Book Review | The Humans by Matt Haig

“Advice for a human:

86. To like something is to insult it. Love it or hate it. Be passionate. As civilisation advances, so does indifference. It is a disease. Immunize yourself with art. And love.” 

Title: The Humans

Author: Matt Haig

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Canongate Books

Format: Paperback

Source: Borrowed

Genre: Adult Science Fiction

Goodreads

~~~~~~SPOILER FREE~~~~~~

Blurb:

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. 

Plot: ★★★★★
Okay, I don't even know where to begin. This book really makes you think about, well, everything. It makes you question everything around you. The plot is hilarious at times and heartbreaking at others, but no matter what, the novel is incredibly honest. The concept of this is incredibly beautiful, and although at times I thought it might be going a little too fast, that was probably just because I wanted the book to last longer (forever).

Characters: ★★★★.5
I'm only giving this 4.5 because I felt as though some of the other characters could have been built up a little more! There's always the problem of relating to characters when you have a story told by an unreliable narrator like this one, but I still loved them all the same. Especially Andrew's son, I felt he was a really important character that had a good solid background.

Writing: ★★★★★
Definitely 5 stars, no question about it. The writing is almost poetic in a way, and he uses words in such a beautiful way. It's definitely one of the top books I've read as far as writing goes!

Romance/Feels: N/A
There was a relationship here, but I'm saying N/A because it wasn't really the main focus! I mean, finding love was definitely a theme, but I just don't think I should star romance in this book.

Ending: ★★★★
There were a lot of questions that weren't answered, and to be honest I just really hate open-ended questions. I like my answers.

Overall Enjoyment: ★★★★★
IT WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK ABOUT EVERYTHING, I ASSURE YOU. READ IT RIGHT NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T.

Rereadability: YES.

Final Rating: ★★★★★