The Humans

There are books we read that we enjoy immensely at the moment, but their memory fades, sometimes much faster than we would have predicted. Then there are others that literally leave their mark upon us, on our minds … sometimes, if were especially lucky, upon our very souls.

Im happy to report that The Humans was of this latter sort. The premise is fairly simple, at least when put into words here: An important math theorem is proved by a math professor, and an alien is immediately sent to Earth to kill off the guy and anyone else that may have been told of his discovery. Humans, it is asserted, are not at all prepared for the widespread changes which his proof would usher in for our civilization.

There were many times during the reading of this book where I laughed out loud. I dont find myself laughing this much when reading most of the books I devour. But there were also important, pivotal moments throughout where I found myself sobbing.

This book is so full of wisdom, of a brilliant sort of assessment of our species, an assessment accomplished with such expertise that it was almost as if an alien truly was its author. The book MOVED ME, and in more ways than Ive likely realized so soon upon completing it. It is one that will remain close to my heart for a long, long time. Of this, I am certain.

An alien appears on earth with just one single mission: to destroy all the proof of a great mathematical scientific discovery, that means all the physical evidence: digital as well as human. To be near his objects he clothes himself with the body of Andrew Martin, the man who made the discovery. And that is when things start to become complicated because human hard drives are different from digital hard drives in that they have all kinds of other properties and idiosyncrasies. Not only that, those character trades influence him in ways he could not have imagined. There is a neglected wife who cant stop worrying, there is a very unhappy son with a preference for train tracks and roofs that are much too high and finally there is a clairvoyant dog. What seems to be a very easy job becomes the hardest thing he has ever done. And there is one question that starts to be the hardest one he ever faced: what is it in him that makes him doubt his mission?

That is the core question of this book. How is it that he values the life of a teenager much more than the safety of the universe? The alien has no idea. But this alien is smart and has feeling in his gut. On his quest he discovers that there are worse things than pain and death. The value of the paradox is another thing he finds worthwhile: an eternal life lived in comfort can be very short when remembered. The meaning of a short: How was your day?, can stretch endlessly.

This is a beautiful book that makes you think about what is really important in life (peanut butter is of much more importance than the solution to the Riemann hypothesis). What I found the cleverest thing of the book was that the man from another world felt more and more human as the story progressed. Thats just plain good writing. What I also found very impressive: Haig showed us how beautiful mathematics can be, that prime numbers can be a source happiness as well as madness and that Emily Dickinson is the answer to (almost) anything.

Finally a quote from the great man himself:
‘She laughed some more. Laughter, I realised, was the reverberating sound of a truth hitting a lie. Humans existed inside their own delusions and laughing was a way out – the only possible bridge they had between each other. That, and love.’

I read a lot of books, one or two a week. I don’t tend to review them because I know my reactions are personal, and attempting to assign a number of stars is torturous. However, every year or so, one truly stands out for me and I find myself recommending it to everyone I know. A couple of years ago, it was *Defending Jacob* by William Landay. In the past year, it was *The Humans* by Matt Haig.

I was initially interested in reading *The Humans* because the topic reminded me of “3rd Rock From The Sun”, one of my all-time favorite TV sitcoms (at least the first season). Both premises are based on an outsider’s interpretation of the human condition. The TV show was hilarious; this book is less so, but it has its moments. It is basically the story of an alien coming to earth on a serious mission. However, I found myself laughing almost to tears at one point as the alien was attempting to interpret a dog’s conversation based on facial expressions since he couldn’t decipher the dog’s spoken language. The scene involves peanut butter. The alien has never experienced joy. Then on earth he discovers music! He is mesmerized by Debussy, feeling he has captured all the most beautiful aspects of the universe in his music … but, then, wow, the alien hears the Beach Boys! And discovers the aforementioned peanut butter! And poetry! Etc. Mainly it is about what it is to be human and how it is our mortality that makes happiness possible. At one point the alien marvels that he has said “me” — it has always before been “we”. (That was thrilling.) I have inspired at least a dozen friends to read this book, and so far I think everyone likes or loves it, but for all different reasons. Some liked the collectivist vs. individual aspect, like I did. Some liked the human joy aspect, as I also did. One friend was just thrilled with all the wise observations that the alien made, his unique point of view. Another was tickled by all the Emily Dickenson quotes and references, most not attributed, and most of which, I must admit, I missed. One friend chose it for his book club, and said it was a success, both because people liked it and because it inspired lively discussion.

Be aware that the novel starts slowly and is rather dark. I wasn’t liking it at first, and others said the same thing. My cousin put it aside for several weeks, not enjoying it, then picked it back up one day, and stayed up most of the night with it, enthralled. The alien isn’t likeable. His mission is to murder. But once the story is set, it is a compelling read, and one I will revisit. It is an easy read, but interesting and thought-provoking, at times touching, at times profound. The idea that mortality is essential to human happiness is not a theme often explored. The book is a paean to human happiness.

This book is written from an alien’s perspective and is humourous with an interesting plot with characters who many of us will relate to. A must read for every human and indeed alien! This book is about the beauty of being human on a stunning planet full of beauty and being true to one’s self. It is about kindness, caring and love. It is about putting those you love before your job! A life changer! Thank you Matt Haig for a wonderful book.

Sadly I’m quite conflicted with this book. I was intrigued by the concept right from the opening pages: An alien has been sent to replace a human who has made a dangerous mathematical discovery which the human race has been judged as not being ready to handle, and must now erase all evidence of that discovery. Initially the alien finds humans repugnant and the Earth terribly primitive and unpleasant, but then he starts to learn more…

Unfortunately as the book went on it became less a novel and more a vehicle for the author to beat the reader over the head with his observations on the nature of the human condition, and how life is basically pretty good even amongst the violence and hypocrisy, and you definitely shouldn’t kill yourself if it all gets too much. I have no problem with these sentiments at all, it was just way too ham-fisted and preachy in a work of fiction for my tastes.

I know as I follow the author on social media that he struggles terribly with depression and I can see that much of this book was, if not autobiographical, at least based strongly on his own life experiences and opinions so I get where he was coming from.

All that said, I did enjoy the actual story that was scattered in amongst the preaching. The plot was clever enough to keep me guessing where it would go next and the relationship between Real!Andrew / Alien!Andrew and his son was well written and touching.

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