The Humans by Matt Haig

When an alien comes to Earth with a mission and deadly intent it finds that inhabiting a male human body gives more insights into the primitive species than it would have liked.

The Humans is a philosophical exploration of the human condition, dressed up cunningly as a novel. The alien inside Andrew Martin's body is, at first, disgusted by all he sees of this degenerate and crude species. However, it soon starts to see things from a human perspective. Music, love, culture, poetry and sex are all things it must tackle before it can complete its task of destroying those that have knowledge of Andrew Martin's mathematical breakthrough.

Matt Haig tackles some big issues with a sense of humour and a heart. There is no preaching or negativity here, just a lovely book that was a delight to read. You'd need a cynical heart of stone not to appreciate this wonderful novel. I shall try to keep some of the insights with me in troubled time. Note to self: I must read Emily Dickinson.