If you dislike resoundingly positive book reviews, stop reading now. I read a lot of books this half term, but Matt Haig’s latest, The Humans, was far and away my favourite.
One fateful night Andrew Martin, Cambridge University Mathematics Professor, solves one of the world’s greatest conundrums. And then he disappears. Abducted and replaced by an advanced alien race, the unnamed narrator takes on Andrew Martin’s likeness and life, working to erase all proof of the solution. Arriving on a dark motorway, Andrew (version 2.0) has no idea why people are shouting and spitting at him. Perhaps it is some sort of human greeting. Or maybe it could be because he isn’t wearing any clothes, but that couldn’t possibly be the reason. As Andrew works to complete his mission (which will necessarily involve a fair bit of murder) he learns more about our peculiar species, in particular about family and relationships, and everything starts to get a bit more complicated. I don’t want to give too much more away, you’ll have to read it yourself to see how it all works out.
Seeing ourselves through the eyes of an incredulous alien visitor is a genius approach that resulted in more than a few laugh out loud moments. The social awkwardness of one who has learned all about English language, customs and relationships from an issue of Cosmopolitan magazine makes for hilarious reading. But the book goes a bit deeper than that. As the narrator looks at us with alien eyes, he flags up how our human lives are full of contradiction, violence, greed, nonsense, beauty, wonder and love. One of my favourite passages is toward the end of the book, when Andrew 2.0 lists out nearly a hundred pieces of advice to his ‘son’ Gulliver which resonate with him and the reader.
Haig conveys the richness and depth of the human experience in language that never seems laboured and is a joy to read. Chapters are kept short, making it quite a brisk read, and allowing the feeling and poetry of the language to really shine.
I highly recommend The Humans to anyone looking for a “laugh & cry” book, to anyone looking for something a bit kooky and to anyone looking to feel completely human.
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Mr Hancock