Is the Sun unique as a star—and if so, why?

The question whether the Sun is peculiar as compared with other stars in its neigbourhood is revisited. It is concluded that although the Sun is rather normal from many points of view, it departs in several respects from most stars of similar age and galactic orbit. Thus, it is more massive, and the amplitude of the micro-variability of the Sun at visual wavelengths seems unusually small. It also departs from most stars in being a single star, and it may have an unusual planetary system. There are some tentative indications that its chemical composition departs from those of most solar-type stars of similar age. This is discussed and the departures are found not to be significant. I discuss here to what extent these peculiarities may be understood in terms of it being a planet host.