Sample
  • The Humans

  • A Novel
  • By: Matt Haig
  • Narrated by: Mark Meadows
  • Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (2,914 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Humans

By: Matt Haig
Narrated by: Mark Meadows
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.74

Buy for $18.74

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The critically acclaimed author of The Radleys shares a clever, heartwarming, and darkly insightful novel about an alien who comes to Earth to save humans from themselves.

When an extraterrestrial visitor arrives on Earth, his first impressions of the human species are less than positive. Taking the form of Professor Andrew Martin, a leading mathematician at Cambridge University, the visitor wants to complete his task and go back home, to the planet he comes from, and a utopian society of immortality and infinite knowledge.

He is disgusted by the way humans look, what they eat, the wars they witness on the news, and totally baffled by such concepts of love and family. But as time goes on, he starts to realize there may be more to this weird species than he has been led to believe. He drinks wine, reads Emily Dickinson, listens to Talking Heads, and begins to bond with the family he lives with, in disguise. In picking up the pieces of the professor's shattered personal life, the narrator sees hope and redemption in the humans' imperfections and begins to question the very mission that brought him there. A mission that involves not only thwarting human progress... but murder.

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 very messiness of life on Earth. The Humans is a funny, compulsively readable tale that playfully and movingly explores the ultimate subject - ourselves.

©2013 Matt Haig (P)2013 Simon & Schuster Audio

Editor's Pick

Exploring a new world (ahem, genre)
"I’m not normally a sci-fi listener, but this story was the perfect way to dip my toes in without feeling overwhelmed. Focused a little more on the drama and emotion of the human experience, this story offers a fine balance between comedy, drama, and science fiction that makes it a little hard to classify. Poignant and touching, it offers a kinder take on humanity, highlighting empathy, compassion, and all the good and bad that make us human."
Michael C., Audible Editor

What listeners say about The Humans

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,726
  • 4 Stars
    810
  • 3 Stars
    272
  • 2 Stars
    76
  • 1 Stars
    30
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,933
  • 4 Stars
    504
  • 3 Stars
    107
  • 2 Stars
    27
  • 1 Stars
    10
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,512
  • 4 Stars
    693
  • 3 Stars
    266
  • 2 Stars
    64
  • 1 Stars
    37

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Safe to Use a Credit On

You may not be inspired and radically change your life after reading this one, but you won;t regret spending a credit on it.

The story is slightly above average at best, but the analytical process of a 'fish out of water' comes across as humorous and entertaining, and in the end, didn't disappoint.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Profound but fun

It's always fun to look at the world afresh. This book shares insights we often overlook. I wish I had bookmarked more of them.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Delightful entertainment

The Humans is a clever tale with a oh so unique look at our behavior and evolution. It offers a lot for contemplation and provides many a laugh. Read it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What does it really mean to be human?

A wonderful premise with believable, likeable characters with a first rate narrator! What's not to love?

Now. Let me go read some Emily Dickinson.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A great start that unfortunately didn't last

When I first read about this book, I was stoked, and the first part of the book didn't disappoint. It has the quirkiness of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the TV shows The Neighbors and 3rd Rock From the Sun, and similar setups. However, as the story progresses, it frankly shifts genre a little bit, and loses a lot of its appeal in the process. I finished it, and I'm overall glad I bought it, but truth be told I was waiting for it to be over at the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best Book Listen in Quite a While

A thoroughly satisfying story of how each of us decides for ourselves what makes happiness, what is really important, and how to life a fulfilling life, simply by confronting each day with open eyes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Philosophical Classic

Emily Dickinson does Twilight Zone you will understand what it is to be human you will laugh your cry you will appreciate

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

very insightful....

i listened to this book as i spend another holiday home alone. i love the way the author weaves together so many human insights.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The fiction form of "Reasons To Stay Alive"

If you're prone to over-examination and melancholy, this book will distract you from your beleaguered brain as it's subtly illustrating the simple pleasures this world has to offer (even to folks like us!). Beautifully written and narrated, this novel carried me from beginning to end without losing me once. If you could do with a brief from respite from existential angst and cynical nihilism - without any syrupy cheer - this is the book for you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What an Incredible story!

I absolutely loved everything about this story. Matt Haig really knows how to write gripping, heartfelt, and wonderful stories to experience.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!