s parents.
It’s sort of (but not really) about feeling ostrichized (which is a better word for excluded (because ostriches can’t fly so they often feel left out)).
It’s sort of (but not really (but actually, the more you think about it, kind of a lot)) about empathy (which is like sympathy only better), and also love and trust and fate and time and quantum mechanics and friendship and exams and growing up.
And it’s also sort of about courage. Because sometimes it actually takes quite a lot of it to bury your head in the sand.
Advance praise for Ostrich
“Irresistible! Ostrich is loaded with wit, charm, and wisdom. Alex is one of the sweetest and most inspiring narrators I’ve ever encountered. I dare you not to laugh, cry, and fall utterly in love.”—Maria Semple, New York Times bestselling author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
“One of the bravest novels I’ve read in a very long time. Matt Greene lets the reader become detective, and clue by clue we uncover not only the truth of Alex’s world, but the deepest truths of what it means to love and lose.”—Carol Rifka Brunt, author of Tell the Wolves I’m Home
“Ostrich has given me the most enjoyable reading experience I’ve had all year and has one of the funniest and most engaging young narrators I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Matt Greene is seriously funny and in Ostrich proves comedy can be the finest of arts.”—Matt Haig, author of The Humans
299 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 27, 2013
75 people are currently reading
1659 people want to read
About the author
Matt Greene
3 books117 followersMatt Greene is a novelist and essayist. His first novel, Ostrich, published in 2013, won a Betty Trask Award and was a Daily Telegraph book of the year. His memoir, Jew(ish) was published in 2020. He lives in London with his partner and two sons.
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September 29, 2013
Ostrich - by Matt Greene
My husband has a way of ordering steak: "Make it rare to have it still embarrassed, but make sure the vet cannot save it anymore"
So I immediately connected to the story when I read in the prologue that Alex's dad ordered his steak "Cooked long enough that his family aren't in denial but not long enough that they're at acceptance. Anywhere between bargaining and depression. Just so long as it's seen the inside of a warm room."
This observation of Alex will actually become the embedded truth in the narrative.
Apart from that I also felt the connection with an ostrich. "I already know what it's like to feel ostrichized, which is a better word for excluded (because ostriches can't fly, so they often feel left out).
We farmed with them for many years, having between 3000 to 4000 of them hanging around in the breeding season. The huge 'chick rooms' where all the hatched chickens were cared for the first two months of their lives, were in a huge barn - the only place on a remote African farm with underfloor heating! We humans, battling winter out, had to settle for old wrought-iron stoves or bonfires burning in a sheltered spot to keep warm.
So with all this in mind I was wondering why a young Brit would associate himself with an ostrich and what did he really know about them. Of course it peeked my interest in this book.
It was soon clear that Alex's epistemological view on life, on everything, would have me in stitches, even at five in the morning with the first cup of coffee in hand. His scientific approach to pornography had my laughter sound like a 1948-Fordson tractor with locked bearings - combustion inhibited by gaseous protests!
Talking about gas.
"I attribute Mum's insomnia to her concerns about The State of Her Marriage. It can be helpful to use the word state when describing a marriage because it makes you think of the people involved as particles. Right now Mum and Dad's marriage is a gas."
I am sure he would have made Einstein proud as well (not only P.G.Wodehouse & Co).
Einstein:
"How does it happen that a properly endowed natural scientist comes to concern himself with epistemology? Is there not some more valuable work to be done in his specialty? That's what I hear many of my colleagues ask, and I sense it from many more. But I cannot share this sentiment. When I think about the ablest students whom I have encountered in my teaching — that is, those who distinguish themselves by their independence of judgment and not just their quick-wittedness — I can affirm that they had a vigorous interest in epistemology. They happily began discussions about the goals and methods of science, and they showed unequivocally, through tenacious defense of their views, that the subject seemed important to them."
The wit and humor influences of P.G.Wodehouse, Woody Allen and alike is evident everywhere in this tragicomedy.
With everything the courageous young Alex went through, he never lost his sense of reason and his urge to dissect even the minced meat in his school lunch with a paint brush he borrowed from the Art department!
Mr. Sinclair: "Try and imagine your brain as an orchestra."
( I try, but it's difficult, because my brain is already a circuit board, a dog kennel, a water park, and a hostage negotiation.)"
The ostrich analogy: although they cannot fly, have feathers and lay eggs, the ostrich doesn't know he is a bird. He doesn't look up in the sky and cry seeing other birds overhead, because he has never been there himself. He has legs - long, strong, and fast, making him the most dangerous bird on earth! And believe me, the ostrich is very proud of that fact! Alex might have felt left behind, due to his condition, but the ostrich never did.
Besides, if this gigantic bird was able to fly, a flock of them landing on a house, would have it crashed. There is a reason why it should not fly, at least in our human reasoning! Alex has all the reasons in the world to just be as proud as an ostrich. He has proven himself and his abilities in enough other ways than flying.
And so did Einstein. Fatally compromised? I think not. Not at all. And Einstein was also ostrichized by an educational system and society which could not accommodate his genius!
Before I venture too deeply into the epistomology about this book I should stop. Laughter can be deadly too, you know! If dissected, it becomes really a scary phenomenon! I'm sure Alex will agree with me!
Those staff members who taught Alex comment that his record of work was consistently good. They spoke to the keen interest and intellectual curiosity that he brought to the classroom. His written work was described as imaginative, fiercely logical, strongly argued, lucid, and unwaveringly grammatical. His command of concepts was confident and advanced."
That is what Alex and this book is all about. A skilfully crafted plot, a masterful tying together of all the detailed elements of the story line. It must have been quite a challenging novel to write. Thought-provoking - YES! Compassionate - YES!
BRILLIANT first novel. I am a fan forever!
My husband has a way of ordering steak: "Make it rare to have it still embarrassed, but make sure the vet cannot save it anymore"
So I immediately connected to the story when I read in the prologue that Alex's dad ordered his steak "Cooked long enough that his family aren't in denial but not long enough that they're at acceptance. Anywhere between bargaining and depression. Just so long as it's seen the inside of a warm room."
This observation of Alex will actually become the embedded truth in the narrative.
Apart from that I also felt the connection with an ostrich. "I already know what it's like to feel ostrichized, which is a better word for excluded (because ostriches can't fly, so they often feel left out).
We farmed with them for many years, having between 3000 to 4000 of them hanging around in the breeding season. The huge 'chick rooms' where all the hatched chickens were cared for the first two months of their lives, were in a huge barn - the only place on a remote African farm with underfloor heating! We humans, battling winter out, had to settle for old wrought-iron stoves or bonfires burning in a sheltered spot to keep warm.
So with all this in mind I was wondering why a young Brit would associate himself with an ostrich and what did he really know about them. Of course it peeked my interest in this book.
It was soon clear that Alex's epistemological view on life, on everything, would have me in stitches, even at five in the morning with the first cup of coffee in hand. His scientific approach to pornography had my laughter sound like a 1948-Fordson tractor with locked bearings - combustion inhibited by gaseous protests!
Talking about gas.
"I attribute Mum's insomnia to her concerns about The State of Her Marriage. It can be helpful to use the word state when describing a marriage because it makes you think of the people involved as particles. Right now Mum and Dad's marriage is a gas."
I am sure he would have made Einstein proud as well (not only P.G.Wodehouse & Co).
Einstein:
"How does it happen that a properly endowed natural scientist comes to concern himself with epistemology? Is there not some more valuable work to be done in his specialty? That's what I hear many of my colleagues ask, and I sense it from many more. But I cannot share this sentiment. When I think about the ablest students whom I have encountered in my teaching — that is, those who distinguish themselves by their independence of judgment and not just their quick-wittedness — I can affirm that they had a vigorous interest in epistemology. They happily began discussions about the goals and methods of science, and they showed unequivocally, through tenacious defense of their views, that the subject seemed important to them."
The wit and humor influences of P.G.Wodehouse, Woody Allen and alike is evident everywhere in this tragicomedy.
With everything the courageous young Alex went through, he never lost his sense of reason and his urge to dissect even the minced meat in his school lunch with a paint brush he borrowed from the Art department!
Mr. Sinclair: "Try and imagine your brain as an orchestra."
( I try, but it's difficult, because my brain is already a circuit board, a dog kennel, a water park, and a hostage negotiation.)"
The ostrich analogy: although they cannot fly, have feathers and lay eggs, the ostrich doesn't know he is a bird. He doesn't look up in the sky and cry seeing other birds overhead, because he has never been there himself. He has legs - long, strong, and fast, making him the most dangerous bird on earth! And believe me, the ostrich is very proud of that fact! Alex might have felt left behind, due to his condition, but the ostrich never did.
Besides, if this gigantic bird was able to fly, a flock of them landing on a house, would have it crashed. There is a reason why it should not fly, at least in our human reasoning! Alex has all the reasons in the world to just be as proud as an ostrich. He has proven himself and his abilities in enough other ways than flying.
And so did Einstein. Fatally compromised? I think not. Not at all. And Einstein was also ostrichized by an educational system and society which could not accommodate his genius!
Before I venture too deeply into the epistomology about this book I should stop. Laughter can be deadly too, you know! If dissected, it becomes really a scary phenomenon! I'm sure Alex will agree with me!
Those staff members who taught Alex comment that his record of work was consistently good. They spoke to the keen interest and intellectual curiosity that he brought to the classroom. His written work was described as imaginative, fiercely logical, strongly argued, lucid, and unwaveringly grammatical. His command of concepts was confident and advanced."
That is what Alex and this book is all about. A skilfully crafted plot, a masterful tying together of all the detailed elements of the story line. It must have been quite a challenging novel to write. Thought-provoking - YES! Compassionate - YES!
BRILLIANT first novel. I am a fan forever!
February 1, 2014
I've wrestled with whether I should give this three stars or four, and as usual I end up wishing that Goodreads allowed for half stars. or something. Or even quarter stars.
For the most part, I quite liked it. I enjoyed Alex's voice, although I did feel sometimes like he sounded too much like an adult writing in a kid voice. Part of the problem was Alex's malapropisms, which are sometimes charming and often hilarious, but which also sound like an adult trying to sound like a precocious kid.
Alex himself is interesting, and Greene did a nice job bringing his readers a kid with a brain tumor and a seizure disorder (epilepsy, I guess) without being maudlin. There is not much in the way of OH WOE IS ME, and while there are moments of terrible sadness, it's not a tearjerker. I appreciated that.
His friends -- a girl named Chloe, mainly, and then a boy named David, whose relationship with Alex is confusing (but mostly in a good way) -- are good characters too. His parents... Not so much. Part of the issue is that Alex's view is so narrow, and so literal (much like the boy in Haddon's Curious Case), that the lens through which he sees his parents is also narrow and literal. Whatever the reason, they were much less defined and engaging than pretty much anyone else in the book, which is a problem (even the hamsters were more clearly written...maybe Alex thinks the hamsters are more interesting?).
Many other reviewers have mentioned that the book isn't linear, which, honestly, I didn't even notice (now that I'm thinking about it, I guess I can see where that might be happening).
STARTING HERE THERE ARE LIKELY TO BE SPOILERS SO BE WARNED
Despite everything, though, I really liked Ostrich, up until the very end. I wanted a MOMENT. Or I wanted the total lack of a moment.
One of Alex's preoccupations is the theory of Schrodinger's cat. He applies the theory to any number of issues in his life, and for the most part, that really worked. However, at the very very end, the reader is left not totally sure if Alex has died or if Alex has still not died. In some ways, that's appropriate to the book -- a lot of Alex's ponderings have to do with whether or not X is Y or Z, and with the ways in which the lid stays on the box (and the cat stays alive and dead). Leaving the reader totally unclear on whether or not Alex has died would make sense.
And to some extent, Greene has done that. Most of the last section of the book seems to be working toward that goal, designed to create the ambiguity. Having Alex stop narrating to be replaced by a series of letters to his mother from a prestigious secondary school Alex wants to attend, the headmaster of the school he's been attending, and the testing coordinators who decide his exam results...that actually sort of works. We don't know what's going on, and that's okay. It leaves the reader wondering whether or not Alex has made it/is going to make it/etc. The problem is Alex's mother's attempts at journaling, which feel intrusive and make the ambiguity feel forced.
So it just ends... with a whimper, not a bang, and with ambiguity that feels less like a cat in a box and more like confusion. And that's why I'm giving it three stars, instead of four.
For the most part, I quite liked it. I enjoyed Alex's voice, although I did feel sometimes like he sounded too much like an adult writing in a kid voice. Part of the problem was Alex's malapropisms, which are sometimes charming and often hilarious, but which also sound like an adult trying to sound like a precocious kid.
Alex himself is interesting, and Greene did a nice job bringing his readers a kid with a brain tumor and a seizure disorder (epilepsy, I guess) without being maudlin. There is not much in the way of OH WOE IS ME, and while there are moments of terrible sadness, it's not a tearjerker. I appreciated that.
His friends -- a girl named Chloe, mainly, and then a boy named David, whose relationship with Alex is confusing (but mostly in a good way) -- are good characters too. His parents... Not so much. Part of the issue is that Alex's view is so narrow, and so literal (much like the boy in Haddon's Curious Case), that the lens through which he sees his parents is also narrow and literal. Whatever the reason, they were much less defined and engaging than pretty much anyone else in the book, which is a problem (even the hamsters were more clearly written...maybe Alex thinks the hamsters are more interesting?).
Many other reviewers have mentioned that the book isn't linear, which, honestly, I didn't even notice (now that I'm thinking about it, I guess I can see where that might be happening).
STARTING HERE THERE ARE LIKELY TO BE SPOILERS SO BE WARNED
Despite everything, though, I really liked Ostrich, up until the very end. I wanted a MOMENT. Or I wanted the total lack of a moment.
One of Alex's preoccupations is the theory of Schrodinger's cat. He applies the theory to any number of issues in his life, and for the most part, that really worked. However, at the very very end, the reader is left not totally sure if Alex has died or if Alex has still not died. In some ways, that's appropriate to the book -- a lot of Alex's ponderings have to do with whether or not X is Y or Z, and with the ways in which the lid stays on the box (and the cat stays alive and dead). Leaving the reader totally unclear on whether or not Alex has died would make sense.
And to some extent, Greene has done that. Most of the last section of the book seems to be working toward that goal, designed to create the ambiguity. Having Alex stop narrating to be replaced by a series of letters to his mother from a prestigious secondary school Alex wants to attend, the headmaster of the school he's been attending, and the testing coordinators who decide his exam results...that actually sort of works. We don't know what's going on, and that's okay. It leaves the reader wondering whether or not Alex has made it/is going to make it/etc. The problem is Alex's mother's attempts at journaling, which feel intrusive and make the ambiguity feel forced.
So it just ends... with a whimper, not a bang, and with ambiguity that feels less like a cat in a box and more like confusion. And that's why I'm giving it three stars, instead of four.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2013
I'm pretty sure that I enjoyed this, there were definitely times were I laughed out loud at ALex's thought processess, however I am at a loss at what happened at the end. I think the book beat me.
February 10, 2015
This was a very, very strange read indeed. The story is told from the perspective of Alex, a 12 year old boy up to and following the weeks after an operation to remove a brain tumour.
He is a very interesting, quirky character and the author really has got right into the head of a 12 year old boy – there were times when I really laughed because I could quite clearly see and hear my own sons at that age in Alex. Then there were times when his precocity came to the fore and I did wonder if he was perhaps a little “too” precocious for his age, although this did seem to be tempered a bit by his occasional use of incorrect words in his story telling. For example, there was a lot of talk about Schrodingers Cat and quantum mechanics in the story and thinking of my own sons and, yes I know I am a proud mother but I have to stress they are pretty intelligent , at the age of 12 they had never even heard of Schrodinger, let alone understood what he was trying to say. In fact they only know of it because it was on the Big Bang Theory. So, I did take all that with a pinch of salt in all honesty (and tried not to let it screw my mind up at the end of the book, but more on that later).
Alex is in a quandary. Since his operation his parents are acting strange, heck even his hamster seems to be treating him differently. Are they being so nice to him because of everything he has been through or are they paving the way to announcing their divorce? With the help of his friend Chloe, Alex sets out to get to the bottom of what is going on.
I have to say that on the whole I really enjoyed the read, that is until I got to the very abrupt end. I really don’t like the way it ends at all with readers being left to work it out for themselves. I had to sit back after finishing it and put it all together in my mind, which I did, and I am pretty sure I know what happened and why it happened but I do feel cheated a little.
I would have liked the author to show me what happened but instead I feel as if I have read a book where someone has ripped out the penultimate couple of chapters. Having said, I can understand exactly why the author finishes like that, but I just don’t like it.
He is a very interesting, quirky character and the author really has got right into the head of a 12 year old boy – there were times when I really laughed because I could quite clearly see and hear my own sons at that age in Alex. Then there were times when his precocity came to the fore and I did wonder if he was perhaps a little “too” precocious for his age, although this did seem to be tempered a bit by his occasional use of incorrect words in his story telling. For example, there was a lot of talk about Schrodingers Cat and quantum mechanics in the story and thinking of my own sons and, yes I know I am a proud mother but I have to stress they are pretty intelligent , at the age of 12 they had never even heard of Schrodinger, let alone understood what he was trying to say. In fact they only know of it because it was on the Big Bang Theory. So, I did take all that with a pinch of salt in all honesty (and tried not to let it screw my mind up at the end of the book, but more on that later).
Alex is in a quandary. Since his operation his parents are acting strange, heck even his hamster seems to be treating him differently. Are they being so nice to him because of everything he has been through or are they paving the way to announcing their divorce? With the help of his friend Chloe, Alex sets out to get to the bottom of what is going on.
I have to say that on the whole I really enjoyed the read, that is until I got to the very abrupt end. I really don’t like the way it ends at all with readers being left to work it out for themselves. I had to sit back after finishing it and put it all together in my mind, which I did, and I am pretty sure I know what happened and why it happened but I do feel cheated a little.
I would have liked the author to show me what happened but instead I feel as if I have read a book where someone has ripped out the penultimate couple of chapters. Having said, I can understand exactly why the author finishes like that, but I just don’t like it.
October 23, 2013
First, as a middle school librarian, let me publicly and forever divorce this book from Wonder by R.J. Palacio. This book is NOTHING like Palacio's Wonder and it actually gives me night terrors to think that any parent of a child who has read Wonder might purchase this as a companion novel. Ostrich is about a 13-year-old British boy named Alex who begins having seizures, which leads to the diagnosis of a brain tumor. The novel is written in a "stream of consciousness" and Alex puts me more in mind of Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye than August Pullman from Wonder. The events are not necessarily linear and can be confusing when added to some of the more rambling narrative. As Alex and his parents cope with his tumor and the seizures that plague him, he also enters a stage of sexual curiosity that leaves him wondering about things like penis size and pornography. There is also some bad language. This was not a read I enjoyed, nor do I recommend it for middle school or lower grades. Students who enjoy books like Catcher in the Rye or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time may also like this novel.
September 12, 2015
I really really liked this book. It made me laugh and I kinda enjoyed how Alex's friendship with Chloe developed. It was also quite touching as well. I had tears welling in my eyes at the end.
October 7, 2013
This novel by Matt Greene is written in the first person by the protagonist, Alex. He writes as if he is practicing for his English composition exam, using large vocabulary words because he says the teachers think they are better words and it helps your score. He also loves to use parentheses (which is a better word for brackets). The things he talks about are usually the normal things a boy just becoming a teenager would be interested in - girls, growing up, school, friends, etc. But he also talks about the surgery in which they removed a tumor from his brain, his fears that his parents may be getting a divorce, his attempts to find proof that his father is having an affair, and his concerns that his hamster has a personality disorder. His remarks are funny, intelligent, and sometimes incredibly sad as he goes through the school year dealing with all these issues. Everything from Schrodinger's Cat to freezing onions before you chop them so they won't make you cry get mixed into the story, which makes it a bit like his mother's recipe for pasta Bolognese - which winds up with whatever is in the kitchen mixed in. As you read, you really come to know Alex and empathize with him (which is even better than sympathizing). You want him to find proof that his parents aren't going to split up, or to have the first kiss he is so nervous and curious about, or to call out, "I know what happened to your hamster!" Of course, he couldn't hear us if we did tell him anything, but he feels so real that you can't help the impulse.
The author does an excellent job of showing us what goes on inside Alex's head and getting our heads and hearts involved in his story. Some of the British expressions and slang may seem odd to American readers, but it will not detract from the book. I would recommend this for middle school and older readers because of the some of the things Alex discusses and the language he sometimes uses (like puberty details and the "eff" word). I must warn you, the book may cause you to cry at times.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
The author does an excellent job of showing us what goes on inside Alex's head and getting our heads and hearts involved in his story. Some of the British expressions and slang may seem odd to American readers, but it will not detract from the book. I would recommend this for middle school and older readers because of the some of the things Alex discusses and the language he sometimes uses (like puberty details and the "eff" word). I must warn you, the book may cause you to cry at times.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
August 12, 2013
I knew right away this was something unique. Not just unique...it was one of a kind, a mesmerising, detailed look into the complicated life of Alex. He was a character that many readers long to read about; Matt Greene gave us a deep look into the life of Alex with a witty, quirky character with a real story tell.
Half way through Ostrich, I recalled that it reminded me of when I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower because of in the way Matt Greene had given us a detailed look into Alex's life in the way he told his story in a very truthful, intuitive way. It was slowly placed, and that was perfect for the genre it was set in, as to not rush the story along, and I loved that it was that way. It was downright hilarious in places that literally made me want to write all these different quotes down to write with my review, but there were so many witty one-liners that I kept picking a different favourite! Alex was just such a smart, funny and knowledgeable young boy, and that opened up my eyes to how refreshing it was to read about such an extraordinary character. He wasn't naïve and understood everything about his brain surgery and just how much his parents loved him. There was this one quote that stood out as my favourite. It's about Alex saying that he is his mother's world. And she would die for him. That, is what I call truly connecting with the reader.
Overall, Ostrich was a story about life's ups and downs, and how unexpected it can truly be. It...
Read more at: http://prettylittlememoirs.blogspot.c...
Half way through Ostrich, I recalled that it reminded me of when I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower because of in the way Matt Greene had given us a detailed look into Alex's life in the way he told his story in a very truthful, intuitive way. It was slowly placed, and that was perfect for the genre it was set in, as to not rush the story along, and I loved that it was that way. It was downright hilarious in places that literally made me want to write all these different quotes down to write with my review, but there were so many witty one-liners that I kept picking a different favourite! Alex was just such a smart, funny and knowledgeable young boy, and that opened up my eyes to how refreshing it was to read about such an extraordinary character. He wasn't naïve and understood everything about his brain surgery and just how much his parents loved him. There was this one quote that stood out as my favourite. It's about Alex saying that he is his mother's world. And she would die for him. That, is what I call truly connecting with the reader.
Overall, Ostrich was a story about life's ups and downs, and how unexpected it can truly be. It...
Read more at: http://prettylittlememoirs.blogspot.c...
September 22, 2013
Alex is an interesting character, he's 12 years old and on the verge of puberty. There are also lots of serious issues happening in his life - parental disputes, discovering porn and being ill.
Ostrich has some very funny moments and Matt Greene has created a likeable chap in Alex. However, I began to find the style of narration a little tedious after the first few chapters. Alex often gets sidetracked and drifts off into a whole new direction, often not related to the story. This could be very clever, but I just found it annoying, and in fact it made me begin to dislike Alex at times.
I guess one of my problems is that this is not a new concept and over the past few years there have been so many child narrators in fiction who have been excellently portrayed. I'm guilty of comparing Alex to others and sorry, he doesn't really live up to expectations.
Saying that, I would most certainly read another book by Matt Greene - he's a good author, I'd like to see where he goes next.
Ostrich has some very funny moments and Matt Greene has created a likeable chap in Alex. However, I began to find the style of narration a little tedious after the first few chapters. Alex often gets sidetracked and drifts off into a whole new direction, often not related to the story. This could be very clever, but I just found it annoying, and in fact it made me begin to dislike Alex at times.
I guess one of my problems is that this is not a new concept and over the past few years there have been so many child narrators in fiction who have been excellently portrayed. I'm guilty of comparing Alex to others and sorry, he doesn't really live up to expectations.
Saying that, I would most certainly read another book by Matt Greene - he's a good author, I'd like to see where he goes next.
September 20, 2013
Ostrich was.... interesting. I liked it, but then again, I didn't quite see the point of it. I guess it's about growing up, but it's really really slow and nothing much happens.
You see, Ostrich is about Alex, a precocious pre-teen who's getting ready for a really important exam. The book opens with him getting brain surgery, but after that, not much is made of it (at least, in my own opinion). I would suppose that most of the plot revolves around his relationship with his parents - and his fear that they are going to split-up. Unfortunately, the ending wasn't very exciting because I thought that the story was settled even before the book was finished.
Most of the time, I liked Alex. He seemed like a fairly level-headed boy, if prone to flights of fancy. But I wasn't very found of his friend Chloe. I understand that she's supposed to be scared by her parents divorce and all that, but I found her unlikable for some reason.
And while I mostly liked this book, I have to warn you all that this is not suitable for younger children. While the protagonist is rather young, his father seems to like cracking dirty jokes with him (about what's he's done with Chloe, if she's frigid and all that) and there's a section early in the book where he talks about penile size, and another chapter where he analyses Internet porn. I suppose the author wanted to be realistic, and it may be that I'm a sheltered girl but I really don't need or want to read about subjects like this.
To be honest, I'm not sure what I think about it. At it's best, the book was funny and the voice of Alex felt very real. At it's worst, it just seemed crass and full of juvenile humour. I suppose it's up to you on whether you want to take a chance on it.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
This review was first posted to Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
You see, Ostrich is about Alex, a precocious pre-teen who's getting ready for a really important exam. The book opens with him getting brain surgery, but after that, not much is made of it (at least, in my own opinion). I would suppose that most of the plot revolves around his relationship with his parents - and his fear that they are going to split-up. Unfortunately, the ending wasn't very exciting because I thought that the story was settled even before the book was finished.
Most of the time, I liked Alex. He seemed like a fairly level-headed boy, if prone to flights of fancy. But I wasn't very found of his friend Chloe. I understand that she's supposed to be scared by her parents divorce and all that, but I found her unlikable for some reason.
And while I mostly liked this book, I have to warn you all that this is not suitable for younger children. While the protagonist is rather young, his father seems to like cracking dirty jokes with him (about what's he's done with Chloe, if she's frigid and all that) and there's a section early in the book where he talks about penile size, and another chapter where he analyses Internet porn. I suppose the author wanted to be realistic, and it may be that I'm a sheltered girl but I really don't need or want to read about subjects like this.
To be honest, I'm not sure what I think about it. At it's best, the book was funny and the voice of Alex felt very real. At it's worst, it just seemed crass and full of juvenile humour. I suppose it's up to you on whether you want to take a chance on it.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
This review was first posted to Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
August 9, 2013
It may be an overworked statement, but this is one of the best books I have read in a very long time, and I read constantly. It is an endearing tale of Alex, narrated by himself at a difficult and growing up time in his life. The book is full of humour and very clever original word plays. The style feels original although it has been compared by other readers to works by Palacio and Mark Hadden.
All the characters in the book are excellently portrayed and Alex himself is a boy you can’t help but love. He matter-of-factly tells us that his ink eraser is made of pig urine and that calling ‘bumper’ cars ‘dogems’ takes all the danger and excitement out of them. He is serious about verb tenses and mnemonics like ‘my very educated mother just showed us nine planets’, and analysing porn.
Alex also has a brain tumour and undergoes some surgery.
The conclusion of the book is very cleverly done, there are layers of understanding and clues before the end is in sight. I had to go back and re-read some bits to fully appreciate them. It is difficult to say too much about the whole plot with out spoiling the magic. I really enjoyed this book, I cared about the players, it kept my interest throughout and it has stayed with me a while. I would highly recommend it.
All the characters in the book are excellently portrayed and Alex himself is a boy you can’t help but love. He matter-of-factly tells us that his ink eraser is made of pig urine and that calling ‘bumper’ cars ‘dogems’ takes all the danger and excitement out of them. He is serious about verb tenses and mnemonics like ‘my very educated mother just showed us nine planets’, and analysing porn.
Alex also has a brain tumour and undergoes some surgery.
The conclusion of the book is very cleverly done, there are layers of understanding and clues before the end is in sight. I had to go back and re-read some bits to fully appreciate them. It is difficult to say too much about the whole plot with out spoiling the magic. I really enjoyed this book, I cared about the players, it kept my interest throughout and it has stayed with me a while. I would highly recommend it.
September 25, 2013
This book started off so great to only eventually let me down.
This is a story about a young teenage boy dealing with brain surgery, family issues, making friends, girls, and maybe having a mind that's slightly autistic or something in that nature.
It started off so great. I laughed out loud (literally) several times in the beginning but the story slowly but surely lost my interest. There were several lengthy paragraphs that were just hard to get through. Also the story jumped around quite a bit and I still can't entirely tell if it was told in order or not. The end was a big letdown as well. There's a series of emails and letters that just lost all the momentum of the end.
I guess my biggest issue with this book is that it doesn't have a point. The back summary kind of alludes that it has not point, but it's very frustrating to read a whole book to be left feeling cheated. I spent my time reading this book for this ending? I was left completely unsatisfied, but I did enjoy several lines from the book and really liked Chloe's character.
This is a story about a young teenage boy dealing with brain surgery, family issues, making friends, girls, and maybe having a mind that's slightly autistic or something in that nature.
It started off so great. I laughed out loud (literally) several times in the beginning but the story slowly but surely lost my interest. There were several lengthy paragraphs that were just hard to get through. Also the story jumped around quite a bit and I still can't entirely tell if it was told in order or not. The end was a big letdown as well. There's a series of emails and letters that just lost all the momentum of the end.
I guess my biggest issue with this book is that it doesn't have a point. The back summary kind of alludes that it has not point, but it's very frustrating to read a whole book to be left feeling cheated. I spent my time reading this book for this ending? I was left completely unsatisfied, but I did enjoy several lines from the book and really liked Chloe's character.
July 18, 2015
One of the best books I've read.
February 22, 2015
Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" deserves every piece of praise it received, as a children's novel with plenty to interest older readers and a wonderful way of portraying Asperger's Syndrome through its narrator, Christopher Boone. ''Ostrich'' by Matt Greene follows quite similar lines, although this time the narrator, Alex, has a brain tumour.
Life is confusing enough when you're nearly thirteen and making your way in a large world. For Alex, it's even more so, as he has fits and blank periods thanks to his illness. He's also worried about his hamster, which seems to be in a fugue state and the state of his parents' marriage. He's trying to figure out his feelings for Chloe Gower and wondering why his mother hasn't laughed since the introduction of the Single European Currency. He also wishes that he could live in France, as life seems so much simpler in French.
I loved ''Ostrich''. It's sweet and sad and funny, mostly all at the same time. Alex is quite smart and passes on much of his wisdom, much of which is how to get better marks in Composition and the ways of telling if your parents are about to separate, most of which he gets from Chloe. He's also pretty good at Maths and can create algebraic equations from the lines on his mother's face.
I love the way the book is written. Alex has a twelve year old's attention span, which means the story jumps around all over the place. There is a through line, but the book is like a tree with branches all over the place. Alex narrates like a squirrel, making leaps from branch to branch and investigating where many of them lead. Much like a squirrel will often find the most interesting things right at the end of a branch, so following Alex's trains of thought right to the end often proves to be the most rewarding.
The writing style is quite interesting, too. There are a lot of sections in brackets where Alex wanders off in his random directions, often in compound sets of brackets. Frequently, you reach the end of a paragraph and the closure of the brackets makes it look like a man with several chins smiling. Normally, this kind of thing would annoy me, but more often than not, when I reached that stage of a paragraph, I had turned into a man with several chins smiling, so it seemed entirely appropriate.
Alex uses plenty of words he doesn't quite understand or can't spell, which only adds to the brilliance of the novel. My favourite was his frequent use of the word ''inflatio'' instead of ''fellatio'', which made me giggle like the twelve year old I haven't been for years. This possibly says more about the reader than it does about the book, but this is far from the only moment where the book had me chuckling to myself thanks to the way Alex uses his words, whether he's using them correctly or not.
After all this laughter, the unexpectedly emotional ending took me a little by surprise. A sudden change in style set me back a little, but the pay off was beautiful. The story could have gone in all kinds of directions, but the chosen one set the whole novel off perfectly.
I'm not sure I can say that ''Ostrich'' is better than "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time", as it's a different style of book, not as serious, but equally wonderfully written. It's certainly comparable, as this is a book that can be enjoyed by younger readers and adults alike. There may be a little too much bad language for really young readers, but it's never gratuitous and wouldn't seem so to any twelve year old. But this is the only concern I could possibly have with a book as wonderfully expressed and entertaining as this is.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
Life is confusing enough when you're nearly thirteen and making your way in a large world. For Alex, it's even more so, as he has fits and blank periods thanks to his illness. He's also worried about his hamster, which seems to be in a fugue state and the state of his parents' marriage. He's trying to figure out his feelings for Chloe Gower and wondering why his mother hasn't laughed since the introduction of the Single European Currency. He also wishes that he could live in France, as life seems so much simpler in French.
I loved ''Ostrich''. It's sweet and sad and funny, mostly all at the same time. Alex is quite smart and passes on much of his wisdom, much of which is how to get better marks in Composition and the ways of telling if your parents are about to separate, most of which he gets from Chloe. He's also pretty good at Maths and can create algebraic equations from the lines on his mother's face.
I love the way the book is written. Alex has a twelve year old's attention span, which means the story jumps around all over the place. There is a through line, but the book is like a tree with branches all over the place. Alex narrates like a squirrel, making leaps from branch to branch and investigating where many of them lead. Much like a squirrel will often find the most interesting things right at the end of a branch, so following Alex's trains of thought right to the end often proves to be the most rewarding.
The writing style is quite interesting, too. There are a lot of sections in brackets where Alex wanders off in his random directions, often in compound sets of brackets. Frequently, you reach the end of a paragraph and the closure of the brackets makes it look like a man with several chins smiling. Normally, this kind of thing would annoy me, but more often than not, when I reached that stage of a paragraph, I had turned into a man with several chins smiling, so it seemed entirely appropriate.
Alex uses plenty of words he doesn't quite understand or can't spell, which only adds to the brilliance of the novel. My favourite was his frequent use of the word ''inflatio'' instead of ''fellatio'', which made me giggle like the twelve year old I haven't been for years. This possibly says more about the reader than it does about the book, but this is far from the only moment where the book had me chuckling to myself thanks to the way Alex uses his words, whether he's using them correctly or not.
After all this laughter, the unexpectedly emotional ending took me a little by surprise. A sudden change in style set me back a little, but the pay off was beautiful. The story could have gone in all kinds of directions, but the chosen one set the whole novel off perfectly.
I'm not sure I can say that ''Ostrich'' is better than "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time", as it's a different style of book, not as serious, but equally wonderfully written. It's certainly comparable, as this is a book that can be enjoyed by younger readers and adults alike. There may be a little too much bad language for really young readers, but it's never gratuitous and wouldn't seem so to any twelve year old. But this is the only concern I could possibly have with a book as wonderfully expressed and entertaining as this is.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
July 3, 2020
2.5
Nothing much to really say about it. Some things were a bit questionable in my perspective. But that might be personal preference honestly.
Nothing much to really say about it. Some things were a bit questionable in my perspective. But that might be personal preference honestly.
April 13, 2014
After The Fault In Our Stars and other successful John Green novels, we had high expectations for Matt Greene's debut novel Ostrich. From the synopsis, it seemed like exactly the kind of book I could appreciate, and something in the same vein as TFIOS with the characters having to deal with tragedy.
The story is written from the perspective of Alex, a 12-year-old boy recovering from brain surgery. Written in a non-linear, slightly disjointed pattern, readers of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time will be able to see clear similarities between the protagonists of the two books.
Key Points:
1. THIS IS NOT A BOOK FOR CHILDREN. I cannot stress this enough, so please take my advice when I say that to any parents reading this, this is not for your pre-teen or early teen child. I'm seventeen, and I know for a fact that my mother would not want me to be reading this. The book is written from the point of view of a 12-year-old boy and it includes every aspect of his life. This means that the novel includes and addresses wet dreams, pornography, infidelity etc., in quite explicit detail.
2. Personally, I did not like the ending of the book. I read through the entire book convinced that eventually, somehow, all the weird little tangents in Alex's head would line up and create some huge revelation that would change my life. However, the book disappointed in terms of conclusion. I'm still not sure what happened at the end, and I spent a while obsessively Googling it for answers, but I came up blank.
3. This review is coming up pretty negative so far, but there were plenty of good things about it. For example, every now and then, the book has charming little misspellings ("I already know what it's like to feel ostrichized, which is a better word for excluded (because ostriches can't fly, so they often feel left out)." Alex often goes off on tangents (in his head (like this (using the brackets, I mean (Alex prefers calling them parentheses)))) which are quite interesting to read, but they do get distracting and tiring after a while.
4. This book is humourous. It really, actually is funny and had me laughing out loud quite a few times. For example: "(The hat accent on top of the A is called a circumflex. It indicates that something is missing. I think a hat always indicates this.)"
Alright, so there weren't "plenty" of good things about the novel. Quite frankly, I doubt I'll read it again. At least, not for a while. Perhaps I'll re-read if I feel like I need to understand the ending. I was pretty excited about this novel, which could be the reason I was so disappointed at the end.
The story is written from the perspective of Alex, a 12-year-old boy recovering from brain surgery. Written in a non-linear, slightly disjointed pattern, readers of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time will be able to see clear similarities between the protagonists of the two books.
Key Points:
1. THIS IS NOT A BOOK FOR CHILDREN. I cannot stress this enough, so please take my advice when I say that to any parents reading this, this is not for your pre-teen or early teen child. I'm seventeen, and I know for a fact that my mother would not want me to be reading this. The book is written from the point of view of a 12-year-old boy and it includes every aspect of his life. This means that the novel includes and addresses wet dreams, pornography, infidelity etc., in quite explicit detail.
2. Personally, I did not like the ending of the book. I read through the entire book convinced that eventually, somehow, all the weird little tangents in Alex's head would line up and create some huge revelation that would change my life. However, the book disappointed in terms of conclusion. I'm still not sure what happened at the end, and I spent a while obsessively Googling it for answers, but I came up blank.
3. This review is coming up pretty negative so far, but there were plenty of good things about it. For example, every now and then, the book has charming little misspellings ("I already know what it's like to feel ostrichized, which is a better word for excluded (because ostriches can't fly, so they often feel left out)." Alex often goes off on tangents (in his head (like this (using the brackets, I mean (Alex prefers calling them parentheses)))) which are quite interesting to read, but they do get distracting and tiring after a while.
4. This book is humourous. It really, actually is funny and had me laughing out loud quite a few times. For example: "(The hat accent on top of the A is called a circumflex. It indicates that something is missing. I think a hat always indicates this.)"
Alright, so there weren't "plenty" of good things about the novel. Quite frankly, I doubt I'll read it again. At least, not for a while. Perhaps I'll re-read if I feel like I need to understand the ending. I was pretty excited about this novel, which could be the reason I was so disappointed at the end.
August 27, 2013
Writing about people suffering from serious illnesses is a difficult thing to tackle but Matt Greene does a brilliant job in his début novel. Ostrich tells the story of Alex, a young boy who has brain tumour and suffers from epilepsy which, despite the fact that he’s smart and seems to be among the best pupils at school, inevitably makes him feel like an outsider. Through the course of the book Alex undergoes brain surgery, falls in love (even if he doesn’t know this at the time), gets behind the wheels of his dad’s car for the first time, albeit illegally, analyses internet porn, tries to get to the bottom of his hamster’s odd behaviour and, with the help of his friend Chloe, devises a plan to find out what happened to his parents’ marriage. At first glance, it may seem like a simple story, a bitter-sweet saga of a young boy and everything he goes through in his early teens. It’s only when you read the last lines that you realize Ostrich is in fact a lot more complex than you have imagined.
I’ve always loved coming-of-age novels and this book was no exception. Although it took me a short while to get used to the language (Alex is very fond of science, grammar, and using lots of brackets, you see) and Alex’s narration, it was impossible not to be charmed by his personality and his witty remarks. And this is one of the reasons why I loved this book. With hindsight, it’s quite a sad story but without being sloppy or making you reach for your tissues every two seconds. In fact, Alex’s jokes ("I can swear in sixty-seven different languages. But I can apologize in only three, which means I could get beaten up in sixty-four countries." is one of my favourites) and all the hilarious things he and his friend Chloe are up to make for quite an entertaining read. I do love a tear-jerker, don’t get me wrong. But books which can address difficult subjects while bringing a bit of humour into the plot always feel a bit more special – and that’s how I felt about Ostrich as well. It’s not simply a story of a boy with a serious illness. It’s so, so much more than that.
Read more >>
I’ve always loved coming-of-age novels and this book was no exception. Although it took me a short while to get used to the language (Alex is very fond of science, grammar, and using lots of brackets, you see) and Alex’s narration, it was impossible not to be charmed by his personality and his witty remarks. And this is one of the reasons why I loved this book. With hindsight, it’s quite a sad story but without being sloppy or making you reach for your tissues every two seconds. In fact, Alex’s jokes ("I can swear in sixty-seven different languages. But I can apologize in only three, which means I could get beaten up in sixty-four countries." is one of my favourites) and all the hilarious things he and his friend Chloe are up to make for quite an entertaining read. I do love a tear-jerker, don’t get me wrong. But books which can address difficult subjects while bringing a bit of humour into the plot always feel a bit more special – and that’s how I felt about Ostrich as well. It’s not simply a story of a boy with a serious illness. It’s so, so much more than that.
Read more >>
May 26, 2015
The story is about Alex Graham and his mum and dad plus his hamsters Jaws, Jaws 2 and Rickey.
Ales is poorly but manages to go to school most of the time, have friends, enjoy the lessons and keep up with his parents’ marriage.
Chloe Gower is a very independent girl who judges Alex’s problem parents with her own who have separated some time before. Is it a like for like match in reality or is this the only way Alex can explain the issues which are manifesting themselves at home?
When Chloe explains why she is going to Hong Kong it was so straight forward that in her head she was only going up the road.
After all Alex includes in is composition it didn’t seem possible that he had not passed the exam – but – when the letter which was part of his response to the exam was available to read all was clear, as it was for me as a reader. Should the individual be told the truth about an illness or not?
The book tried to be all things to all men – it attempted humour, arrogance of the young (ignoring the arrogance of the grown-ups) expertise in English composition, the sickness and filtering of an autistic (was Alex autistic?) boy who I think was suffering from terminal cancer. Some of this may be right, but as a reader who had to work hard, I don’t know
Ales is poorly but manages to go to school most of the time, have friends, enjoy the lessons and keep up with his parents’ marriage.
Chloe Gower is a very independent girl who judges Alex’s problem parents with her own who have separated some time before. Is it a like for like match in reality or is this the only way Alex can explain the issues which are manifesting themselves at home?
When Chloe explains why she is going to Hong Kong it was so straight forward that in her head she was only going up the road.
After all Alex includes in is composition it didn’t seem possible that he had not passed the exam – but – when the letter which was part of his response to the exam was available to read all was clear, as it was for me as a reader. Should the individual be told the truth about an illness or not?
The book tried to be all things to all men – it attempted humour, arrogance of the young (ignoring the arrogance of the grown-ups) expertise in English composition, the sickness and filtering of an autistic (was Alex autistic?) boy who I think was suffering from terminal cancer. Some of this may be right, but as a reader who had to work hard, I don’t know
November 27, 2014
Alex has a brain tumour, he has just come out of hospital after having a hole drilled in his head. But he is also a teenage boy and has to sort out the strange behaviour of his hamster Jaws 2, the mysteries of his parent's marriage, school work and school social life. He has so much to learn, how to narrate his life as French schoolboy Serge in his exams, and how sex works from the acres of pornography on the internet.
Being of a certain generation my closest experience to Ostrich has been Adrian Mole, but Greene's first person narrator Alex is far far funnier and far more poignant, I was left literally howling with laughter at some points and reading bits out to family, both things I don't usually do. The ending is achingly sad, but Alex shines, the dazzling mind of a typical monosyllabic teenage boy opened up wide.
Being of a certain generation my closest experience to Ostrich has been Adrian Mole, but Greene's first person narrator Alex is far far funnier and far more poignant, I was left literally howling with laughter at some points and reading bits out to family, both things I don't usually do. The ending is achingly sad, but Alex shines, the dazzling mind of a typical monosyllabic teenage boy opened up wide.
November 19, 2013
A really interesting read...from the voice of a young boy who is ill. One of the 'freshest' most original voices I have read in a while. Don't want to give away too much...but it isn't really a 'tear jerker' as you would expect. Instead, it leaves you thinking after you finish reading....which is really the best kind of read. I have to share some favorite lines:
"I can swear in sixty-seven languages. But I can apologize in only three, which means I could get beaten up in sixty-four countries."
"Chloe Gower is an albino....she dyed her hair black (which is not a good look for an albino (because it makes her face look like apartheid))."
"Mum said once that girls are like spiders because they're more scared of me than I am of them. (I'm sure I read somewhere that female spiders eat the male ones.)"
There are more...but these show some of the fun in this read.
"I can swear in sixty-seven languages. But I can apologize in only three, which means I could get beaten up in sixty-four countries."
"Chloe Gower is an albino....she dyed her hair black (which is not a good look for an albino (because it makes her face look like apartheid))."
"Mum said once that girls are like spiders because they're more scared of me than I am of them. (I'm sure I read somewhere that female spiders eat the male ones.)"
There are more...but these show some of the fun in this read.
March 9, 2014
***netgalley copy***
I really, really wanted to love this book. It was compared to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time which is what made me pick up this one in the first place as I did love that one. Unfortunately while this book was interesting and unique at the beginning with the preteen stream of consciousness narration and a lot of fun tangents at the start it just got old after a while. The first half of the book kept my interest but most of the rest of it was a bit bothersome to get through, especially the very end with all of the back and forth letters. The end was rather confusing all around. I'm not sorry that I read it and did want to see how it ended up but I also wouldn't recommend this one either. It just ended up falling rather flat for me.
I really, really wanted to love this book. It was compared to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time which is what made me pick up this one in the first place as I did love that one. Unfortunately while this book was interesting and unique at the beginning with the preteen stream of consciousness narration and a lot of fun tangents at the start it just got old after a while. The first half of the book kept my interest but most of the rest of it was a bit bothersome to get through, especially the very end with all of the back and forth letters. The end was rather confusing all around. I'm not sorry that I read it and did want to see how it ended up but I also wouldn't recommend this one either. It just ended up falling rather flat for me.
December 9, 2014
Sometimes when authors are trying to be really inventive and original in the way they tell a story, they miss the boat. This is one of those cases. The book is about a 13 year-old with a brain tumor and his attempts to achieve his goals despite the illness. Sounds good right? Well, it is written as a train of thought with everything that comes to the boys mind spilling on to the page. It gets confusing and hard to follow. Mostly though, it just isn't interesting. It is set in England, so I will give it an English review. It is rubbish.
September 29, 2017
Loved Alex, loved this authors writing, loved his book. Very witty and clever. What a journey I was taken on of a young boy and his illness, how it affects the child and the parents. Oh my this book made me laugh out loud and sob too. The French oral exam - hilarious! 😂 Brilliant book - thank you Mr Greene
July 21, 2019
2.5 stars. I loved the first part of the book because of the numerous puns and witticisms. Yet somewhere around 60% I got stuck. I had had enough of Alex’s precociousness. Somehow it became more and more difficult to believe that it was a 12-year-old boy talking. In addition, the end left me confused. I wish the book had a clearer storyline.
November 7, 2013
some great writing. . .often very witty. . .unnecessarily graphic sexually in parts, especially given the age of the narrator. the ending left me feeling empty.
July 25, 2014
Absolutely hilarious, though rather odd, and I lost track of the chronology a bit.
December 4, 2014
Somehow I missed that this book was about a uber smart dying child. The end was good, but first I had to wade though the pathos and smart ramblings of said child.
May 5, 2015
I liked Alex, felt for his parents, liked Chloe, and enjoyed the book. I loved the narration. I disliked the ending, even if it was reasonable.
May 15, 2020
Let me just start by saying, the ENDING! Holy sh-t! Literal chills!
Ostrich is about a twelve-year-old boy named Alex with a brain tumor, which causes frequent seizures. He notices his parents' odd behavior and, with the help of his friend Chloe, investigates his suspicion of an affair. But the story is so much more than that.
Two things compelled me to this book. The first was the wide discussion of the ending and its meaning. All of the confused reviews encouraged me to read this book and decipher the ending myself. The second was a review that mentioned that this book was similar to The Catcher in the Rye and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. This was an accurate comparison; Ostrich was written as a "stream of consciousness," much like those two novels. If you're someone who likes a clearly cut story-line, Ostrich is not for you.
I loved the way Alex was written. He is highly intelligent, and his view of the world is so different. His thoughts are often deep and complex, making me pause and contemplate. He is also witty and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. The more I read and got familiar with Alex, the more his "stream of consciousness" made sense to me, and the more I grew into his mindset.
This story was undoubtedly confusing at times. The prologue made absolutely no sense when I first read it. It was not made clear whether some events were real or a dream. However, I feel that was the point. I thought the obscurity made the book all the more interesting. It was like a complicated puzzle, and I enjoyed trying to figure out where each piece fit and what the missing parts were. I predicted correctly at the beginning how the book was going to end, but that didn't make the book any less exciting: the sudden reveals of new information kept me engaged.
It was really fun to piece together and interpret what was happening in this story. The ending cleared up any confusion I had left, making it a satisfactory (and emotional) wrap-up. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who's up for a harder-to-comprehend read. If anyone has a recommendation of a book similar to this one, let me know!
Ostrich is about a twelve-year-old boy named Alex with a brain tumor, which causes frequent seizures. He notices his parents' odd behavior and, with the help of his friend Chloe, investigates his suspicion of an affair. But the story is so much more than that.
Two things compelled me to this book. The first was the wide discussion of the ending and its meaning. All of the confused reviews encouraged me to read this book and decipher the ending myself. The second was a review that mentioned that this book was similar to The Catcher in the Rye and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. This was an accurate comparison; Ostrich was written as a "stream of consciousness," much like those two novels. If you're someone who likes a clearly cut story-line, Ostrich is not for you.
I loved the way Alex was written. He is highly intelligent, and his view of the world is so different. His thoughts are often deep and complex, making me pause and contemplate. He is also witty and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. The more I read and got familiar with Alex, the more his "stream of consciousness" made sense to me, and the more I grew into his mindset.
This story was undoubtedly confusing at times. The prologue made absolutely no sense when I first read it. It was not made clear whether some events were real or a dream. However, I feel that was the point. I thought the obscurity made the book all the more interesting. It was like a complicated puzzle, and I enjoyed trying to figure out where each piece fit and what the missing parts were. I predicted correctly at the beginning how the book was going to end, but that didn't make the book any less exciting: the sudden reveals of new information kept me engaged.
It was really fun to piece together and interpret what was happening in this story. The ending cleared up any confusion I had left, making it a satisfactory (and emotional) wrap-up. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who's up for a harder-to-comprehend read. If anyone has a recommendation of a book similar to this one, let me know!
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