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An Alien at St Wilfred's
Best-selling author Adrian Plass tells the humorous and poignant tale of a small alien who comes to live in a parish church.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
5 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Adrian Plass
136 books104 followersAdrian Plass is a writer and speaker who has produced over thirty books in the last twenty years. The best known of these is probably The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, a gentle satire on the modern church, which has sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide. This and other books have travelled to other countries and are translated into a number of foreign languages. Other books include biography, novels, short stories, a fictionalised account of the author's experiences as a residential child care worker, and collections of poems and sketches. A bemused Anglican, Adrian lives with his wife and daughter in a small market town near the Sussex South Downs.
Adrian has been in demand as a speaker in venues as varied as prisons, schools, churches, festivals, literary dinners and theatrical settings. His work also includes contribution to national and local radio and television. Live presentations combine humour, poetry, and story telling, largely revolving around his own inadequacies and struggles as a Christian and a human being.
In recent years Adrian has been joined by his wife Bridget in presenting a more varied and dramatic style of performance. Adrian and Bridget met at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and have found particular satisfaction in being allowed to ‘do a bit of acting’. They have also been privileged to work alongside World Vision on several occasions, visiting Bangladesh and Zambia, writing two books and touring both in the UK and abroad with the aim of encouraging people to take up child sponsorship
Their work now takes them as far away as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Africa, while trips to Europe have introduced the added dimension of speaking through interpreters. Not easy when you're trying to be funny!
Adrian's latest books include ‘Jesus Safe Tender and Extreme‘, published by Zondervan, ‘Blind Spots in the Bible’, published by BRF, and most recent of all ‘Bacon Sandwiches and Salvation’ published by Authentic Media. He and Bridget have also collaborated with friends in Canada to produce a CD of his favourite sketches from the last 20 years called ‘Preaching to the Converted’ while ‘A Touch of Plass’, CTA’s documentary video, is now out on DVD.
2008 began with a visit to Bolivia for Bridget and Adrian in collaboration with the charity Toybox to look at projects involving street children. Later on there will be a DVD, a book and a number of presentations promoting their work.
Adrian's central motivation continues to be his love for Jesus, although some may feel he expresses it rather eccentrically. His passion is to communicate the need for reality in faith, and a truth that he learned during a difficult stage in his life: "God is nice and he likes me..." Some have described his work as being ‘one long confessional’. They may well be right!
Adrian has been in demand as a speaker in venues as varied as prisons, schools, churches, festivals, literary dinners and theatrical settings. His work also includes contribution to national and local radio and television. Live presentations combine humour, poetry, and story telling, largely revolving around his own inadequacies and struggles as a Christian and a human being.
In recent years Adrian has been joined by his wife Bridget in presenting a more varied and dramatic style of performance. Adrian and Bridget met at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and have found particular satisfaction in being allowed to ‘do a bit of acting’. They have also been privileged to work alongside World Vision on several occasions, visiting Bangladesh and Zambia, writing two books and touring both in the UK and abroad with the aim of encouraging people to take up child sponsorship
Their work now takes them as far away as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Africa, while trips to Europe have introduced the added dimension of speaking through interpreters. Not easy when you're trying to be funny!
Adrian's latest books include ‘Jesus Safe Tender and Extreme‘, published by Zondervan, ‘Blind Spots in the Bible’, published by BRF, and most recent of all ‘Bacon Sandwiches and Salvation’ published by Authentic Media. He and Bridget have also collaborated with friends in Canada to produce a CD of his favourite sketches from the last 20 years called ‘Preaching to the Converted’ while ‘A Touch of Plass’, CTA’s documentary video, is now out on DVD.
2008 began with a visit to Bolivia for Bridget and Adrian in collaboration with the charity Toybox to look at projects involving street children. Later on there will be a DVD, a book and a number of presentations promoting their work.
Adrian's central motivation continues to be his love for Jesus, although some may feel he expresses it rather eccentrically. His passion is to communicate the need for reality in faith, and a truth that he learned during a difficult stage in his life: "God is nice and he likes me..." Some have described his work as being ‘one long confessional’. They may well be right!
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 19, 2019
I’ve never read anything quite like this book. It’s the first Adrian Plass book I have read and now after reading An Alien at St. Wilfred’s, I would like to own his entire collection. It is a story of four members of the Anglican church – St. Wilfred’s who meet a quaint, polite, teddy bear-like, curious little alien who calls himself Nunc. The Vicar of St. Wilfred’s encounters him first and it is no less than an extraordinary encounter, and yet, so beautifully ordinary. The Vicar – David Persimmon – is asked to select three people who are also to meet Nunc, and every Thursday night for several weeks, four people – David and the three others spend an evening with Nunc in the vestry of the church, drinking hot cocoa, laughing together, and laying bare their inner most spiritual struggles.
The story is told in four main parts where we read an account of the time with Nunc from all four perspectives. The characters are so real and loveable in their integrity, their humanness, and all their imperfections and shortcomings. The dialogue is so heart-warmingly touching in places, and laugh-out-loud hilarious in others. I enjoyed every single page, and learnt a few things as well – about God, about people, and about the relationship between the two. There are profound, yet simple truths raised in the conversations between Nunc and his friends, some of which make me want to carry this little book around in my pocket everywhere I go so that I can quote certain parts to different people in different situations, or even just meditate upon them myself when I need some good perspective on life.
It’s an amazing book; I would recommend, no, implore others to read it, whether you’re Christian or not. But especially if you have struggled with God or struggled with the way God does things, or perhaps struggled with a faith that feels dead or sluggish or pretend in some way. I think I have a new favourite author!
The story is told in four main parts where we read an account of the time with Nunc from all four perspectives. The characters are so real and loveable in their integrity, their humanness, and all their imperfections and shortcomings. The dialogue is so heart-warmingly touching in places, and laugh-out-loud hilarious in others. I enjoyed every single page, and learnt a few things as well – about God, about people, and about the relationship between the two. There are profound, yet simple truths raised in the conversations between Nunc and his friends, some of which make me want to carry this little book around in my pocket everywhere I go so that I can quote certain parts to different people in different situations, or even just meditate upon them myself when I need some good perspective on life.
It’s an amazing book; I would recommend, no, implore others to read it, whether you’re Christian or not. But especially if you have struggled with God or struggled with the way God does things, or perhaps struggled with a faith that feels dead or sluggish or pretend in some way. I think I have a new favourite author!
November 5, 2012
A small, vulnerable alien mystic and four broken, vulnerable and beautiful people. A large vicar causing chaos by knocking everything over. Physical humour. People seeking the sacred through and despite their brokenness. Trying to pray. Dessert fathers!! A beautiful alien with English straight from the Book of Common Prayer, trying very hard not to cry and yet naming the brokenness and healing those with whom he waits.
I go to this book when I need to be reminded of the simplicity of my faith. Also when I want to be reminded that human is an ok thing to be. Simply and beautifully written, with physical and linguistic comedy, a keen sense of compassion and an appreciation of the absurd. God has a sense of humour.
I go to this book when I need to be reminded of the simplicity of my faith. Also when I want to be reminded that human is an ok thing to be. Simply and beautifully written, with physical and linguistic comedy, a keen sense of compassion and an appreciation of the absurd. God has a sense of humour.
November 18, 2021
In het begin was het nog een beetje geinig maar het verveelde gauw
October 11, 2016
It was an interesting experience. I loved how the author made God real and present in every day. Got a few lessons to think about from the book. Would recommend reading it, especially if you like Adrian Plass's style (which I, by the way love!) And also, I laughed so hard at times that people turned to look at me in the metro!
May 10, 2010
My absolute favourite Christian book. Profound, funny, thoughtfull. The author manages to say so many important things in this small book that I have to admire the talent.
January 7, 2024
If a book is judged on how much discussion it triggers this is going to be one of the best of the year, because I ended up talking about its themes for about an hour. It is the account of the arrival of a mysterious creature to four broken people who are all struggling in their own ways, this is used as a way of exploring a range of issues and challenges around faith in a very accessible way, that led me to interesting thinking. This accessibility led to the sacrifice of some of the language imo, and a reliance on contemporary references that were jarring some 30 years later, but still a thought provoking book to
dnf
December 5, 2023DNF @ 27/212 pages
Just not for me. Picked it up at the library because the title sounded interesting but it's not my kind of book.
Just not for me. Picked it up at the library because the title sounded interesting but it's not my kind of book.
January 2, 2009
Ah yes, another funny read from Plass, however, this story is linked with the serious. An alien comes to stay in a church for a few months and ends up changing the lives of the 5 people who are able to see him. The book is composed of several parts, told by each member of the inner circle. Not sci-fi in any way, but rather a beautiful depiction of how people can change when there is one person in the midst of them who truly acts like Jesus would want them to.
November 25, 2008
This was the first Adrian Plass book I read and it is hysterical! But poignant too. Adrian is a struggling Christian with a wicked sense of humour. If you haven't come across Adrian Plass, (If your not a Brit, you probably won't have there a little hard to find in the US) then I highly recommend you look him up!
April 21, 2021
It made me laugh and it made me think (and also it taught me some very British expressions)
June 23, 2022
One of my favourite stories - read many times. So touching and empathetic.
July 18, 2022
One of my favourite stores by Adrian Plass. Full of emotion, with a strong cast of characters and plot to back it up.
April 7, 2025
What a whacky concept, and what a good execution! Will admit I cried.
April 17, 2023
Laughed, laughed, cried, laughed, cried, cried some more, laughed some more, bawled my eyes out...
It's an all-time-fav for a reason.
/
"It became more and more difficult to convince myself that the way heads and tails were coming up was anything but random -- just normal, predictable distribution. I'd tried so hard to make it true, but it wasn't. I was never going to throw my twenty heads, and he wasn't going to come back, and I wasn't going to be with him forever, and I didn't want to be with him forever because I hated him. Nasty, narrow little God who lets a few in and shuts the others out and tells lies to people who trust him … Well, hallelujah up yours, mate!”
Nunc nodded. “I would not like to meet the nasty, narrow little God who played that silly game about doing things twenty times in a row. I do not think he exists. I think you have made him. But if he did exist I would not want to know him. I would hate him as much as you do … I do not think you have really been angry with God. You have been angry with people for leaving you alone, especially Edna. You must forgive her. You must meet her God.”
“The one who let her suffer?”
“The one she loved and trusted even though she was suffering. The one who called her by name. … Speak to Edna’s God, Richard,” said Nunc. “When you are at home, speak to Edna’s God. Acknowledge all your transgressions. He will run to meet you. Speak to him.”
“If I speak to him,“ whispered Richard, his eyes unnaturally bright, “will he speak to me?”
It's an all-time-fav for a reason.
/
"It became more and more difficult to convince myself that the way heads and tails were coming up was anything but random -- just normal, predictable distribution. I'd tried so hard to make it true, but it wasn't. I was never going to throw my twenty heads, and he wasn't going to come back, and I wasn't going to be with him forever, and I didn't want to be with him forever because I hated him. Nasty, narrow little God who lets a few in and shuts the others out and tells lies to people who trust him … Well, hallelujah up yours, mate!”
Nunc nodded. “I would not like to meet the nasty, narrow little God who played that silly game about doing things twenty times in a row. I do not think he exists. I think you have made him. But if he did exist I would not want to know him. I would hate him as much as you do … I do not think you have really been angry with God. You have been angry with people for leaving you alone, especially Edna. You must forgive her. You must meet her God.”
“The one who let her suffer?”
“The one she loved and trusted even though she was suffering. The one who called her by name. … Speak to Edna’s God, Richard,” said Nunc. “When you are at home, speak to Edna’s God. Acknowledge all your transgressions. He will run to meet you. Speak to him.”
“If I speak to him,“ whispered Richard, his eyes unnaturally bright, “will he speak to me?”
December 2, 2020
My mother picked this up in a charity shop and gave it me to read because we thought it was a school story, comic fantasy, or a mixture of the two. It is not. It made me think, it made me cry three and a half times (though who is counting) and probably I will read some more by this author if we can find it.
I only had one caveat which was about the 'speaking in tongues'. I understood why it was presented the way it was, and why it was given to a specific character, but felt that it came very close to misunderstanding the speaking in tongues in the Bible, which God uses to spread understanding to as wide a variety of people speaking a large number of languages as possible, rather than to hide his message/provide a message that needs literal translating.
Reread: I love this book. It's full of forgiveness and love, and it cleans my brain.
I only had one caveat which was about the 'speaking in tongues'. I understood why it was presented the way it was, and why it was given to a specific character, but felt that it came very close to misunderstanding the speaking in tongues in the Bible, which God uses to spread understanding to as wide a variety of people speaking a large number of languages as possible, rather than to hide his message/provide a message that needs literal translating.
Reread: I love this book. It's full of forgiveness and love, and it cleans my brain.
November 25, 2024
The unusual story of the little alien Nunc and his effect on four different people in the struggling church of St Wilfred's. Delightful, if slightly caricatured people. There's the large, bumbling and cynical vicar, David Persimmon. His best mate Richard Craven is a writer, and also a rather hardened cynic though he has never told David why.
Then there is Hartley, who cleans the church and loves Jesus, taking everything in his straightforward way, and there's Dot, an eighty-year-old widow who has been a believer for over fifty years.
This book is easy to read, but thought-provoking, amusing at times, and very enjoyable.
Latest longer review: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...
Then there is Hartley, who cleans the church and loves Jesus, taking everything in his straightforward way, and there's Dot, an eighty-year-old widow who has been a believer for over fifty years.
This book is easy to read, but thought-provoking, amusing at times, and very enjoyable.
Latest longer review: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...
January 7, 2023
This is my favorite Adrian Plass. There is less direct humor, and more serious reflection than other stories. It is the story of David Persimmon, a clergyman in The Church of England. He is a sad pastor. An alien appears to him in the church. He is small, white and speaks in perfect Book of Prayer English. The Alien says he has come to visit and learn for a while. He has chosen the name Nunc Dumuttus. The alien believes he is where he is supposed to be and that he is to meet with David and some of his friends. The story is moving and touching as the Alien opens up each person to their own inner hurt and teaches them how to be healed and in part how to learn to heal others.
June 28, 2009
challenges you about your belief and what faith is. A great read at many levels.
February 21, 2015
Musings on life as a Christ-seeker injected with British humor (i.e. characters going off things that seem inconsequential but really aren't).
January 4, 2017
Beautiful in its simplicity and quiet. A book that needs to be read at the start of every new year.
March 27, 2015
I enjoyed this book immensely and I think it could probsbly be turned into a play.
April 20, 2017
Awesome. Hilarious and at the same time causing me almost to cry.
I think many people would be able to relate to at least one of the four "storytellers" of this book. For me, it was actually all four.
A thought-provoking story that awakens emotions and rationality.
Loved it!
I think many people would be able to relate to at least one of the four "storytellers" of this book. For me, it was actually all four.
A thought-provoking story that awakens emotions and rationality.
Loved it!
April 30, 2017
One of my favourites, quite moving.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews