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Matt Haig

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The Humans Matt HaigJorane Flamand

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The Humans: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Matt Haig (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 25,643 ratings

Goodreads Choice Award nominee

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The bestselling, award-winning author of The Midnight Library offers his funniest, most devastating dark comedy yet, a “silly, sad, suspenseful, and soulful” (Philadelphia Inquirer) novel that’s “full of heart” (Entertainment Weekly).

When an extra-terrestrial visitor arrives on Earth, his first impressions of the human species are less than positive. Taking the form of Professor Andrew Martin, a prominent mathematician at Cambridge University, the visitor is eager to complete the gruesome task assigned him and hurry home to his own utopian planet, where everyone is omniscient and immortal.

He is disgusted by the way humans look, what they eat, their capacity for murder and war, and is equally baffled by the concepts of love and family. But as time goes on, he starts to realize there may be more to this strange species than he had thought. Disguised as Martin, he drinks wine, reads poetry, develops an ear for rock music, and a taste for peanut butter. Slowly, unexpectedly, he forges bonds with Martin’s family. He begins to see hope and beauty in the humans’ imperfection, and begins to question the very mission that brought him there.

Praised by The New York Times as a “novelist of great seriousness and talent,” author Matt Haig delivers an unlikely story about human nature and the joy found in the messiness of life on Earth. The Humans is a funny, compulsively readable tale that playfully and movingly explores the ultimate subject—ourselves.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The alien comes to Earth from Vonnadoria, an almost incomprehensibly advanced world; he comes with a sinister purpose, both to destroy and to collect information, hoping to rob human beings of their future. Assuming the person of Professor Andrew Martin, a celebrated mathematician who has made a dangerous discovery, he sets coldly and calculatedly to work. But there is a problem: though disgusted at first by humans, whom he regards as motivated only by violence and greed, he gradually comes to understand that humans are more complex than that, and, most dangerous to his mission, he discovers music, poetry, and . . . love. Becoming increasingly sympathetic to humans, he will ultimately do the unthinkable. The ever-imaginative Haig—The Dead Fathers Club (2007), The Radleys (2010)—has created an extraordinary alien sensibility and, though writing with a serious purpose (the future is at stake), has great good fun with the being’s various eyebrow-raising blunders as he struggles to emulate human behavior. Haig strikes exactly the right tone of bemusement, discovery, and wonder in creating what is ultimately a sweet-spirited celebration of humanity and the trials and triumphs of being human. The result is a thought-provoking, compulsively readable delight. --Michael Cart

Review

“Haig strikes exactly the right tone of bemusement, discovery, and wonder in creating what is ultimately a sweet-spirited celebration of humanity and the trials and triumphs of being human. The result is a thought-provoking, compulsively readable delight.” (Booklist (Starred Review))

“Haig creates a delightful sense of displacement in ‘Andrew’ and draws the reader into the experiences that make us human, ugly, wonderful, and mundane by turns…. The wonder and humor with which the protagonist approaches life, and the many emotions and discoveries he experiences, are worth getting a bit weepy over.” (Publishers Weekly (Starred Review))

“The protagonist’s genuine joy in discovering the good things the unstable human race has produced – peanut butter, Emily Dickinson, Australian wine, the Beach Boys, dogs, and love, to name a few – is contagious. Readers of all stripes will find the results quick-paced, touching, and hilarious.” (Library Journal (Starred Review))

“A surprisingly touching and often hilarious tale….Haig elevates the premise with his deft, humor-rich storytelling skills. A reverence for mathematics and history also runs through the book, cutting through some of the sentimentality with a healthy dose of intellectualism. The Humans is an engaging summer read.” (Bookpage)

“The Humans is not so unlike the species the book details: funny, poignant, and full of heart.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“The Humans is by turns silly, sad, suspenseful and soulful….Haig manages…to burrow beneath clichés as he explores the meaning of sentimentality, loyalty, love, and mortality….Haig's insights are often compelling.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00A27X972
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster (July 2, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 2, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1333 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 304 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #2,460 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #4 in Humorous Literary Fiction
- #15 in General Humorous Fiction
- #17 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.4 25,643 ratings

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Matt Haig

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Matt Haig is the internationally bestselling author of the novels The Midnight Library, How to Stop Time, The Humans, The Radleys, children's novel A Boy Called Christmas, and memoir Reasons to Stay Alive. His latest novel is The Life Impossible, which will be published in summer 2024. His work has been translated into over fifty languages.

@matthaig1 | matthaig.com

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Spiegs

Excellent philosophical take on humanity through eyes of an alien

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2024

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Although a heavy topic this book is an easy read with brief chapters. Using viewpoint of alien to appreciate the good and the bad of humanity opened the eyes of this human reader to new perspectives. Similar to Resident Alien on Netflix without the humor and tangential stories. Sweet under lying tone focusing on positive aspects of being a mortal human with free will.

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Vanessa Miller

Entertaining & thoughtful

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2024

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This is a good read. Entertaining and thought proprovoking. It makes you look at human kind from a different perspective. A beautiful love story as well

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KAHyde

All Humans Should Read this Book

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2024

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Such a funny and deeply moving book. Through an alien’s point of view the author explores the mysteries and contradictions of being human. Don’t let the fact that the narrator is an alien turn you away. This is a human book not a sci-fi book.

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Ineke Stoneham

A tender argument for being human

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2024

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If “advanced civilization” is as Haig has imagined it, I want no part of it. I think that’s the argument this novel makes - we are messy, illogical, and often exasperating, but that’s what makes us beautiful. Part love story, part science fiction suspense, another lovely, and slightly odd, read from Haig.

2 people found this helpful

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Morgan Hein

so unique and so wholesome

Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2024

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I LOVED this book. It took me a bit longer to finish(work,chores,etc) but each and every time I took the time to read this book, it always had me thinking. If Aliens were to be real, I would picture this scenario happening and they would disguise themselves as one of us. It makes you think as a human philosophical questions like “what is our purpose?” “Is this really worth worrying about?” I consider this wholesome cause it gives you a newer perspective on life in addition to the main character befriending a dog. I recommend this book for anybody who wants to challenge those questions about life and experience it through an alien’s pov.

One person found this helpful

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Rebecca L. Terry

I’ll come back again and again.

Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2024

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As I read this book, I knew it would be one to revisit. As with most books I’ve enjoyed, it was the perfect read found at the perfect time. If you are feeling a little lost, try this book. It might not fix it but you’ll feel better about feeling lost.

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Kroaleen

This novel was a hoot!

Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2024

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The theme of an alien coming to earth has been pondered countless times by authors. This book brought this theme to a level of contemporary complexity I've not encounter (although ET certainly touched me as well). It not only addresses the obvious-often with staggering humor-it embraces the depths of the absurdities of modern life and the often unenviable destiny of what it is to be human. It felt like every page was an invitation to greet the darkest corners of humanity, as well as the highlights of common (and uncommon) beauty. The protagonist, an assassin from another galaxy, is gob-slapped by the craziness of urban living and finds himself face to face with all the complexities and downright messiness of human emotion and connection. It's a great read and a good choice for a Contemporary Lit (or Sociology) class. This book hits all the high and low terrain of human existence and the easily misunderstood polarities between very different cultures. Buy this book! I laughed out loud frequently, shed a few tears at the outrageous mores a d barriers humanity has to negotiate in relationships, and the emphasis of the healing power of love. Great book club book!!!

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2024

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Light hearted and funny at points. Enjoyed the read and looking forward to more reads just like it. Dark Matter is a similar book if you like this!

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Alejandro S.

Una grata sorpresa

Reviewed in Mexico on August 17, 2023

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Este libro fue todo un viaje, me gustó como la historia fue marcando el cómo el ser humano necesita de muchos sentimientos para estar en la vida... Quisiera decir más pero estaría añadiendo cosas de la trama que, a mi parecer, son puntos fuertes en la historia.

Lo recomiendo ampliamente, más si quieres leer sobre un punto de vista distinto de la vida y el ser humano.

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