A deeply unsettling and disturbing novel, but in all the right ways. This is a book that will make you think and make you fearful, because it's all oh so believable.

Set in a near-future world, it's essentially the story of May Webb, as she struggle to cope in a society where her roles as employee, wife and mother are all being gradually supplanted by artificial intelligence bots.

As well as looking at the risks of AI, it also raises issues around identity, anonymity, climate change, environmental degradation, rampant consumerism, toxic media and the financial uncertainty of the gig economy. That's a lot of big concepts to cram into one book, and yet it's so skilfully done and so well-written that there's never any risk of the reader feeling overwhelmed by it all. The storyline is tightly focused on one family over the course of one week, so it's an incredibly intimate book. It's that sense of intimacy which magnifies how terrifyingly uncertain this future world is and how easy it might be to fall though the cracks when decisions are made by AI and not people

I devoured it in a single morning - I just couldn't put it down. An absolute must-read book for anyone who enjoys thought-provoking and suspenseful speculative fiction.

Helen Phillips writes disturbingly dystopian sci-fi, an artfully unsettling piece of speculative fiction, set in the near future, that is thought provoking and raises questions about the way we are currently living, the inequalities, technology, our closest relationships, marriage, family, being a mother, and our sense of identity. There is an underlying ominous tone in the complex, well constructed world building, a world that is chaotic, shattered by the effects of climate change. we have constant surveillance, the prevalence of 'hums', intelligent robots, contributing to May, losing her job working in AI, she has become superfluous to requirements. This leaves May with the burden of debt and a need to secure a way of making enough to live on, at least for a few months, for her struggling family, her husband Jem, and children Sy and Lu.

It is this that leads May into agreeing to an experimental procedure, key in a world dependent on facial recognition, altering her face sufficiently, rendering her unrecognisable to AI. However, there are to be repercussions to this that May does not see coming. Keen to provide some respite in this strained and smart AI consumer dominated environment for her family, May purchases a 3 day pass for the lush, green, Botanical Gardens in the city, primarily for the rich, leaving their devices at home. Here, everything starts to descend into a hellish nightmare as May's children come under horrifying threats. Feeling ever growing levels of stress, anxiety and tensions, May is pushed into having to trust a 'hum'.

Phillips manages to capture our contemporary zeitgeist, when the attention of so many are on their mobile devices, even when walking about on the streets, a constant unceasing hum. We live in a world where convenience is highly prized, delivered through improving technology, with few having the wit or desire to ask the pertinent questions, what is the price to be paid for all this? This is an intriguing and gripping read that resonates, touching on a litany of crucial and critical nerves when it comes to the way we live, unfortunately it does not feel in the least bit far fetched, no matter how much I wish it to be so. A compeling read that I recommend for all readers. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

A book about the future which feeds into the existentialist crisis of the present with the concerns over AI and the fear of what they may replace. The main protagonist - May - has lost her job due to AI and chooses to take a cosmetic opportunity to make some much-needed funds. As facets of her life and motherhood are replaced by Hums - AI Robots who do both the mundane and fulfilling parts of our lives - May uses her new-found funds to give her family a much-needed break from their reality. This leads to a number of family crises and May's life being irreparably changed.

I enjoyed the tale and some elements were really well developed and evocative, in particular the change in scenery and experience as the family go on their short holiday. I actually felt that the closing stages could have been further explored but it was an enjoyable read throughout. The children were incredibly annoying though so I felt more sympathy for May that perhaps her actions warranted.

This near-future story of a mother struggling to cope with a society under constant surveillance (your phone knows you're pregnant before you do) might sound like a cautionary tale, yet we now live in a very similar environment. This novel will appeal to a wide range of readers because it is so well written and wonderfully plotted.

Not what I expected

I would like to thank Atlantic Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Hum by Helen Phillips.

Hum is a strange novel, odd even. It is about May, who loses her job to AI, and her complicated family life, motherhood and parenting. It is less about Hums (the A.I. robots). It is literary fiction, rather than science- or dystopian fiction. It was confusing at times, and it took me a while to get into the story.

With that in mind, I gave it 4 stars. Hum is by no means a bad novel, quite good actually, it’s just not what I expected from the blurb.

A near-future dystopian novel that is a liiiittle too close for comfort. I was really impressed by the writing, the book really drew me in and I read it fairly quickly, and even though nothing explicitly terrifying happens, it's filled with dread and suspense. I honestly found it more scary than a horror novel.
It also described motherhood in a way that I have never read before, which I thought was very interesting and moving.

Description:
May lives in a near-future where Hums (basic androids) are everywhere, and facial recognition is used as standard. Having lost her job and desperate for money to keep her two children living comfortably, she takes part in lab tests of an anti-facial recognition face-alteration treatment. Then she spends some of the money on taking her family to a rare and expensive forest retreat, where something disastrous happens.

Liked:
Convincing and compelling. There's not much about this fairly dystopian future that feels unbelievable or out of reach. The family is painted with loving detail and feels absolutely real, flawed and sweet and claustrophobic. This book made me feel super tense and stressed; I sympathised hugely with the protagonist and her troubles. Really impressed by this one.

Disliked:
Can't think of anything! I know others have mentioned the ending as a low point, but I liked it. It’s abrupt and unknowable, but I think that absolutely suited the themes.

Would definitely recommend. I’ll be checking out more by this author. Read if you like all things Black Mirror-esque.

This was an odd little book. I enjoyed the near future setting and the overall idea but I was a little underwhelmed/bemused with the execution. Maybe I missed the point but not much really happened and so much also did happen? And sometimes the protagonist really seemed real and then the next I was feeling like I was reading the day of a character in The Sims. And the children were really goddamn odd?! Wait, maybe the children were supposed to be strange. I’ve got to say it made them definitely seem more real. Maybe this is the first author to write children completely three dimensionally? Can you see what I mean, I'm unraveling!

It felt like I was supposed to kind of feel a wistful contentment at the end of the novel, but then there was also a really shoehorned ‘and it was all a dream’ which I’m not a fan of and also I can’t work out if that even was what the ending was saying. Was the AI evil? I dunno. Help, maybe this book has tricked me and made me question everything? Ms Phillips are you a genius?

It’s an interesting and intriguing book and weirdly an easy read given the backdrop of the story setting. Essentially at heart it is a book about marriage, family and worries for the future. Thanks to NetGalley for the early copy.

2.5 Hum was one of my most anticipated books of 2024 and I requested it the moment it was pushed to NetGalley! This book tried to cover a lot of ground and some of it, while surface level, provides for some interesting thoughts and conversations; but, the overall theme was primarily motherhood/parenting which wasn’t what I was expecting and dampened my enjoyment.

What worked for me:
● Dystopian world was fascinating. Set in a not-so-distant future with a terrifyingly intrusive surveillance culture, this world was a cautionary tale about social media, AI, reliance on technology and climate breakdown
● “Are they or aren’t they sentient” thing going on with the Hum
● Time we spent in the biodome* - the deep appreciation of what remained of the natural world was juxtaposed with the heartbreaking reality that these spaces were so rare and limited to those who could afford prohibitively expensive fees to enjoy them
● I’m always here for commentary on how vapid and harmful capitalism is

What I wasn’t so keen on:
● May’s annoying kids were unbearably obnoxious. Their whining and bickering got so much airtime and, similar to being trapped in any space with bratty kids, *sucked the atmosphere out of the biodome completely. Throughout the book, we were constantly being pulled out of interesting arcs by these horrible kids and their nonsensical dialogue.
● Could’ve done without the weird and jarring descriptions of urine, penises, and deeply uncomfortable sex. These were all gratuitous and not in the same vein style-wise as the rest of the writing.
● May and Jem were a frustrating pair: They didn’t communicate (I spend the entire book wondering why they were even married?) and they are in financial straits but keep spending what little money they did have on stupid stuff. It was painful and frustrating to watch.
● As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t gel with the theme. I was hoping for more focus on the dystopia, the ethics of the Hums, and some commentary on the direction we’re heading with technology. While some of these themes are covered, it’s all very light touch and doesn’t get under the hood of anything in a meaningful way. Instead, the focus of the book is around May’s relationship with motherhood and her (objectively horrible) kids. This wasn’t the immersive dystopian sci-fi that I’d expected based on the blurb.
● The vibe is just stressful. This is a tough book to 'enjoy' because everyone makes bad choices, the stress and desperation is palpable, and it has a really hopeless undercurrent.
● Plotholes and a lot of unsatisfactory resolutions <spoilers removed>

Hum sort of reminded me of Leave the World Behind albeit a bit faster paced. There was something about the writing style and the gratuitous descriptions of bodily fluids and acts that brought that book to mind.

I don’t think I’d recommend this one to hard sci-fi readers or those looking for a richly built dystopia with cutting commentary on technology. However, for those brand new to some of these themes and interested in how they may intersect with motherhood, this could be for you!

I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley. Thank you, Atlantic Books!

I surprised myself by liking this as it is not my usual genre. The author has a flowing, compelling style which sweeps you along in this dystopian world she has created. The world is based on events in the here and now, cleverly woven into the plot (as she chronicles at the end of the book). There are shades of Big Brother and The Truman Show. The main character, May, is trying to do the best for her family after losing her job working to improve AI functioning. but makes lots of mistakes. Jem, her husband, a sort of odd-job man, is a weak character who hardly features. The children are rather annoying - demanding and rather whiny. I thought the end was a little puzzling I wasn't sure what was happening, but all in all a good read and a scary vision of the future if we don't get pollution, climate change and AI under control. Not to forget over-reliance on phones and other devices.