80,000+ Books in-stock in NZ 📚

Meet Duncan & Shop His Board Game Sale 🎲

The Humans

By Matt Haig
0.0 (0 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In The Humans, an extra-terrestrial visitor arrives on Earth, inhabiting the body of Professor Andrew Martin, a renowned Cambridge mathematician. Sent from a utopian world where immortality and omniscience are the norm, the visitor is initially repulsed by humanity's imperfections, their appearances, habits, and capacity for violence. Yet as he experiences human life—drinking wine, enjoying rock music, and exploring family bonds—he begins to appreciate the complexity and beauty within human flaws. This darkly comic, heartfelt novel questions what it truly means to be human.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$5100

International Supplier

This title is in-stock with overseas suppliers. While it is not available locally, we fly books in weekly from the US and UK to our Auckland warehouse for immediate dispatch.

AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 2-3 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This novel will appeal to readers who enjoy thought-provoking general fiction with a blend of humour and poignancy. Fans of Matt Haig's other works, and those interested in explorations of humanity through speculative scenarios, will find it engaging and deeply reflective.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Regarding humans unfavorably upon arriving on Earth, a reluctant extraterrestrial assumes the identity of a Cambridge mathematician before realizing that there's more to the human race than he suspected.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
The bestselling, award-winning author of The Midnight Library offers his funniest, most devastating dark comedy yet, a "silly, sad, suspenseful, and soulful" (Philadelphia Inquirer) novel that's "full of heart" (Entertainment Weekly).

When an extra-terrestrial visitor arrives on Earth, his first impressions of the human species are less than positive. Taking the form of Professor Andrew Martin, a prominent mathematician at Cambridge University, the visitor is eager to complete the gruesome task assigned to him and hurry home to his own utopian planet, where everyone is omniscient and immortal.

He is disgusted by the way humans look, what they eat, their capacity for murder and war, and is equally baffled by the concepts of love and family. But as time goes on, he starts to realise there may be more to this strange species than he had thought. Disguised as Martin, he drinks wine, reads poetry, develops an ear for rock music, and a taste for peanut butter. Slowly, unexpectedly, he forges bonds with Martin's family. He begins to see hope and beauty in the humans' imperfection, and begins to question the very mission that brought him there.

Praised by The New York Times as a "novelist of great seriousness and talent," author Matt Haig delivers an unlikely story about human nature and the joy found in the messiness of life on Earth. The Humans is a funny, compulsively readable tale that playfully and movingly explores the ultimate subject—ourselves.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781476730592

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 12 August 2014

Imprint: Simon & Schuster

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 217.0mm

Weight: 277g

Pages: 320

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Matt Haig

About the Author

Matt Haig is the bestselling author of several books including the Alex Award-winning The Radleys, Humans, and The Midnight Library. An alumnus of Hull University and Leeds, his work has been translated into twenty-nine languages. He lives in York with his wife, UK novelist Andrea Semple, and their two children.

Also by Matt Haig

View all

More from General Fiction

View all

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

The Latest at Book Hero

View all