I don't know why, I don't how, but they just do. I don't like watching the movies, like Star Wars and a book about them will never end up on my shelf. NEVER.
Well, at least that's what I thought.
Because when my friend came the school with probably her billionth book (I know that that is impossible, but she just reads a lot of books, which I'm very proud of, of course) and told me it was some kind of description of the humans from an alien's perspective, I was immediately interested. I think it was mainly because it made me think of philosophy, about looking at yourself, your kind from another perspective. So I got the ebook-version on iBooks and started to read it. And guys - it was probably the funniest book I've ever read in my whole life.
Summary
So the book is basically about an alien who describes the humans from his perspective. He does this in such a funny way that you have to make sure you're near a toilet, otherwise you're going to pee your pants. Literally.
But the alien is here for a reason, actually, because he's on a mission. He's been assigned to destroy evidence that Dr. Andrew Martins had solved a major mathematical problem. But while he's on the mission he starts to learn more about the professor, the professor's wife and son and "the humans". Eventually he has to choose whether to stay on earth and live as a human or go back to planet where he originally came from.
My opinion
Rate: 9/10
This book really messed with my emotions. It was funny, touching at times and eye-opening, I'd say, since it shows you your kind with its relatable actions through a new pair of eyes. There were some moments in which I thought: wow, we humans really do that. Why do we do that? It is really strange that we do that. Wow. And there were other moments in which I nearly cried - the tears were literally welling up in my eyes - because something sweet or sad happened. Or because I just laughed so much.
*thinks back about the book*
*starts to giggle and cry*
*realizes she needs to finish her blogpost*
*thinks back about the book*
*starts to giggle and cry*
*realizes she needs to finish her blogpost*
No, but seriously - this book has made me laugh and gave me a better look on myself and the humans in general and all the stupid, but also the good things, we do.
I love how Haig has done this; instead of using another human who looks at us differently or just telling his own thoughts about us, the humans, he decided to use an alien. A hilarious alien, which made me love aliens. I love how he directed the book from the alien's perspective towards the other aliens and how he made the alien compare our ways of living with his ways of living on his planet and that he comes to realize that how highly developed his planet, his people, may be, the humans and their imperfections make them who they are. The humans are still happy with how they live even though they live such a "primitive" life. Even though they manage to make themselves miserable, they also manage to make themselves happy. Makes me feel slightly better about being a human :D.
Besides that, Haig has done a great job with capturing the growth of this alien in this book. Though I felt like I knew where this was going, I found that the development in his point of view wasn't forced or anything, it came slowly. The doubts and question marks the alien had about our behaviour are just so fun to read and where still there at the end, but he started to respect the humans and their imperfections, which is nice to read. Furthermore Haig has accentuated the strange things we humans do without making it an emotional or serious story by letting ourselves be watched by someone from outerspace who doesn't understand us at all. That's what I genuinely love about this book - Haig shows ourselves and the things we do wrong (and right) in a hilarious way.
Thank you, Matt Haig, for this wonderful book. For the first time in my life I'm happy that I nearly peed my pants and nearly cried in front of everybody in myself.
Well that was it for this blogpost!
Until the next blogpost, then! :)
I love how Haig has done this; instead of using another human who looks at us differently or just telling his own thoughts about us, the humans, he decided to use an alien. A hilarious alien, which made me love aliens. I love how he directed the book from the alien's perspective towards the other aliens and how he made the alien compare our ways of living with his ways of living on his planet and that he comes to realize that how highly developed his planet, his people, may be, the humans and their imperfections make them who they are. The humans are still happy with how they live even though they live such a "primitive" life. Even though they manage to make themselves miserable, they also manage to make themselves happy. Makes me feel slightly better about being a human :D.
Besides that, Haig has done a great job with capturing the growth of this alien in this book. Though I felt like I knew where this was going, I found that the development in his point of view wasn't forced or anything, it came slowly. The doubts and question marks the alien had about our behaviour are just so fun to read and where still there at the end, but he started to respect the humans and their imperfections, which is nice to read. Furthermore Haig has accentuated the strange things we humans do without making it an emotional or serious story by letting ourselves be watched by someone from outerspace who doesn't understand us at all. That's what I genuinely love about this book - Haig shows ourselves and the things we do wrong (and right) in a hilarious way.
Thank you, Matt Haig, for this wonderful book. For the first time in my life I'm happy that I nearly peed my pants and nearly cried in front of everybody in myself.
Well that was it for this blogpost!
Until the next blogpost, then! :)
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