Hum

By: Helen Phillips

Narrated by: Ariel Blake

A Most Anticipated Book for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, Goodreads, LitHub, and Book Riot
A Best Book of the Summer for Esquire, Electric Lit, and Town & Country
A People Book of the Week

From “one of our most profound writers of speculative fiction” (The New York Times),this “tense dystopian thriller” (Time) and “tender portrait of love and care in an uncertain world” (Esquire) is an urgent and unflinching portrayal of a woman’s fight for her family’s security in a world shaped by global warming and rapid technological progress.

In a near-future world addled by climate change and inhabited by intelligent robots called “hums,” May loses her job to artificial intelligence. Desperate to resolve her family’s debt and secure their future for another few months, she becomes a guinea pig in an experiment that alters her face so it cannot be recognized by surveillance.

Seeking reprieve from her recent hardships and her family’s addiction to their devices, May splurges on passes for her family to spend three nights respite in the Botanical Garden: a rare green refuge where forests, streams, and animals still thrive. But when her children come under threat, May is forced to put her trust in a hum of uncertain motives to save her family.

Written with “precision, insight, sensitivity, and compassion” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Hum is a “striking new work of dystopian fiction” (Vogue) that delves into the complexities of marriage, motherhood, and selfhood in a world compromised by global warming and dizzying technological advancement, a world of both dystopian and utopian possibilities.

Intriguing look into a speculative future

While the premise of this story was interesting the execution felt a little uneven. At times the story plot lacked direction leaving me wondering where the narrative was going. Despite this it was an interesting look into humanity potential future.

Slice of future life

Although this novel is set in a dystopian future, the characters and situations are relatable and honest. This book is not as sad as others have claimed. I found empathy, compassion, and even hope.

Humming Anxiety

Portrays a vision of the future which looks familiar until it doesn’t. Imagine that the future of ai includes empathetic ambivalence.

unfortunately realistic horror

The horror is really in the uncanny details. environmental sci-fi horror with beautiful poetic writing

Good story, scary reality

This book had me-a-thinking that this could very well be our future. Scary that technology and AI takes over our lives. The need to disconnect backfires in sad reality. Well written and I love the sense of unexpected possibilities that May and may not happen. I would love to see a series in this universe.