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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Pretty sleepy throughout…felt like I wanted to DNF a few times, which is rare for me. Some nice messages about humanity in the end, though.
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Tolle Story, ich hab das Buch wirklich genossen! Sehr emotional und berühren. Matt Haig hat meinen Kopf als Kochtopf benutzt und darin mal richtig umgerührt. Es lässt einen auf jeden Fall nachdenken.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma
Read my other book reviews at booksibled.wordpress.com
Let me tell you something. This book, this little book, this venerated volume. Yes, this book was so good I pulled out the Shakespeare-isms.
I actually got this for free from work (hence the work themed photograph) . I’m lucky enough to work in a university library in Kingston upon Thames and this year they held their ‘Big Read’ a competition to pick one book from a shortlist to be given out to students and staff and that is how I came across it.
The premise seemed promising I suppose. Maths Professor in Cambridge solves a seemingly impossible problem before its time. So obviously aliens have to kill him. But now he’s dead and he might have told other people about his work so they send down an alien scout to take his place and hunt down any trace of the solved problem and destroy it.
What ensues from this seemingly crazy situation is possibly the most beautiful book I have read in months…maybe years.
In the style of a sort of interplanetary help book, think part diary, part Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, part travel guide to Cambridge. That makes it the perfect book for commuting because we all know that the thing about writing any kind of diary is that one day it’s pages long and the next its half a page if we’re really lucky. So it was easy to get to the end of the chapter before pulling into my destination. It also means that there’s a lot of humour. Watching this alien react to the normalities of human life with total confusion and often disagreement is amusing in itself but the diary style means every experience is loaded with the irony that we understand exactly what he is trying to explain as he bumbles though in his clumsy and endearingly serious way. It almost makes you forget that the book starts with a murder and more people will die thanks to the narrator’s presence on the planet.
Something else I love about this book is its accessibility. For years I have felt that the most dangerous thing to reading levels and bookshops is accessibility. I could rant to you for quite a while about how angry it makes me when people label Shakespeare as a ‘posh thing’ that casual readers can’t enjoy. But that’s a story for another day. The long and the short of it is that people will read if they enjoy what they’re reading. If you give a blind person an ordinary printed book of course they won’t enjoy it. If you give a plus-sized, gay girl of colour a book about a skinny white girl and how she falls hopelessly in love with a rich white guy then she’s probably going to think, “I wish people wrote books I could relate to.” I’m a fairly privileged white girl and I know I’ve felt that way about books before. So the answer is to stop complaining about all these young people who “can’t be bothered to pick up a book”, and actually write something they want to read.
The Humans is a book that spoke to me because in studying the life of an alien falling in love with the world it mirrored the life of a person living with mental illness and how they can easily become isolated from the world even when surrounded by people that love them. It’s not exactly subtle about this comparison as only a few chapters in the narrator spends a brief period of time in a mental health ward before talking his way out and his ‘son’ very nearly commits suicide. He often feels very separated from the people around him; is sensitive to tastes, sounds, touch; and finds it far easier to spend time with the family dog. But through his eyes, as someone who is not shy about suffering from depression and anxiety, I started to see the world (and myself) slightly differently. As the narrator begins to understand the human race and care deeply for his ‘son’ and fall in love with his ‘wife’ he tries to piece back together a family that was a little broken to begin with. He takes comfort in discovery and in learning how to admire the simplest of things.
There is another Shakespeare quote I’m fond of which I think fits nicely here:
“Nor I, nor any man but that man is
With nothing shall be pleased, till he be eased
with being nothing.”
P.S. I cannot recommend this book enough. A beautiful commentary on living with mental health issues in a funny and loving package.
Let me tell you something. This book, this little book, this venerated volume. Yes, this book was so good I pulled out the Shakespeare-isms.
I actually got this for free from work (hence the work themed photograph) . I’m lucky enough to work in a university library in Kingston upon Thames and this year they held their ‘Big Read’ a competition to pick one book from a shortlist to be given out to students and staff and that is how I came across it.
The premise seemed promising I suppose. Maths Professor in Cambridge solves a seemingly impossible problem before its time. So obviously aliens have to kill him. But now he’s dead and he might have told other people about his work so they send down an alien scout to take his place and hunt down any trace of the solved problem and destroy it.
What ensues from this seemingly crazy situation is possibly the most beautiful book I have read in months…maybe years.
In the style of a sort of interplanetary help book, think part diary, part Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, part travel guide to Cambridge. That makes it the perfect book for commuting because we all know that the thing about writing any kind of diary is that one day it’s pages long and the next its half a page if we’re really lucky. So it was easy to get to the end of the chapter before pulling into my destination. It also means that there’s a lot of humour. Watching this alien react to the normalities of human life with total confusion and often disagreement is amusing in itself but the diary style means every experience is loaded with the irony that we understand exactly what he is trying to explain as he bumbles though in his clumsy and endearingly serious way. It almost makes you forget that the book starts with a murder and more people will die thanks to the narrator’s presence on the planet.
Something else I love about this book is its accessibility. For years I have felt that the most dangerous thing to reading levels and bookshops is accessibility. I could rant to you for quite a while about how angry it makes me when people label Shakespeare as a ‘posh thing’ that casual readers can’t enjoy. But that’s a story for another day. The long and the short of it is that people will read if they enjoy what they’re reading. If you give a blind person an ordinary printed book of course they won’t enjoy it. If you give a plus-sized, gay girl of colour a book about a skinny white girl and how she falls hopelessly in love with a rich white guy then she’s probably going to think, “I wish people wrote books I could relate to.” I’m a fairly privileged white girl and I know I’ve felt that way about books before. So the answer is to stop complaining about all these young people who “can’t be bothered to pick up a book”, and actually write something they want to read.
The Humans is a book that spoke to me because in studying the life of an alien falling in love with the world it mirrored the life of a person living with mental illness and how they can easily become isolated from the world even when surrounded by people that love them. It’s not exactly subtle about this comparison as only a few chapters in the narrator spends a brief period of time in a mental health ward before talking his way out and his ‘son’ very nearly commits suicide. He often feels very separated from the people around him; is sensitive to tastes, sounds, touch; and finds it far easier to spend time with the family dog. But through his eyes, as someone who is not shy about suffering from depression and anxiety, I started to see the world (and myself) slightly differently. As the narrator begins to understand the human race and care deeply for his ‘son’ and fall in love with his ‘wife’ he tries to piece back together a family that was a little broken to begin with. He takes comfort in discovery and in learning how to admire the simplest of things.
There is another Shakespeare quote I’m fond of which I think fits nicely here:
“Nor I, nor any man but that man is
With nothing shall be pleased, till he be eased
with being nothing.”
P.S. I cannot recommend this book enough. A beautiful commentary on living with mental health issues in a funny and loving package.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Enjoyable, funny and heartwarming story about an alien trying to keep humanity from mathematically advancing, but ultimately falling in love with the planet and what it's like being human.
The end got a bit heavy, but I enjoyed all the parts with Newton and Gulliver. Beautiful story about all aspects of humanity. Maybe just not my kind of thing.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
An alien with special abilities takes control of Professor Andrew Martin, a renowned mathematician at Cambridge University. His mission is clear: eliminate any evidence of Professor Andrew's knowledge and anyone who obstructs his path. In his attempt to blend in with these peculiar humans, who wear clothes and inhabit strange square buildings, he must navigate life unnoticed. With a newfound wife, son, and a perceptive dog named Newton who senses something amiss, can he successfully accomplish his gruesome task and find his way back home? Or will he begin to question whether humans truly embody the violent and savage creatures he has been taught about?
This funny and heartwarming story delves into the essence of humanity, exploring both its virtues and flaws. It marks my third read by Matt Haig and unquestionably stands out among his other works that I've read. Haig's witty observations on life are subtly incorporated, and the life lessons are neither repetitive nor overt, unlike many other books of this genre.
Overall, it was a solid and enjoyable read, deserving of a rating of 4.5 stars. I didn’t rate it a full 5 because the first few chapters I was actually a bit bored although they were full of witty jokes it took me a while to actually get interested in the story.
This funny and heartwarming story delves into the essence of humanity, exploring both its virtues and flaws. It marks my third read by Matt Haig and unquestionably stands out among his other works that I've read. Haig's witty observations on life are subtly incorporated, and the life lessons are neither repetitive nor overt, unlike many other books of this genre.
Overall, it was a solid and enjoyable read, deserving of a rating of 4.5 stars. I didn’t rate it a full 5 because the first few chapters I was actually a bit bored although they were full of witty jokes it took me a while to actually get interested in the story.
Primer libro del Ghibliathon. Totoro: un libro con una criatura de otro mundo.
4.5
Vale, no es el mejor libro que me he leído jamás. Tiene cosas negativas, siendo objetivos. El argumento en lineas generales es predecible, y a veces es un poco cheesy, pero es que dentro del contexto del libro ni siquiera me molesta. Ha sido un libro super divertido, sobre todo al principio, y que me ha hecho sentir mucho. Habla de tantas cosas en tan pocas páginas y deja con tan buen sabor de boca. Sin duda, hay muchas cosas que he marcado con post-its a las que volveré cuando lo necesite. Critica muchas cosas y cuestiona muchas otras, y considero que da muy buenas lecciones. Ojalá poder pensar sobre muchas cosas como lo hace el protagonista, el cual a pesar de ser alienígena, es más humano que la mayoría. Sin duda, este libro ha sido una agradable sorpresa.
4.5
Vale, no es el mejor libro que me he leído jamás. Tiene cosas negativas, siendo objetivos. El argumento en lineas generales es predecible, y a veces es un poco cheesy, pero es que dentro del contexto del libro ni siquiera me molesta. Ha sido un libro super divertido, sobre todo al principio, y que me ha hecho sentir mucho. Habla de tantas cosas en tan pocas páginas y deja con tan buen sabor de boca. Sin duda, hay muchas cosas que he marcado con post-its a las que volveré cuando lo necesite. Critica muchas cosas y cuestiona muchas otras, y considero que da muy buenas lecciones. Ojalá poder pensar sobre muchas cosas como lo hace el protagonista, el cual a pesar de ser alienígena, es más humano que la mayoría. Sin duda, este libro ha sido una agradable sorpresa.
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes