The Humans is a novel that could only have come from Matt Haig. I’ve been reading a LOT in these past months, but there is something about Haig’s work that makes turning the page feel as easy as taking the next breath.
The Humans is about an alien sent to Earth to stunt human development by replacing a mathematician at Cambridge University, Professor Andrew Martin, and destroying his work. This alien comes from an apparently utopian society that believes humanity is fundamentally violent.
When he first arrives on Earth, naked and confused in a human body he doesn’t know how to work yet, he sees the humans around him as disgusting. I found these opening scenes very funny, quickly humbling a character we don’t know anything about except for his rather nefarious mission.
The man he replaced (and sort of murdered…) was not a great dude. Andrew Martin was a lousy father and husband, motivated only by money, and took those around him for granted. The family and the world that the alien steps into are broken and messy, but they also contrast with what he thinks he knows about humans. He samples bits of the world that the real Andrew never did. He enjoys wine, poetry, and new music. He begins to question whether or not he will be able to carry out his mission on Earth.
There was something wonderful in the way that Haig uses an alien narrator to talk about such uniquely human things. Discussions of mental health are a staple of Haig’s writing, but in The Humans, it becomes more visceral through the alien’s cold and detached narration. It is blunt in a way human narrators are not allowed to be.
The general plot was somewhat predictable, but there was enough nuance to not be boring. Even though the alien was so…well alien, the side characters seemed more fleshed out than some of Haig’s other books (especially How to Stop Time, which I also recently reviewed). I cared whether they lived or died, and I wanted him to care too.
The Humans is my favorite Matt Haig book that I have read so far. My most constant issue with his other novels is that I felt trapped in the main character’s head, making the other characters appear one-dimensional. But in The Humans, Haig’s narration style really worked for me. I am a firm believer that a writer should play to their strengths. If you’re bad at dialog, don’t write a play. If you’re good at aloof, weird people stuck in their own heads, write this. It’s simple, and everyone is happy.
Tillie's Void 
sounds really interesting, I’ll definitely have to check out Haig’s work! excited to read your other reviews
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