Good Read

Lauren Molyneux reviews Matt Haig’s best seller and ‘must-read’ of the summer

Notes on a Nervous Planet
Matt Haig
TOP TIP: Change might be constant, but the rate of change is not. If you only read one book this year, make it this one.

The world we live in has quite obviously and drastically changed over the past few decades – there are now larger generational gaps than ever before as technology plays an increasingly bigger part in everyone’s lives. Younger generations remain glued to their smartphones, preferring to carry out conversations in text over a worldwide network (the internet) rather than having actual human connections. And those who remember a time before the internet – some even before there were toilets and telephones inside every house and not at the bottom of the yard or the end of the street – are being left behind. We have all heard the familiar conversation opener: “When I was your age…” but never have the stories that typically follow it seemed so much from a bygone time, almost as though from another planet.

For some, including myself, the world now can be an overwhelming place. We are more connected than ever before – with the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email, and FaceTime. we can communicate with a friend at the other side of the globe and think nothing of it. The more technology develops (and fast), the more the world seems to shrink. Yet in this age of technology and worldwide connection, many people have never felt more alone, with the latest technology succeeding in replacing human interaction. No longer do we chat with the checkout assistant or order our food at the bar, instead we have robots to assist us as we scan our items and place them in the bagging area, or an app that can take our order and magically have food delivered to our table. Technology, and particularly social media, has also been damaging our concept of beauty, as smartphones are littered with filtered and angled façades. Celebrities post selfies on Instagram and make followers feel inadequate, many striving to live up to expectations that simply aren’t real.

Following his previous bestseller, Reasons to Stay Alive, Matt Haig’s Notes on a Nervous Planet perfectly encapsulates the overwhelming feelings of anxiety felt by many in this day and age. He notes how we feel we can never switch off – the smartphone becoming a necessity as much as food or water. He observes how consumerism has developed alongside technology, and how sleep has become something governed by both. He critiques the modern world with humour and honesty, providing eye-openers and quips to share with friends (hopefully in actual conversation). He gives a sense of the bigger picture and highlights what it is to be human – faults and all. He shares his thoughts on ‘the future’ – an abstract concept, yet something that everyone shares as a burden.

Notes on a Nervous Planet is creative, insightful and honest – sometimes brutally. At times humorous, simple yet profound and ultimately beautiful.

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