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I haven’t finished a book in one-sitting in a very long time, and this one truly hits home. I highly recommend it.
Starts off really funny when the alien narrator first arrives on Earth and is confused by how strange humans are. I wish the comedy had continued because my attention started to wander as the story grew more serious. Love the Dickinson and Talking Heads references.
I kinda liked it, kinda didn’t. The narrator was just so annoying to read at first and the pacing was really weird in my opinion but it also had some interesting/thought provoking moments and themes
It didn't hold my attention, I didn't care what happened.
3.5 stars. I highly recommend reading this for the first few chapters alone. The beginning of this novel was just so much fun. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I laughed so much while reading a novel. A cynical and socially inept alien with a superiority complex lands on planet Earth, in a human disguise, and tries to make sense of what it means to be human. The humour is fantastic, as our alien narrator tries and fails at the most basic of human interactions and tasks. It's all a bit ridiculous and Haig fantastically uses this humour to point out the contradictory and nonsensical nature of many parts of modern life; from clothing to cars, food wrappers to magazines. The voice of our alien narrator at this stage is just terrific. Sadly, I felt he lost some of his charm as he gradually becomes more "human", which is ironic as Haig's overriding message is that life and humanity really isn't that bad. Not that I disagree with him on that point, but it all got a little heavy-handed, lovey-dovey and overly cliched for my liking towards the end. A whole novel like the first quarter to half would have been an easy 5 stars, just because of how much fun it was, but personally I couldn't enjoy the rest of it quite as much. Haig is a fantastic writer, however, and I can understand how much writing this novel must have helped him. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by him!
Being busy at work made it extremely difficult to read this in a short amount of time. It was well written and a good read, but it wasn't my favorite book. It was hard for me to connect to any of the characters. That could have been due to the fact that it took me over 2 months to read though
This was our town library's One Book read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story of an alien who comes to earth on a mission, and along the way learned to appreciate what it is the be human.
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Very easy to read - think I struggled to process the over arching messages...maybe I need to spend some time thinking about what I've read and then re visit the rating
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An inspiring and sometimes comedic look with a fresh pair of eyes into what it is like to be human.