Book Group - Sept 2014 - The Humans -Discussion thread

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Little Nemo - Shut up knee! Oct 2014 10:04am, 4 Oct 2014 4,701 posts	0 Little Nemo - Shut up knee! Another one who loves the Thursday Next books. She has a dodo who makes plock noises - so cute
The Scribbler Oct 2014 11:58am, 4 Oct 2014 3,279 posts	0 The Scribbler I'd had The Humans recommended to me on Amazon, but had forgotten about it, so was pleased it came up as this month's choice. I'd seen some really fulsome praise from other writers in the reviews. I really liked the whole premise of looking at the world through an alien's eyes and seeing how funny/weird some of the things we do are. But I didn't warm to the book straightaway. I think the author gave himself a tough job, creating such a tricky to know central character. It's soon obvious that Andrew Martin was a selfish and rather thoughtless man, and the alien who takes over his body is... well, alien. I only started to warm to him and smile a bit when he settled down a bit and started to have conversations with his friends and the dog, but I did want to find out how everything was going to be resolved. I was quite surprised that he was positioned as a alien right from the beginning, and that the story foreshadowed a lot of what was going to happen. I don't know until I'd finished reading it that the author had been through depression, but at the time I was reading, I did think that the sections that dealt with conflicting thoughts and emotions were well played. That's when I really started to have sympathy with the main character. I did think part way through that the twist might be that the real Andrew Martin had had a mental breakdown and only thought he was an alien. I'd quite like to read that version of the story, but I think it would be incredibly hard to write. Overall, I quite enjoyed and found it easy to read, but it didn't really completely engage me, so I find it hard to agree with the reviewers who said it made them laugh and cry. I think some of that may be down to the writing style which was quite straightforward, and maybe even a bit clunky at times. That's not to say I don't appreciate simple language, because I do, but I've read some other books recently, particularly YA novels which are similarly easy to read, but that have really made me feel and engage far more with the characters. Patrick Ness' 'Monsters of Men' trilogy and 'More than This' being great examples that I'd recommend. Getting any book published takes a great deal of hard work and a fair amount of luck, so I do think Matt Haig has been lucky to have a publisher that's gained him so much attention, but I have read books which have moved me and shown me more of human experience than this one. I think I scored it about a 6.
fetcheveryone Oct 2014 12:20pm, 4 Oct 2014 14,978 posts	0 fetcheveryone I like your review
The Scribbler Oct 2014 12:24pm, 4 Oct 2014 3,281 posts	0 The Scribbler Thanks Mr Fetch. I probably should have blogged it!
Diogenes Oct 2014 3:45pm, 4 Oct 2014 7,508 posts	0 Diogenes No, this it the perfect place for it, excellent review.
Ness Oct 2014 4:20pm, 4 Oct 2014 5,883 posts	0 Ness Thank you for all the reviews of the book on here. Through following the book group thread I've really regained my love of reading books. I enjoyed reading "The Humans" but don't feel I have anything to add to the reviews that have already been so well written here. I'm going to get the next book and hopefully will have a bit more confidence to put together a review. I've also read other books lurking on my Kindle too which I'm pleased about. I've never had confidence to tackle the literary giants after failing my O' level English literature all those years ago. Perhaps I will be able to read some of the greats I've missed out on.
The Pin Lady Oct 2014 4:25pm, 4 Oct 2014 5 posts	0 The Pin Lady Now why didn't think of Excel - I am an accounts person after all. Too busy trying to write a report in Word to think straight!!! Organisation chart done. Hurrah!!!
Columba Oct 2014 6:26pm, 4 Oct 2014 5,269 posts	0 Columba Writing a proper review is not obligatory, I hope?
fetcheveryone Oct 2014 6:54pm, 4 Oct 2014 14,979 posts	0 fetcheveryone You can say as much or as little as you like.
The Scribbler Oct 2014 7:03pm, 4 Oct 2014 3,282 posts	0 The Scribbler Comments or reviews just as you like. I had a bit of experience doing reviews for all sorts of things, when I worked as a journalist, so I guess I just fell back into that mode. And I like writing, which I hope everyone on here knows. I really enjoy reading other points of view too.