Book Review: The Humans

Title: The Humans
Author: Matt Haig
Publication: July 3, 2013
Series or Standalone: Standalone
Paperback or Hardback: Hardback
Acquired: Bought used from Second & Charles
Pages: 285
Rating: 5 stars





Summary:

Body-snatching has never been so heartwarming . . .

The Humans is a funny, compulsively readable novel about alien abduction, mathematics, and that most interesting subject of all: ourselves. Combine Douglas Adams’s irreverent take on life, the universe, and everything with a genuinely moving love story, and you have some idea of the humor, originality, and poignancy of Matt Haig’s latest novel.

Our hero, Professor Andrew Martin, is dead before the book even begins. As it turns out, though, he wasn’t a very nice man--as the alien imposter who now occupies his body discovers. Sent to Earth to destroy evidence that Andrew had solved a major mathematical problem, the alien soon finds himself learning more about the professor, his family, and “the humans” than he ever expected. When he begins to fall for his own wife and son--who have no idea he’s not the real Andrew--the alien must choose between completing his mission and returning home or finding a new home right here on Earth.  

Review:

Overall I thought this book was very well done and it definitely had more than a few heart-warming moments. I was recommended this book by one of my friends who warned me that it was a tear-jerker and to be prepared... I did not really see it this way. Yes, there were some touching moments and the character development was top notch, but it did not bring me to tears.

The only problem that I really had with this book was the writing style. It was done in a play on stream of consciousness that I felt did not really work with this book. There are some books where it works and when done right can be very powerful. That was not the case here in my opinion. However, having an engaging storyline and characters that gripped you saved this book from being a flop.

 The story pulls you in from the very beginning and continues on a fairly steady pace. I was happy to see that at no point during the story did the plot-line reach a plateau and the author sink into pages of absolute nothing. That is the kiss of death for a book. The character development that are main protagonist undergoes is extraordinary. He really seems to capture what it means to be human, flaws and all. He also learns what it means to love and be loved. I feel that it this aspect of him learning how to be human and what all that entails that gave the book the heart-warming moments. You see the alien become a better human than the man that he was impersonating and you also get to see the effects that this transformation has on his family members.

Without this type of character development the story would have flat and one-dimensional. This was a necessity for this book.  I rated The Humans five stars because I did enjoy the plot-line and I loved the characters, even if I did have a hard time with the writing style. This was a great read and I do highly recommend this book.

Happy Reading!