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dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love Matt Haig. This book is definitely quirky. Quite funny at times, plain old weird at others. But the overall message is so hopeful and lovely; the advice for humans section is like a preview of The Comfort Book, which really does feel like a big hug and a bowl of matzah ball soup.
Enjoyable Book
The premise of an alien on Earth was undertaken in a different manner. Observing all our idiosyncrasies and questioning our reasoning was quite funny. The book made you look at your own actions.
The premise of an alien on Earth was undertaken in a different manner. Observing all our idiosyncrasies and questioning our reasoning was quite funny. The book made you look at your own actions.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was unlike any other book I've read and showed a different perspective of human life with all its flaws and beauty. The characters were loveable (Newton!) and even though they don't necessarily talk much with the main character, they grow on you.
Feel good book with food for thought.
Feel good book with food for thought.
I really enjoyed this book for a multitude of reasons. It's funny, quirky, insightful, and entertaining. It's about what it means to be human. Why we do the things we do all from the perspective of an extra-terrestrial sent to Earth to destroy all traces of a mathematical discovery that would propel humanity further forward than we could handle. It sounds ridiculous but is actually wonderful.
Some of my favourite excerpts were from the chapter entitled: "Advice for a human"
"6. Be curious. Question everything. A present fact is just future fiction."
"8. Peanut butter sandwiches go perfectly well with a glass of white wine. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
"37. Don't always try to be cool. The whole universe is cool. It's the warm bits that matter."
"91. You are lucky to be alive. Inhale and take in life's wonders. Never take so much as a single petal of a single flower for granted."
It was a very good book. You should read it (if you haven't already).
Some of my favourite excerpts were from the chapter entitled: "Advice for a human"
"6. Be curious. Question everything. A present fact is just future fiction."
"8. Peanut butter sandwiches go perfectly well with a glass of white wine. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
"37. Don't always try to be cool. The whole universe is cool. It's the warm bits that matter."
"91. You are lucky to be alive. Inhale and take in life's wonders. Never take so much as a single petal of a single flower for granted."
It was a very good book. You should read it (if you haven't already).
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
honestly makes you appreciate humans and being human
Funny, wise, insightful ... in short, just wonderful. Deceptively simple, this is a human worldview from the point of a visiting alien who is at first disgusted by humans and their shortcomings, then intrigued, and finally won over.
Dammit. I hate when this happens…
A famous (and insufferable) mathematician solves the Riemann hypothesis, a leap in knowledge guaranteed to change everything for humanity, but a distant alien species is of the opinion think that humanity, being rather a primitive and violent species, wouldn't use that fresh knowledge well, so they send an agent to infiltrate the mathematician’s life, by killing and impersonating him, to snip this whole situation in the bud. But things quickly don’t go as planned because the alien’s perspective on humans changes as he interacts with a very dysfunctional family and a friendly dog.
The writing is not bad, and there are very funny observation about a lot of human absurdities, but I found the premise quite predictable, and I got inexplicably annoyed at the alien’s immediate mastery of British semantics… You know, I agree with the aliens’ opinion that humanity is not “mature” enough to use a lot its scientific discoveries smartly. We could make lives better and easier for ourselves, but instead we make weapons and destroy our own environment. Other sci-fi writers have tackled this before, from the more serious (Octavia Butler) to the whimsical (Catherynne Valente) perspective, and maybe I am cynical and crabby, but this attempt at the cute and uplifting perspective didn’t enchant me as much as I was hoping it would. That said, I appreciate that he refers to dogs as small domestic deities, because that's totally what pets are when you think about it, and I now refer to my cat's elaborate cat-tree as her shrine.
A lot of people love this book, and now I feel like a cranky old granny giving it 3 stars, which is sill not a bad rating at all. I think that perhaps my expectations affected my enjoyment of a light, sweet and optimistic little book.
A famous (and insufferable) mathematician solves the Riemann hypothesis, a leap in knowledge guaranteed to change everything for humanity, but a distant alien species is of the opinion think that humanity, being rather a primitive and violent species, wouldn't use that fresh knowledge well, so they send an agent to infiltrate the mathematician’s life, by killing and impersonating him, to snip this whole situation in the bud. But things quickly don’t go as planned because the alien’s perspective on humans changes as he interacts with a very dysfunctional family and a friendly dog.
The writing is not bad, and there are very funny observation about a lot of human absurdities, but I found the premise quite predictable, and I got inexplicably annoyed at the alien’s immediate mastery of British semantics… You know, I agree with the aliens’ opinion that humanity is not “mature” enough to use a lot its scientific discoveries smartly. We could make lives better and easier for ourselves, but instead we make weapons and destroy our own environment. Other sci-fi writers have tackled this before, from the more serious (Octavia Butler) to the whimsical (Catherynne Valente) perspective, and maybe I am cynical and crabby, but this attempt at the cute and uplifting perspective didn’t enchant me as much as I was hoping it would. That said, I appreciate that he refers to dogs as small domestic deities, because that's totally what pets are when you think about it, and I now refer to my cat's elaborate cat-tree as her shrine.
A lot of people love this book, and now I feel like a cranky old granny giving it 3 stars, which is sill not a bad rating at all. I think that perhaps my expectations affected my enjoyment of a light, sweet and optimistic little book.