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E.T. #1
E.T. Muukalainen avaruudesta
Based on the screenplay by Melissa Mathison.
What do you do when you're lost, millions of miles from home, surrounded by frightening creatures?
You do what the Old Botanist did when he was accidentally left behind on Earth. First you find a friend...
Filmaker STEVEN SPIELBERG and novelist WILLIAM KOTZWINKLE together create a magical story about two unforgettable a gentle being from another world who is stranded on Earth, hunted, afraid and alone....and a ten-year-old boy who finds him and takes him home.
--from back cover of paperback version
What do you do when you're lost, millions of miles from home, surrounded by frightening creatures?
You do what the Old Botanist did when he was accidentally left behind on Earth. First you find a friend...
Filmaker STEVEN SPIELBERG and novelist WILLIAM KOTZWINKLE together create a magical story about two unforgettable a gentle being from another world who is stranded on Earth, hunted, afraid and alone....and a ten-year-old boy who finds him and takes him home.
--from back cover of paperback version
237 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1982
72 people are currently reading
3135 people want to read
About the author
William Kotzwinkle
82 books257 followersWilliam Kotzwinkle is a two-time recipient of the National Magazine Award for Fiction, a winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Prix Litteraire des Bouquinistes des Quais de Paris, the PETA Award for Children's Books, and a Book Critics Circle award nominee. His work has been translated into dozens of languages.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 233 reviews
November 27, 2022
I've not seen this movie in such a long time so reading this book brought back a lot of memories.
Is it worth the read? Yes, absolutely because you get an insight to the characters, their thoughts and feelings.
I think it enriches the story and I enjoyed reading it, I'm now looking forward to watching it and bawling my eyes out at the ending (again)
Also, I didn't realise that the alien was a 10 million year old botanist! 😍🌿
blaze that sh*t up
Is it worth the read? Yes, absolutely because you get an insight to the characters, their thoughts and feelings.
I think it enriches the story and I enjoyed reading it, I'm now looking forward to watching it and bawling my eyes out at the ending (again)
Also, I didn't realise that the alien was a 10 million year old botanist! 😍🌿
blaze that sh*t up
October 13, 2020
For the most part this is pretty on point with the movie.
Not surprising since it was based off the screenplay.
I did find the inner monologues of Mary (the mum) and E.T. slightly indecent.
Kind of shatters the innocence of my childhood.
Not surprising since it was based off the screenplay.
I did find the inner monologues of Mary (the mum) and E.T. slightly indecent.
Kind of shatters the innocence of my childhood.
April 5, 2015
Really enjoyed this! Didn't think I would as much because I've seen the film a million times so the story is ingrained but this book's interpretation of the story makes it different in certain ways. The way it was written was amusing, maybe it's just my sense of humour but descriptions of E.T. rolling along the floor like a pumpkin, speaking to the vegetables, lusting after Elliott's mother, taking pride in his big belly, there's way too many to list. Certainly recommended for fans of the movie!
August 26, 2022
After a gentle old alien botanist is accidentally left behind by his space brethren, he's left stranded on Earth where he's placed into the care of a boy named Elliott and his family who try to keep him hidden from government workers. The kids learn quite a bit about alien life while struggling to keep the existence of their new extraterrestrial friend a secret from everyone they know. The ancient old alien also gains a new appreciation for the horrifying and beautiful creatures known as humans as he learns from their ways and searches for a way back home.
Very different from the movie in a lot of ways, and not many of them are better. The general outline of the plot is the same, but the inner monologues and the introduction of several subplots that didn't exist in the film dragged the story down considerably at points. Elliot's mother is portrayed as a bitter divorced mom stereotype who almost seems to hate her own kids and only cares about herself. E.T. sometimes acts like a jerk and thinks oddly perverted thoughts about Elliot's mother. Everyone seems a lot more selfish and dickish here which makes the bonding and growing they go through from the film feel absent.
The novelization has some of the best moments from the movie, but it loses a lot of its emotional and dramatic impact do to the lack of proper character development and the introduction of new subplots that make some of the characters unintentionally unlikable. I think the movie is much better in this case.
One thing that did make me laugh quite a bit was the fact that the author used the word 'nerd' as if it were some kind of horrible, disgusting curse word that should never be uttered. And that's in a book where other curse words and insults are used. The way characters used it and reacted to it was so overdramatic and odd I couldn't help but laugh.
***
If you're looking for dark ambient music that's perfect for reading horror, fantasy, sci-fi and other books like this one, then be sure to check out my YouTube Channel called Nightmarish Compositions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...
Very different from the movie in a lot of ways, and not many of them are better. The general outline of the plot is the same, but the inner monologues and the introduction of several subplots that didn't exist in the film dragged the story down considerably at points. Elliot's mother is portrayed as a bitter divorced mom stereotype who almost seems to hate her own kids and only cares about herself. E.T. sometimes acts like a jerk and thinks oddly perverted thoughts about Elliot's mother. Everyone seems a lot more selfish and dickish here which makes the bonding and growing they go through from the film feel absent.
The novelization has some of the best moments from the movie, but it loses a lot of its emotional and dramatic impact do to the lack of proper character development and the introduction of new subplots that make some of the characters unintentionally unlikable. I think the movie is much better in this case.
One thing that did make me laugh quite a bit was the fact that the author used the word 'nerd' as if it were some kind of horrible, disgusting curse word that should never be uttered. And that's in a book where other curse words and insults are used. The way characters used it and reacted to it was so overdramatic and odd I couldn't help but laugh.
***
If you're looking for dark ambient music that's perfect for reading horror, fantasy, sci-fi and other books like this one, then be sure to check out my YouTube Channel called Nightmarish Compositions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...
August 10, 2025
This novelization is kind of nutty. I wanted to love this, but any fun I had while reading it was kind of at the book’s expense. I did enjoy the actual writing. The POV moved smoothly from character to character across the scenes, and that felt effective and expansive. There isn’t much to complain about the plot, especially since he had to follow the screenplay’s plot, though he did add scenes, extend scenes, split some scenes, and none of those felt particularly additive. Instead, it felt like he needed more pages and didn’t know how to spread things out or create actual emotional tension or narrative action. Still, he gave us insight into E.T.’s perspective, and gave us greater interiority to the characters, so it should at least have been fun, right?
Not quite. Maybe this is spoiling the story, so if you are somehow really invested in hunting down this book and don’t know the story already, I suppose stop here… But the lives he creates for the characters, and the world he builds, are certifiably insane and make no internal logic. Apparently E.T., who is a botanist, is ten million years old, and has been to Earth numerous times (his species visits Earth every thousand years or so to collect plants because they know humans will kill them all). His planet is three million lightyears away (though the only astronomical references in the story are in the Milky Way, which is only 100,000 lightyears across) and he has visited countless planets, he has even witnessed the birth of a star…. yet he is curious about the lights coming from windows and then is absolutely terrified when he sees a group of teens playing D&D. Oh, and he talks to plants, full on conversations, including exposition dumps about the family he is surveying, because not only are plants entirely sentient but his mind waves can converse with them easily, even though he can’t do that with any other life on this planet. (He does, though, learn English by studying the circuitry of an electronic spelling toy and speaks with much more fluency and nuance than we ever see in the film.) He doesn’t get sick and start to die because this planet and environment are hostile to him, but because he develops a cosmic loneliness that threatens to shatter time and space. Also, when the government starts looking for him the technology they use to search for him is “crude” and being the focus of it also apparently saps his will to live. Apparently he also has a cosmic atomic seed in his inner being that the Earth isn’t protected against, so if he were to die on Earth it would likely cause a black hole that would destroy the planet.
Some of those wild ideas could be a lot of fun, don’t get me wrong. But they make absolutely no sense within the context of the plot of this story. His wisdom and powers and experiences don’t align at all with how he behaves. The plot and character choices just become messy and incoherent when he becomes this wildly powerful ancient being, which makes the story not fun at all but tedious. Additionally, the other characters are portrayed in wild ways. Elliott is introduced to us as a “twerp,” the kind of kid who is destined to “throw himself under a train.” His mother Mary only thinks about how much she dislikes her children, how horny she is, and how terrified of wrinkles she is. Also, she is worried about becoming a giant fat monstrosity, so she insists her children take food away from her if she eats more than 2 pieces of bread with butter and jelly on it. E.T. has the hots for Mary, insisting she is the most beautiful creature he has ever seen, even though she isn’t pear-shaped and lacks a big belly (please remember he is ten million years old and has witnessed the birth of stars).
I’m sorry. Maybe you will have fun with this. Maybe your nostalgia-brain will be able to smooth over the many logical inconsistencies in ways that mine could not. I felt like in trying to give us depth to the characters, which I appreciate in theory, the author has made the actual plot of the narrative even more nonsensical than before. His pacing is all over the place and it doesn’t have any of the heart or tension or wonder of the film. He somehow managed to strip it of its magic and its excitement, and the only fun I had was marveling at how amazingly he bungled a simple story about childhood wonder and the transformative power of friendship.
Not quite. Maybe this is spoiling the story, so if you are somehow really invested in hunting down this book and don’t know the story already, I suppose stop here… But the lives he creates for the characters, and the world he builds, are certifiably insane and make no internal logic. Apparently E.T., who is a botanist, is ten million years old, and has been to Earth numerous times (his species visits Earth every thousand years or so to collect plants because they know humans will kill them all). His planet is three million lightyears away (though the only astronomical references in the story are in the Milky Way, which is only 100,000 lightyears across) and he has visited countless planets, he has even witnessed the birth of a star…. yet he is curious about the lights coming from windows and then is absolutely terrified when he sees a group of teens playing D&D. Oh, and he talks to plants, full on conversations, including exposition dumps about the family he is surveying, because not only are plants entirely sentient but his mind waves can converse with them easily, even though he can’t do that with any other life on this planet. (He does, though, learn English by studying the circuitry of an electronic spelling toy and speaks with much more fluency and nuance than we ever see in the film.) He doesn’t get sick and start to die because this planet and environment are hostile to him, but because he develops a cosmic loneliness that threatens to shatter time and space. Also, when the government starts looking for him the technology they use to search for him is “crude” and being the focus of it also apparently saps his will to live. Apparently he also has a cosmic atomic seed in his inner being that the Earth isn’t protected against, so if he were to die on Earth it would likely cause a black hole that would destroy the planet.
Some of those wild ideas could be a lot of fun, don’t get me wrong. But they make absolutely no sense within the context of the plot of this story. His wisdom and powers and experiences don’t align at all with how he behaves. The plot and character choices just become messy and incoherent when he becomes this wildly powerful ancient being, which makes the story not fun at all but tedious. Additionally, the other characters are portrayed in wild ways. Elliott is introduced to us as a “twerp,” the kind of kid who is destined to “throw himself under a train.” His mother Mary only thinks about how much she dislikes her children, how horny she is, and how terrified of wrinkles she is. Also, she is worried about becoming a giant fat monstrosity, so she insists her children take food away from her if she eats more than 2 pieces of bread with butter and jelly on it. E.T. has the hots for Mary, insisting she is the most beautiful creature he has ever seen, even though she isn’t pear-shaped and lacks a big belly (please remember he is ten million years old and has witnessed the birth of stars).
I’m sorry. Maybe you will have fun with this. Maybe your nostalgia-brain will be able to smooth over the many logical inconsistencies in ways that mine could not. I felt like in trying to give us depth to the characters, which I appreciate in theory, the author has made the actual plot of the narrative even more nonsensical than before. His pacing is all over the place and it doesn’t have any of the heart or tension or wonder of the film. He somehow managed to strip it of its magic and its excitement, and the only fun I had was marveling at how amazingly he bungled a simple story about childhood wonder and the transformative power of friendship.
March 16, 2022
Two words: Tonal Shift! Also, so many trigger warnings and content warnings: drugs, sexual assault, child abuse, etc. Yes - I'm not kidding!!
Holy crap! This book is literally all over the place with what it wants to be. We've got literal Sesame Street/Disney with plants and animals having anthropomorphized thoughts and feelings: the dog sees everything in the sense of "can it be a bone and/or can I eat it"...the vegetable garden talks and fills in the backstory of the no-last-name family for E.T. (apparently because E.T. completely understands the 20th Century Western Nuclear Family model already, so he would understand concepts like husband, wife, divorce, etc.). But then, we've got mentions of sex perverts, sex fiends, sex weirdos, and sex offenders almost every 5 to 10 pages. The mother is constantly worried that sex weirdos are stalking the family, the neighborhood, are on the verge of breaking into the house, etc. She also immediately thinks that Gertie is being sexually assaulted by Elliott and Michael at one point when she hears Gertie scream upstairs - and worries about how much it's going to cost her in therapy bills when Gertie is older.
And, when the mother isn't worried about sex weirdos, she's worried about drugs. She's seemingly convinced that her sons and/or daughter (who's like 5 or 6 years old, btw) are smoking marijuana or on something harder. Also, the Principal of Elliott's school (who recently replaced the previous Principal - who was fired for being, you guessed it, a sexual predator - the book mentions that he molested several students in a closet)...anyway, the Principal has a drawer in his desk in which he keeps the drugs he confiscates off all these Elementary school students (rather than calling the police or destroying the drugs) - and, after meeting with Elliott in his office (where Elliott ends up levitating to the ceiling) - he grabs a fistful of Quaaludes from the drawer and swallows them.
And, when the mom isn't worried about sex or drugs, she's thirsty as hell! She's constantly thinking about boning someone: the man on the workout video she's watching, her ex-husband, her boss, whom she's describes as a tyrant, but she'd still bone him, and E.T. (well, she has sexy thoughts about a short man who only comes up to her navel because E.T. is thinking his own sexy thoughts about the mom - oh, I'll get to that).
And then, E.T. himself is apparently 10 million years old...yes, 10 million years old! And, I think at some point he's some kind of black hole-powered robot, maybe, or a cyborg. I have no idea. He has "internal analyzers" that tell him if food is or is/not safe - and yet, cannot detect alcohol. He has "subcutaneous circuitry"...? And, his death will cause the entire Earth to collapse in on itself, with E.T.'s body being the point of singularity. Like, as he's dying the entire house begins to collapse in around him...people feel like they are getting sucked in. But, just as he dies, the Earth or maybe another planet or maybe the consciousness of the universe itself, shoots a "don't die beam" at him and he "heals himself" and thus, prevents the apocalypse that will destroy all Human civilization...you know, like you'd expect from gentle, noble, humble, peaceful botanists. And why is E.T. dying? Fuck if I know? ...I think there's supposed to be some connection between his lack of contact with his ship/shipmates and his empathic ability to sense that people with machines are coming to capture him...
It's also not Reese's Pieces, it's M&M's...and he finds them to be the most delicious food ever - since he only eats space-food pills/capsules (I find it hard to believe that space botanists don't follow the "peaceful, enlightened vegetarian" trope). He also eats Oreo's quite a bit...and makes himself a swiss-cheese sandwich that he eats with that six-pack of beer he drank whilst watching T.V. Fun fact: he's also a rapist. So, after E.T. downs the six-pack, the mom comes home and after the dog runs interference so she won't see E.T., she heads up to take a shower...and E.T. decides that he's finally going to make his move and hop in the shower with the mom, because he loves this "willowy creature" and wants to bone her. This isn't a joke. E.T. has been lusting after the mom ever since he saw her through the window - and finally sees this as his chance to be with her "romantically"...whilst she's naked and vulnerable in the shower and believes herself alone and safe in her own home...but then, he's diverted at the last minute by the dog, and passes out drunk in Elliott's room. What a charming, cute little alien...holy freaking christ?!?!
There's also a character who was removed from the movie: a classmate/friend of Elliott, who, as the book constantly describes is an insufferable "nerd." He's annoying and irritating and constantly lusts for swiss cheese (which he finds out Elliott is out of because of the aforementioned E.T. pre-rape sandwich)...and he needs that swiss cheese to calm him down because he's a "nerd." Near the end of the book, he comes to the realization that nothing good will ever happen to him and no one will ever love him or like him because he's a "nerd."
I mean - WHO THE FUCK IS THIS BOOK FOR? Holy shit...I'm not a prude or anything. But, after reading this book, the movie is akin to making a G-rated version of "Game of Thrones"...
Holy crap! This book is literally all over the place with what it wants to be. We've got literal Sesame Street/Disney with plants and animals having anthropomorphized thoughts and feelings: the dog sees everything in the sense of "can it be a bone and/or can I eat it"...the vegetable garden talks and fills in the backstory of the no-last-name family for E.T. (apparently because E.T. completely understands the 20th Century Western Nuclear Family model already, so he would understand concepts like husband, wife, divorce, etc.). But then, we've got mentions of sex perverts, sex fiends, sex weirdos, and sex offenders almost every 5 to 10 pages. The mother is constantly worried that sex weirdos are stalking the family, the neighborhood, are on the verge of breaking into the house, etc. She also immediately thinks that Gertie is being sexually assaulted by Elliott and Michael at one point when she hears Gertie scream upstairs - and worries about how much it's going to cost her in therapy bills when Gertie is older.
And, when the mother isn't worried about sex weirdos, she's worried about drugs. She's seemingly convinced that her sons and/or daughter (who's like 5 or 6 years old, btw) are smoking marijuana or on something harder. Also, the Principal of Elliott's school (who recently replaced the previous Principal - who was fired for being, you guessed it, a sexual predator - the book mentions that he molested several students in a closet)...anyway, the Principal has a drawer in his desk in which he keeps the drugs he confiscates off all these Elementary school students (rather than calling the police or destroying the drugs) - and, after meeting with Elliott in his office (where Elliott ends up levitating to the ceiling) - he grabs a fistful of Quaaludes from the drawer and swallows them.
And, when the mom isn't worried about sex or drugs, she's thirsty as hell! She's constantly thinking about boning someone: the man on the workout video she's watching, her ex-husband, her boss, whom she's describes as a tyrant, but she'd still bone him, and E.T. (well, she has sexy thoughts about a short man who only comes up to her navel because E.T. is thinking his own sexy thoughts about the mom - oh, I'll get to that).
And then, E.T. himself is apparently 10 million years old...yes, 10 million years old! And, I think at some point he's some kind of black hole-powered robot, maybe, or a cyborg. I have no idea. He has "internal analyzers" that tell him if food is or is/not safe - and yet, cannot detect alcohol. He has "subcutaneous circuitry"...? And, his death will cause the entire Earth to collapse in on itself, with E.T.'s body being the point of singularity. Like, as he's dying the entire house begins to collapse in around him...people feel like they are getting sucked in. But, just as he dies, the Earth or maybe another planet or maybe the consciousness of the universe itself, shoots a "don't die beam" at him and he "heals himself" and thus, prevents the apocalypse that will destroy all Human civilization...you know, like you'd expect from gentle, noble, humble, peaceful botanists. And why is E.T. dying? Fuck if I know? ...I think there's supposed to be some connection between his lack of contact with his ship/shipmates and his empathic ability to sense that people with machines are coming to capture him...
It's also not Reese's Pieces, it's M&M's...and he finds them to be the most delicious food ever - since he only eats space-food pills/capsules (I find it hard to believe that space botanists don't follow the "peaceful, enlightened vegetarian" trope). He also eats Oreo's quite a bit...and makes himself a swiss-cheese sandwich that he eats with that six-pack of beer he drank whilst watching T.V. Fun fact: he's also a rapist. So, after E.T. downs the six-pack, the mom comes home and after the dog runs interference so she won't see E.T., she heads up to take a shower...and E.T. decides that he's finally going to make his move and hop in the shower with the mom, because he loves this "willowy creature" and wants to bone her. This isn't a joke. E.T. has been lusting after the mom ever since he saw her through the window - and finally sees this as his chance to be with her "romantically"...whilst she's naked and vulnerable in the shower and believes herself alone and safe in her own home...but then, he's diverted at the last minute by the dog, and passes out drunk in Elliott's room. What a charming, cute little alien...holy freaking christ?!?!
There's also a character who was removed from the movie: a classmate/friend of Elliott, who, as the book constantly describes is an insufferable "nerd." He's annoying and irritating and constantly lusts for swiss cheese (which he finds out Elliott is out of because of the aforementioned E.T. pre-rape sandwich)...and he needs that swiss cheese to calm him down because he's a "nerd." Near the end of the book, he comes to the realization that nothing good will ever happen to him and no one will ever love him or like him because he's a "nerd."
I mean - WHO THE FUCK IS THIS BOOK FOR? Holy shit...I'm not a prude or anything. But, after reading this book, the movie is akin to making a G-rated version of "Game of Thrones"...
August 11, 2017
Svi oni osjećaji koje je pružio film, ovdje se nisu uspjeli iskazati. :(
No, svejedno, E.T. je i dalje predivna priča o posebnom prijateljstvu, vjernosti i ljubavi koju preporučam svima! (ovaj put u filmskom izdanju!)
No, svejedno, E.T. je i dalje predivna priča o posebnom prijateljstvu, vjernosti i ljubavi koju preporučam svima! (ovaj put u filmskom izdanju!)
August 31, 2014
Read this book to kids at night for bed time story and they liked it that much they want me to read it again next week
April 14, 2024
Youtube
February 3, 2017
There is so many problems with this book, where to start?
emotional abuse, weird subplot with the mother/E.T., sexism, things worded in a way towards E.T. that didn't quite sit right with me, whatever else I may have mentioned during reading..
It wasn't *all* bad. I did enjoy *most* of E.T.'s thoughts and the funny nonsense in the book. And from what I heard this book is very different than the movie, so i'm a still watch that and see how it compares :)
More of a review on my Book blog Here
emotional abuse, weird subplot with the mother/E.T., sexism, things worded in a way towards E.T. that didn't quite sit right with me, whatever else I may have mentioned during reading..
It wasn't *all* bad. I did enjoy *most* of E.T.'s thoughts and the funny nonsense in the book. And from what I heard this book is very different than the movie, so i'm a still watch that and see how it compares :)
More of a review on my Book blog Here
November 8, 2014
Really??? All these raving reviews, yet to me it sucked. Give me the movie, (which inspired the book by the way) any day.
March 15, 2018
As someone who watches "E.T." quite frequently, I have to say that everything about this book was just awful. All the wonderful things that make the movie so beautiful were completely destroyed in this book. My main complaint is that the multiple perspectives were unnecessary and pretty much ruined the story. Not only do I not care what Harvey the dog is thinking, I hate that Elliott's mom is so unlikable. Every thought she has is negative - especially about her children - and her character in this book is not at all how I see her in the movie. Even E.T. was unlikable as he was often kind of a jerk about things. I would've much preferred to read a book told entirely from Elliott's perspective.
I was also extremely annoyed with how well E.T. talked to the children. What happened to just the handful of words he spoke in the movie? I felt like giving him the ability to talk was a cheap way out of writing a better story - if E.T. can jabber on about whatever he wants, we don't have to waste time building a relationship between the characters and having them learn from one another. Instead, E.T. can just say, "I need bobby pins," and we can quickly move onto the next scene.
If I did not already love the movie, I would not have cared at all about these characters. Elliott was just there; I got no real sense of who he was or how deep his connection was with E.T. And the fact that E.T. seemed to form a mental bond with pretty much everyone in town made his relationship with Elliott even less special.
This was by far the laziest book adaptation of a movie I have ever read. I am so disappointed. "E.T." deserved better.
I was also extremely annoyed with how well E.T. talked to the children. What happened to just the handful of words he spoke in the movie? I felt like giving him the ability to talk was a cheap way out of writing a better story - if E.T. can jabber on about whatever he wants, we don't have to waste time building a relationship between the characters and having them learn from one another. Instead, E.T. can just say, "I need bobby pins," and we can quickly move onto the next scene.
If I did not already love the movie, I would not have cared at all about these characters. Elliott was just there; I got no real sense of who he was or how deep his connection was with E.T. And the fact that E.T. seemed to form a mental bond with pretty much everyone in town made his relationship with Elliott even less special.
This was by far the laziest book adaptation of a movie I have ever read. I am so disappointed. "E.T." deserved better.
July 8, 2008
when this book turned up at the store one day, a couple things struck me: a) i don't remember ANYTHING about the movie ET. i think i saw it one time when i was a little kid, back when it came out. but unlike most other people on Earth, i didn't go apeshit for it or anything. so it doesn't exactly hold a place in my heart, is what i'm saying. or in my memory. b) the novelization is written by William Kotzwinkle. that dude is awesome. i mean, i've never read anything he has written, but his dust jacket photo is GREAT. he has a big long beard & he wears a monocle. a monocle! and this particular copy is even signed by him. bonus! plus, it's a mass market paperback, so i can stick it in my back pocket when i walk up to Tiananmen Square on my lunch break to hump the air wizard. so i decided to read it & get another artist's take on the whole affair, then watch the movie & see which one i like better. i'm only like 40 pages in & i am already betting on Kotzwinkle...
UPDATE: okay, i'm done & wow, i am really guessing that there is no way Spielberg's flick is as good as this little book. i was really impressed. i just generally assume that novelizations of kids movies (or of comics, for that matter) are hacky cash grabs. but this was quite well-written & very entertaining. they should make a new movie that is actually based on this version of the story, complete with psychedelic cosmic consciousness effects & DMT references...
UPDATE: okay, i'm done & wow, i am really guessing that there is no way Spielberg's flick is as good as this little book. i was really impressed. i just generally assume that novelizations of kids movies (or of comics, for that matter) are hacky cash grabs. but this was quite well-written & very entertaining. they should make a new movie that is actually based on this version of the story, complete with psychedelic cosmic consciousness effects & DMT references...
August 29, 2017
What did I just read with mine own eyes? Unlike the Poltergeist novelization, this one certainly added things to the movie. The first few chapters from ET's POV were so endearing. Just the little ancient botanist, talking to vegetables. After that, everything was just strange and funny and what?
I did not expect ET to get body dysphoria. I did not expect him to be so in love with the mother. I did not expect the dog to have a POV as well. I did not expect the principal and biology teacher at Elliott's school to start taking drugs.
The moms POV was so bizarre, I can't even tell if it was sexist or not.
I have to watch the movie again, with this new information.
I did not expect ET to get body dysphoria. I did not expect him to be so in love with the mother. I did not expect the dog to have a POV as well. I did not expect the principal and biology teacher at Elliott's school to start taking drugs.
The moms POV was so bizarre, I can't even tell if it was sexist or not.
I have to watch the movie again, with this new information.
October 31, 2017
I've read good novelizations and bad novelizations, and this one goes into the category of terrible novelizations. While novelizations often include scenes and even subplots that end up cut from the final film due to the author writing from the screenplay rather than the final cut, this one seemed to be made up almost whole cloth from the author's imagination. Frankly, I prefer Spielberg and Mathison's imaginations. E.T. has a strange one-sided relationship with the kids' mother that verges on disturbing, he seems to dislike the kids, even his relationship with Elliott doesn't come through like it should. There's a character named Lance who isn't in the movie (maybe he was cut?), and there's so much stuff with Mary (the mother) that makes her a horrible character. I have never liked her in the movie, but she's not as awful as portrayed here: she's such a middle-aged divorcee stereotype it's offensive (even for the time this book was written!). Also, the novelization portrays E.T. as an old being, but I have always thought of him as a young character. He gets left behind because he's curious and goes too far away from the ship, to look at the city below. An older, experienced character wouldn't do that. Some novelizations add more detail and make a richer story while still keeping true to what we see on screen (see Wayland Drew's novelization of "Willow" for a great example). This one does not.
March 27, 2017
Plot-4 Stars
Characters-3.5 Stars
Setting-3 Stars
E.T. Your a wizard! Ok you would be in some other books. 10 million years old, can heat up his finger to very high temperatures, make people fly with a symbol drawn in air, and talk to plants. Yep a wizard.
Couple parts that kinda threw me off was the Mom. While the kids were playing D n D she would make a comment in her mind after every sentence they made. And then E.T. having a crush on her. What was the thinking behind that? You are that old and meet the first woman and fall for her? Really?
Overall it's not a bad book nor a great book to me. I personally would have liked to see a little more of the ship and alien race that is E.T.
Characters-3.5 Stars
Setting-3 Stars
E.T. Your a wizard! Ok you would be in some other books. 10 million years old, can heat up his finger to very high temperatures, make people fly with a symbol drawn in air, and talk to plants. Yep a wizard.
Couple parts that kinda threw me off was the Mom. While the kids were playing D n D she would make a comment in her mind after every sentence they made. And then E.T. having a crush on her. What was the thinking behind that? You are that old and meet the first woman and fall for her? Really?
Overall it's not a bad book nor a great book to me. I personally would have liked to see a little more of the ship and alien race that is E.T.
September 7, 2017
Don't judge me. Nostalgia's nostalgia.
Back in 1982, that was the audiobook to own as a kid. Ha! I did, and as I enjoyed it then, I enjoyed it now.
With Michael Jackson at the start of the Thriller era at the whelm, showing enthuasiasm for the piece, loved it even more.
Okay, so. I wanted it, at the time, because of Michael Jackson. Sure, I saw E.T. in the theater with my Reese's Pieces in hand, but I wanted the audiobook because of M.J.
Come at me, Spielberg. Come at me.
Back in 1982, that was the audiobook to own as a kid. Ha! I did, and as I enjoyed it then, I enjoyed it now.
With Michael Jackson at the start of the Thriller era at the whelm, showing enthuasiasm for the piece, loved it even more.
Okay, so. I wanted it, at the time, because of Michael Jackson. Sure, I saw E.T. in the theater with my Reese's Pieces in hand, but I wanted the audiobook because of M.J.
Come at me, Spielberg. Come at me.
October 28, 2019
One of the worst novelisations I've read. It was almost like a completely different story to the film, with a few touchstones. I don't know which draft of the screenplay Kotzwinkle referenced but it must have been an early draft. I don't know how much was in it or how much invented by Kotzwinkle. The book robbed all the childlike innocence of the film.
October 27, 2019
The most hacky, amateurish writing I’ve encountered in some time. Flat, one dimensional characters based on stereotypes. Just watch the movie, unless you’re in the mood for a laughably bad quick read.
November 29, 2007
Although it's incredibly nerdy, this book has to be my all time favorite. The book has so much depth and intimacy, what a classic, treasure of a book. It makes my heart warm and fuzzy!
January 29, 2024
Gefühlvoll und unerwartet witzig. Eins der besten Bücher, die ich zumindest in letzter Zeit gelesen habe.
November 9, 2015
I re-watched the movie after quite a few years away from it and decided to reread the novel (it's my second time through). I forgot how much different this is from the movie! I got through this book pretty quickly and I had a mixed reaction to it this time. There was a bit of the book I liked, then quite a bit I didn't. For example, the plot with E.T having an infatuation with Mary, the mother. What the flip is that? It made no sense to me and was a bit of an absurd subplot. Anyway, this time it was eh to say the least. One thing I did like however, was the beginning descriptions of the aliens. That made sense. So, to make this short, I prefer the film version. It makes more sense then most of this book. I know some won't agree, but I will do a video review on my thoughts on this book and all that.
August 3, 2020
Was super psyched to find this at a yard sale for dirt cheap. Loved the movie E.T.
This novelization is simply not good. One positive though, I didn't realize that E. T. was millions of years old and that he was an alien botanist. So, I learned something from this book. The mother was simply horrid. It was as if she didn't even like her own children. I got so sick of reading what the mother's thoughts were. Also, I noticed that the book had M&M's and the movie uses Reese's Pieces. None of the characters in the book were well formulated, I didn't even like E.T. in the book. I loved him in the movie. This is the rarest of occasions in which the movie was actually better than the book. Don't waste your time reading this.
This novelization is simply not good. One positive though, I didn't realize that E. T. was millions of years old and that he was an alien botanist. So, I learned something from this book. The mother was simply horrid. It was as if she didn't even like her own children. I got so sick of reading what the mother's thoughts were. Also, I noticed that the book had M&M's and the movie uses Reese's Pieces. None of the characters in the book were well formulated, I didn't even like E.T. in the book. I loved him in the movie. This is the rarest of occasions in which the movie was actually better than the book. Don't waste your time reading this.
August 5, 2008
The story of a strange creature lost on earth, though I read the book years later I think this may have been one of the first movies I saw as a child...
August 26, 2020
Αυτό που λάτρεψα περισσότερο σε αυτό το βιβλίο, είναι η σύνδεση του πρωταγωνιστή με τη Φύση! Υπέροχα συναισθήματα!
February 24, 2019
This book was about an alien botanist who gets left behind on planet earth and finds a friend called Elliot. Elliot is trying to help the alien get back to his home world. There are some guys in black suits asking people around the neighbourhood if they have seen some strange aliens. I gave this book 5 stars because it was science fiction and it had some funny bits and rude words. It had a very good background and you could almost imagine it in your head. I would recommend this book to you because it is very imaginative and emotional. The best part of the book was when they were out for Halloween and ET kept on thinking that everyone was part of his family because they looked like his type. My saddest part of the book was when Elliot wakes up from being in the woods and setting up the communicator to the mother ship and finds ET pale in a river. My favourite character from the book was ET because he was very funny and he said at the end when he was about to enter the mother ship “come” and then Elliot was like “stay”!
October 20, 2012
-Penguin Readers, Level2
-Time; 10/16=20min, 10/17=56min, 10/18=12min
-7words summary; spaceship, extra-terrestrial, hide, closet, scientists, bike, return
-Discussion questions
1.If extra-terrestrial appeared in front of you, what would you do?
A. In my case, I'd escape from ET, because I'd be afraid of any kinds of alien... Even if ET isn't an afraid alien, I'd not help like Elliott. He is so kind!
2. Have you ever watched the movie, "E.T."? And, have you ever ridden on an attraction of E.T. In USJ?
A. I have never watched this movie... So, before I read this book, I didn't know this story in detail. (I've heard the name.) But, I've ridden on the attraction of E.T.!!
I was really moved by Elliott, Michael, and E.T. Especially, Elliott was so brave though he was only 5 years old!!! I could learn an importance of friendship.
-Time; 10/16=20min, 10/17=56min, 10/18=12min
-7words summary; spaceship, extra-terrestrial, hide, closet, scientists, bike, return
-Discussion questions
1.If extra-terrestrial appeared in front of you, what would you do?
A. In my case, I'd escape from ET, because I'd be afraid of any kinds of alien... Even if ET isn't an afraid alien, I'd not help like Elliott. He is so kind!
2. Have you ever watched the movie, "E.T."? And, have you ever ridden on an attraction of E.T. In USJ?
A. I have never watched this movie... So, before I read this book, I didn't know this story in detail. (I've heard the name.) But, I've ridden on the attraction of E.T.!!
I was really moved by Elliott, Michael, and E.T. Especially, Elliott was so brave though he was only 5 years old!!! I could learn an importance of friendship.
May 5, 2017
Since I read the accompanying novel for the first Star Wars movie back in the days, and when I was in my early teens, I figured I might take a shot at this novelization of the E.T. movie. Although I'm just a little bit older now… Well, for the first several chapters I was charmed by the mother's die-hard cynicism to the extent of simply bizarre (wondering whether all her children, including the 5-year old daughter) are secretly taking illegal drugs). Her inner monologue clearly added to a story which I'm afraid might otherwise have been just a bit too lean for my taste.
A comment on the Norwegian translation:
Christmas crackers betyr ikke «visdomsord i pepperkaker», men knallbongbonger. Nesten unnskyldelig ettersom ordet ikke er å finne i noen av de engelsk-norsk ordbøkene jeg har hjemme, men dog…
A comment on the Norwegian translation:
Christmas crackers betyr ikke «visdomsord i pepperkaker», men knallbongbonger. Nesten unnskyldelig ettersom ordet ikke er å finne i noen av de engelsk-norsk ordbøkene jeg har hjemme, men dog…
July 30, 2017
Once upon a time, there was a twelve year old girl, and she went to see a movie, about a ten year old boy and his discovery and adventures with a kindly, big-hearted extra terrestrial that he nicknamed ET. Cue: the little alien's almost-death scene; waterfalls of tears! I had never cried so much at a movie before! Pop culture was never the same again after that summer in 1982. I was already a voracious reader at twelve years old; so naturally I read this as soon as it came out. I loved the movie and the book!
What people may not know though is co-author Melissa Mathison, who also wrote the screenplay, but, more famously, she was HARRISON FORD's WIFE at that time!!! Woot! That's the best catch in the galaxy, girl!!!
What people may not know though is co-author Melissa Mathison, who also wrote the screenplay, but, more famously, she was HARRISON FORD's WIFE at that time!!! Woot! That's the best catch in the galaxy, girl!!!
July 22, 2019
If i could give this book less then one star i would.
I'm gonna be real honest. I hated everything about this book. I've watched the movie a few times, and the movie is actually really good. I wish i could say the same about the book, but nope. I remember picking this up from the thrift store and reading it like few months after. I had so much dificulty actually finishing this book. I have never felt so much frustration about a book as i did with this one. But i can never leave a book unfinished so i worked my ass off to actually finishing this book before starting another one. E.T was nothing for me, i don't even feel attracted by the whole genre, but i just wanted to try a different kind of genre and i'm sure i will not read a book in the same genre ever again.
I'm gonna be real honest. I hated everything about this book. I've watched the movie a few times, and the movie is actually really good. I wish i could say the same about the book, but nope. I remember picking this up from the thrift store and reading it like few months after. I had so much dificulty actually finishing this book. I have never felt so much frustration about a book as i did with this one. But i can never leave a book unfinished so i worked my ass off to actually finishing this book before starting another one. E.T was nothing for me, i don't even feel attracted by the whole genre, but i just wanted to try a different kind of genre and i'm sure i will not read a book in the same genre ever again.
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