In this amazing and expanding universe.
Author : Matt Haig
Title : The Humans
Published : 03/04/2014
Pages : 320
Genre : Comedy / Science Fiction
Publisher : Canongate Books Ltd
After an 'incident' one wet Friday night where Professor Andrew Martin is found walking naked through the streets of Cambridge, he is not feeling quite himself. Food sickens him. Clothes confound him. Even his loving wife and teenage son are repulsive to him. He feels lost amongst a crazy alien species and hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton - and he's a dog. What could possibly make someone change their mind about the human race. . . ?
I think what first drew me this to the book was the fact that it had a dog on the front. Which I think is a fairly good reason to pick up any book. Now I'm not the biggest fan of science fiction I couldn't really tell you why it just doesn't do a lot for me. But the blurb made it sound like a funny story and I'm trying to be a bit more open with my choices in reading.
Andrew is a curious character, Viewing human interactions from the outside can at times make him feel a little cold at the start of the novel. But I guess that's the point He has an ability to see us as we are not how we think of our selves. Even with being tasked with such a dark mission he becomes totally fascinated with us seeing both the destruction and creative nature of our race. I suppose you could see him as a clumsy toddler in the body of an adult. While he grasps the general aspects of human life there are parts that both confuse and confound him. I genuinely came to like him so much, He is always trying his best in both the mission he's been sent to earth for and then with the family of the professor who's place he has taken. Most of this is down to the fact that he comes from a logic based planet that deals with pure mathematics. I could see why he gets on so well with the dog as they are basically incapable of deception and lying. If they are happy or sad the show it, it kind of forms this harmonious synchronicity between an alien who only works on logic and a dog who runs on pure emotion.
Most of the story is taken up with his interactions with the family of the professor whose life he has taken over. And thought this I was given an insight into the human race as I don't think I have ever really read before. Because at it's heart that is what this book is truly about for me. Yes, there is a tale of an elusive mathematics problem and an answer that could jump us far into the future of tech. And a species that believes the human race doesn't deserve to have such information. But through this, the author does an amazing thing he starts to show us just how stupid we can all be most of the time. In the process of this alien learning what it means to be human which his own species views as an infectious disease that should be cut out like cancer. He gives us some lessons on how I think we can all use to improve our well being. It asks us why we get so worked up and stressed out by the simplest of things. How sometimes we should probably step back take a breath a see them for what the really are.
Along with the laughs, he does tackle some of the bigger problems with life and it does cover some very serious and dark topics. The biggest of these being suicide, and how things can build up to a point in a persons life when they feel this is there the only option. I can say I saw this coming as for the most part up until this point it had all been fairly light-hearted. But the authors handling of the topic is done with the utmost respect and goes a long way to showing compassion and a lot of heart for those who are suffering.
This book ended up being so much more than I originally thought it would be. What starts out as a comedy about an alien coming to earth ends up giving us all some universal truths about what it truly means to be human. Much like our alien hero it tells us we are all just trying our best in this short life we get. Will it solves your bigger issues probably not but it might just fix a few of the smaller ones, so If you are having a bad day or week I urge you to pick up a copy it might just turn you around and hopefully make you laugh a whole lot.
Andrew is a curious character, Viewing human interactions from the outside can at times make him feel a little cold at the start of the novel. But I guess that's the point He has an ability to see us as we are not how we think of our selves. Even with being tasked with such a dark mission he becomes totally fascinated with us seeing both the destruction and creative nature of our race. I suppose you could see him as a clumsy toddler in the body of an adult. While he grasps the general aspects of human life there are parts that both confuse and confound him. I genuinely came to like him so much, He is always trying his best in both the mission he's been sent to earth for and then with the family of the professor who's place he has taken. Most of this is down to the fact that he comes from a logic based planet that deals with pure mathematics. I could see why he gets on so well with the dog as they are basically incapable of deception and lying. If they are happy or sad the show it, it kind of forms this harmonious synchronicity between an alien who only works on logic and a dog who runs on pure emotion.
Most of the story is taken up with his interactions with the family of the professor whose life he has taken over. And thought this I was given an insight into the human race as I don't think I have ever really read before. Because at it's heart that is what this book is truly about for me. Yes, there is a tale of an elusive mathematics problem and an answer that could jump us far into the future of tech. And a species that believes the human race doesn't deserve to have such information. But through this, the author does an amazing thing he starts to show us just how stupid we can all be most of the time. In the process of this alien learning what it means to be human which his own species views as an infectious disease that should be cut out like cancer. He gives us some lessons on how I think we can all use to improve our well being. It asks us why we get so worked up and stressed out by the simplest of things. How sometimes we should probably step back take a breath a see them for what the really are.
Along with the laughs, he does tackle some of the bigger problems with life and it does cover some very serious and dark topics. The biggest of these being suicide, and how things can build up to a point in a persons life when they feel this is there the only option. I can say I saw this coming as for the most part up until this point it had all been fairly light-hearted. But the authors handling of the topic is done with the utmost respect and goes a long way to showing compassion and a lot of heart for those who are suffering.
This book ended up being so much more than I originally thought it would be. What starts out as a comedy about an alien coming to earth ends up giving us all some universal truths about what it truly means to be human. Much like our alien hero it tells us we are all just trying our best in this short life we get. Will it solves your bigger issues probably not but it might just fix a few of the smaller ones, so If you are having a bad day or week I urge you to pick up a copy it might just turn you around and hopefully make you laugh a whole lot.
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