THE HUMANS - MATT HAIG

Score 29/40

Thoughts while and after reading

  • The Humans is a feel good, page turner in the mold of The Rosie Project and The Curious Incident.  Just what I needed after the darkness of Night Games
  • Manages to make a plot of alien body snatching into a genuinely funny, caring book
  • I felt that the characters took Andrew's amnesia a little too easily but that it was probably needed to keep the book ticking along 
  • The sort of book that I would love to have written and is a really easy one to recommend to people
"You shouldn't have been born.  Your existence is close to impossible as can be.  To deny the impossible is to deny yourself"
The Book Itself
  • Begins with the alien with no name addressing his people on humans which reminded me a bit of Hitchhikers and tells us that in the book he will tell his audience why humanity should be cherished.
  • We also learn early on that there will be a murder and that others will be saved.  I see these plot leads a lot and I really like them
  • Alien takes over body of Professor Andrew Martin who has just discovered the solution to the Reimann Theory which is a pattern so you can find all the prime numbers without knowing them.  This knowledge would be too dangerous for our primitive species
  • The "new" Prof finds himself naked in the middle of Cambridge and promptly gets himself run over and then proceeds to try to work out how to be human while stealing food still naked at a Texaco garage.  Very funny
  • The prof ends up at a mental hospital and using his special powers gets himself released - Isobel and Gulliver introduced
  • ​Prof claims amnesia and begins work on finding out who knows about the solution to the Reimann Theory
  • ​Deleting of theory from office in University
  • Murder of Daniel Russell in his house with special powers - we learn they don't like each other  
  • Alien learns value of caring for another and tenderness through Isobel and old Prof marriage poor due to selfish persuit of career
  • Best friend Ari and Cambridge Utd FC match.  Learn Prof is having an affair with student 
  • Gullivers struggles with living in shadow of his brilliant farther - railway track and suicide attempt on roof
  •  Alien decides he can't murder Gulliver and Isobel so asks for his special power s to be taken away
  • Has sex with Maggie the student, not the same and tells Isobel who asks him to leave house
  • Takes a bottle of wine and drinks with Winston Churchill who tells him he saw him somewhere else.  Must be his replacement
  • Gets back to house just in time, turns on radios and TV's.  Great plot line written in at start of book. 
  • Gulliver gets back and sees two versions of his dad.  Kills the right one with knife but not before they force it to tell master that the mission has been completed.  Prof gets rid of tracking device in hand
  • 97 pieces of Advice to Gulliver in letter about what he has learned - really cool
  • Leaves and works in US and finds out about loss and regret.  Comes back to Cambridge for work and sees Gulliver in the park  
'Your life will have 25,000 days in it.  Make sure you remember some of them'
Nice fun, feel good fiction which should appeal to almost everyone.

Cognitive Ease= 5    Technical = 3     Story = 3     Enjoyment =  5    Memorable = 4   Ronseal Effect = 4  Talkability = 3    Longivity = 2

read

• Started - 7th May
• Finished - 12th May

KEY FACTS

Date Published = 2013
Pages = 294
Paperback
​Easy Reading font style

other books

• Reasons to Stay Alive - Matt Haig
• To be a Cat - Matt Haig