Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Humans by Matt Haig

49 reviews

hannahyorkey's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

hello_ned's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I'm excited to see Matt Haig in Manchester soon, so I gave one of his older books a read. It really struck me how similar it is to The Life Impossible. Weirdly enough, I loved this book. Whereas the aforementioned one was a mid-level book for me.

The dislikes

• It did have a similar tone of self-help an advice, some of which were cheesy. But somehow, coming from an alien, it felt appropriate.
• I couldn’t believe
  he only spent like a year living away from his family.
  though appropriate, understandable, and a tear was shed, I did feel as though I was rushing through that part to get to the end.

The loves

• Probably one of the funniest books of his I've read. So much dead pan comedy that I just really enjoyed. Some of the humour reminded me of "The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy" as it deals with the same themes. 
• I've always thought this is a very unique story idea. I could really see how much of himself Matt haig put into this book: the feeling that you are an alien making your way through the contradicting and insane human way of life. (Which I feel is relatable to everyone, especially those with mental health issues or are neurodivergen, like Matt Haig.)
• Very consistent and good pacing. Except for maybe 8 pages at the end, I enjoyed every bit of it, and it felt as though it really flowed.
• I had to sticky note a lot of this book. There are so many quotes I just love. 

Humans are one of the few intelligent beings in the galaxy who haven't quite solved the problem of death. And yet they don't spend their whole lives screeching and howling in terror, clawing at their own bodies, or rolling on the floor. Some humans do that- I saw them in the hospital - but those humans ate considered the mad ones. 

But what happened in heaven? What did you do there? After a while, didn't you crave flaws? 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Self harm

bookstorian's review against another edition

3.75

Despite the clear Sci-Fi elements expressed in the blurb of this story I was interested in reading more Matt Haig novels, especially as The Midnight Library and How to Stop Time are some of my favourite books. 

Here's what I liked:
-Short, sharp and snappy chapters. I am so much more motivated to read the story quickly when it is like this. 
-The Mr Bean like character of Professor Martin/alien. It was especially comical and light while allowing me to think about all the ways that humans are the strange race. His character arc was also intriguing to follow, a tad predictable though. 
-Classic Matt Haig writing style. I love how philosophical, reflective and true his narration is. Makes you really think. This novel in particular made me reflect on the meaning of life (pgx) and love (pg221) as well as body and mind connection (pg108). I terms of human nature I was also encouraged to consider the inherent good, or bad, (pg128), the many contradictions we have as humans (pg248) and the power of hope (pg170). 
-The family dynamic that the alien encounters whilst in the skin of Professor Martin and how this takes shape throughout the story. 

Here's what I didn't enjoy:
-I felt like a lot of the sci-fi elements were too extreme for me and flew over my head. A lot of the maths also drove straight on by. It zapped me straight out of the fiction each time. 
-There were actually a few gory, uncomfortable moments to read. 

Key quote "Maybe that is what beauty was, for humans. Accidents, imperfections, placed inside a pretty pattern. Asymmetry. The defiance of mathematics" (pg100). 

Overall this is not my favourite book or a stand out Matt Haig book for me however It was a memorable one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Gore

Moderate: Suicide attempt

hhaikyee's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

TBH i’dve finished this book way earlier if it wwrent for exams LOL— it was honestly a pretty interesting read. i kinda zoned out towards the end though which i regret CZ I FEEL LIKE I MISSED A LOT OF IMPORTANT MESSAGES THAT THE BOOK WAS TRYNA SEND?? also, its so funny how not-andrew is the complete opposite of real andrew??! all that technology and u couldnt have found one douchey middle aged man to do the job for u? fake!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

zoe_thebookdragon8's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Absolutely loved this book! I liked the concept and the general idea. The outcome was a little bit predictable, but there were still some twists i didn’t expect at first. 

I am always fascinating when a book is trying to give us an outside view of human life and I am obsessed with the way Matt Haig did it. Just in a very humorous way, with a lot of criticism (never too harsh) and adoration. 

Definitely a must read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

cathem2's review against another edition

emotional tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

rachael_jo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content

janai's review against another edition

funny hopeful

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This might be my favorite book of the year so far. This was such a clever and fun look into the human experience. Pain, love, everything that makes us human, all through the lens of an alien. I am so incredibly charmed by this book. It's bizarre and strange and I loved everything about it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Murder

corallydeer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

3.5

This was definitely an interesting read... I went in expecting sci-fi the way I'm used to it and left with what I considered more "philosophical sci-fi". It wasn't "bad", necessarily, but it was definitely different from what I'd normally read for fun and was a bit of a push to finish. I just never got into a good flow state with this book. I can see why others would enjoy it though! I'm still excited to read some of Haig's other books and I loved his writing style in particular.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Murder

Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

Self Harm

(there are minor descriptions of SH but Andrew also deliberately injures himself in the last third of the book in a fairly gruesome way)

| Suicide Attempt

(Andrew's son, Gulliver, tries to kill himself twice)

| Murder & Death

(Andrew is sent on a mission to kill people and successfully does so twice, he also philosophically thinks about the human experience of death a lot)

| Sexual Content & Infidelity

(Andrew has sex with his wife a couple of times [though it's never described in much detail], he cheats on his wife once, and from the beginnings believes humans to have an obsession with sexual experiences and content)

| Cursing

(cursing at the level of run-of-the-mill UK citizens)

| Blood & Injury/Injury Detail

(minor depictions of blood and injury here and there that's never really explored in much detail)

kassidyreads's review against another edition

funny reflective 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Mental illness and Violence