The Humans

A Novel

By: Matt Haig

Narrated by: Mark Meadows

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.

Fun Plus Depth

I enjoyed this imaginative, fast-paced novel in which an alien takes over the body of a British mathematician and develops feelings for and complicated relationships with the man's wife and son. It's a lot of fun as the alien learns about life on Earth, makes wry, sometimes painfully truthful observations about human beings, and starts to appreciate our world. It got a bit preachy at the end, but over all this is a really entertaining novel with depth.

Also, the narrator gave a lively, well acted performance.

The Humans

Written by Matt Haig, narrated by Mark Meadows, about eight hours in length in unabridged audiobook format, released in July 2013 by Simon & Schuster Audio.

Plot. An alien life form is dispatched to earth to eliminate anyone with knowledge of a particular math formula/solution. One as serious as, oh ... say E = mc2. The alien world takes over the body of a human male, the math professor who has solved this cosmic altering puzzle. He's to kill his wife, kid, and anyone who is remotely thought to know the big secret - problem? He gradually begins to understand that humans aren't so bad.

Liked. An enjoyable hypothesis brought to life in the story - it is a very fun SciFi. You'll have no problem following the story. Some insightful philosophical views of the human condition.

Not so hot. The author's fascination with the alien character arriving naked is a silly, childish grind to get through, and almost from the mind of a twelve-year-old boy. Ridiculous enough that the initial hour of listening almost had me return the book. A wasted hour+ that could have been conveyed within five minutes. Stick with it, it gets better.

Narration by Matt Meadows is great, no issues.

Trite, redundant and boring.

Probably should have been a short story. Very thin. Not much depth or imagination. We get it. Emily Dickinson, love is important, humans don’t appreciate life and we are all going to die. Thanks. Should probably have returned it after the first 30 mins. Pfffft.

Phenomenal.

A story seamlessly well-matched by a compelling narrator. I cannot emphasize in words how much I would recommend this book to every human.

Takes a bit to get into but worth it.

It took me a bit of time to get into the book, but once you understand the characters, you get really invested into the story. The peaks and valleys in the plot were great and the ending was fantastic. It may not be for everyone, but if it's for you, it'll be amazing.