The Humans by Matt Haig

First published in Great Britain in 2013; published by Simon & Schuster on July 2, 2013

An alien (specifically, a Vonnadorian) comes to Earth to destroy evidence of a breakthrough made by Andrew Martin, a Cambridge professor of mathematics who proved the Reimann Hypothesis. To accomplish his mission, the alien must assume the unfortunate professor's identity and eliminate the unfortunate people who might know of Martin's discovery, including his wife and son. The alien Martin is equipped with the usual array of alien powers, including the ability to induce heart attacks and to heal blind dogs.

The alien's mission gives him a chance to study the odd species with midrange intelligence called humans. The Humans is the alien's account of his experiences on Earth. Like most anthropological examinations of humans through alien eyes, this one is quite funny. Martin ponders the meaning of human life (pursuing "the enlightenment of orgasm" seem to be "the central tenet") and draws pointed conclusions about the meaninglessness of most human activities: consumerism, war, sexual embarrassment, bad poetry, the endless need to state the obvious. Oh, and social networking, which "generally involved sitting down at a nonsentient computer and typing words about needing a coffee and reading about other people needing a coffee, while forgetting to actually make a coffee." Human concepts are bewildering, particularly delusions like love and free will. "Given the absence of mind-reading technology, humans believe monogamy is possible." The alien finds it difficult to distinguish between madness and sanity and is amazed at the human capacity for hypocrisy. The many uses humans find for cows, on the other hand, fascinate him.

To some extent, The Humans is a throwback novel, echoing the feel-good message that was common in science fiction of an earlier generation: humans are special, humans are unique, human traits (curiosity, tenacity, empathy, hope) will always assure their survival. The message is slightly tempered by the modern tendency toward realism (or cynicism) but the novel's weakness is the alien's all too quick and all too predictable realization that humans are not primitive beasts but lovable beings standing on the threshold of greatness. At times, the novel is embarrassingly gushy in its praise of humankind ("a miraculous achievement"). It's also crammed with enough simplistic platitudes to rival a self-help book.

A funny story about an alien who reviles humans but is forced to become one is bound to follow a predictable path. The notion of an alien embracing human emotions and beliefs after taking human form isn't new, and the reader suspects that the alien will eventually be a better human than was Martin because that's how these stories work. The human characters also tend to be predictable, including the son who suffers because he can't live up to the standard set by his brilliant father. I appreciated, however, Matt Haig's willingness to make the alien Martin true to himself, and to avoid a contrived ending to the story.

I don't entirely buy the notion that by taking human form, an alien who views humans as repulsive would so quickly decide that one of them is lovely, much less embrace human conventions of romance (without, at least initially, having much of a clue about sexual desire). Would an alien raised in an environment of peace, beauty, and immortality really reject the "dullness" of that life in favor of the pain and loss that characterizes human existence? That notion is the foundation of the plot but Haig didn't convince me to buy into it. The story's predictability and doubtful credibility make The Humans an unsuccessful drama, but the novel works well as a comedy.

RECOMMENDED