The Humans by Matt Haig

“Love is what the humans are all about but they don’t understand it. If they understood it, then it would disappear.”

The Humans is about an alien who snatches a human body, and consequently learns about the virtues and vices of a mid-level intelligent lifeform (hint: that’s us). This book was both light-hearted and profound, which is my favorite kind of book; one where it made you a better person by reading it, but without dragging down the life-lessons with a serious, guilt-ridden haranguing. I laughed out loud, I teared up, and I definitely learned something, which by my standards, is a five-star affair.

This book was both light-hearted and profound, which is my favorite kind of book; one where it made you a better person by reading it, but without dragging down the life-lessons with a serious, guilt-ridden haranguing. I laughed out loud, I teared up, and I definitely learned something, which by my standards, is a five-star affair.

Awkward social outcasts are my favorite type of character, probably because I am one. Like our nameless alien protagonist, many of humanity’s strange quirks are unfathomable to me, but there are moments when I glimpse the goodness and kindness of humanity, and it warms my socially-awkward heart. I related to this alien protagonist more than I believed I could, and made me feel better about being a human in general.

This book was not perfect, and there were some issues with it that I won’t discuss in length (you can decide for yourself when you read it), but it’s a book that accomplished what it set out to do—which I believe was to point out the flaws and assets of humanity with humor, humility, and thoughtfulness.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the 97-item list concerning an alien’s advice for being human, which included the following gems:

6. Be curious. Question everything. A present fact is just a future fiction.
65. Don’t think you know. Know you think.
73. No one will understand you. It is not, ultimately, that important. What is important is that you understand you.
77. When you watch the news and see members of your species in turmoil, do not think that there is nothing you can do. But know it is not done by watching news.
82. If you think something is ugly, look harder. Ugliness is just a failure of seeing.
90. Men are not from Mars. Women are not from Venus. Do not fall for categories. Everyone is everything. Every ingredient inside a star is inside you, and every personality that ever existed competes in the theatre of your mind for the main role.

There is a time for gravitas and somber reflection, but sometimes—oftentimes—you just need to laugh. This book made me happy, it made me laugh, and it made me think. Five extragalactic stars.

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