Hum by Helen Phillips Summary, Characters and Themes

Hum by Helen Phillips is a riveting exploration of motherhood, marriage, and individuality in a near-future world dominated by AI, environmental collapse, and pervasive surveillance. 

The story follows May Webb, a mother grappling with the fallout of losing her job to AI, who undergoes an experimental surgery to evade facial recognition. Seeking solace for her family, she plans a retreat to a rare green sanctuary, but her hopes for reconnection are tested by the lingering shadows of technology and personal conflict. Hum blends speculative fiction with deep emotional insight, offering a gripping and thought-provoking reflection on a rapidly evolving world.

Summary

In a near-future world ravaged by climate change and dominated by AI, May Webb is a mother struggling to navigate a society where humans are increasingly sidelined by technology. 

Robots called “hums” have taken over most jobs, including hers, leaving her family in financial peril. Surveillance is omnipresent, with advanced AI monitoring every aspect of life, erasing privacy. 

To temporarily solve her family’s financial woes, May agrees to an invasive experimental procedure that alters her face, rendering it unrecognizable by surveillance systems. 

While this brings a much-needed financial windfall, the surgery leaves her physically and emotionally drained, symbolizing the dehumanization of their surveillance-dominated world.

Desperate for a reprieve, May uses part of the money to purchase passes for her family to spend three days in the Botanical Garden, an exclusive biodome where lush greenery, animals, and streams—long extinct in the outside world—are preserved. 

May hopes this rare experience will help her family reconnect and detox from their addiction to technology, including her children’s AI wrist devices, called “bunnies.” However, tensions quickly surface, exposing fractures in their relationships.

The Botanical Garden initially enchants the family. May’s children, Lu and Sy, marvel at the animals and plants, which they have only ever seen in books or virtual simulations. 

Jem, May’s husband, appreciates the brief escape from the pressures of gig work. Despite this, their time in the sanctuary is fraught. The children grow restless without their devices, highlighting their dependence on technology and the generational divide in adapting to this dystopian world. 

Meanwhile, May and Jem’s strained relationship comes to the fore as unresolved conflicts and financial anxieties bubble up, challenging their fragile bond.

Tragedy strikes when Lu and Sy disappear, shattering the fragile peace May had sought. As she searches frantically, the situation underscores the vulnerability of humans in a world where even natural sanctuaries are not immune to the reach of technology. 

Ironically, May must place her trust in a hum—a robot she inherently distrusts—for assistance. This partnership forces her to confront the paradox of technology as both a tool for salvation and an agent of alienation.

In a climactic twist, surveillance footage of the events surrounding her children’s disappearance surfaces. 

The face-altering surgery that May undertook to rebel against the surveillance state becomes the key to proving her innocence and worth as a mother. This irony highlights the dual nature of technology: it can empower individuals while also reinforcing systemic control. 

Ultimately, May’s unyielding determination to protect her family reflects a glimmer of hope in a world where human connection and resilience remain vital against the encroaching dehumanization of technological dominance.

Phillips weaves a taut, emotional narrative, presenting a thought-provoking examination of privacy, environmental collapse, and the enduring strength of human love and connection amidst dystopian challenges.

Characters

May Webb

May Webb is the central figure of Hum, and her character is shaped by a combination of desperation, resilience, and internal conflict. A mother of two, May loses her job to artificial intelligence, which sets off a chain of events that leads her to undergo a procedure that alters her appearance, making her undetectable by surveillance systems.

This desperate move is driven by her urgent need to support her family, especially in a world where AI and technology have displaced humans from the workforce, exacerbating the economic divide. May’s anxieties are rooted in both the broader societal collapse due to climate change and the personal struggles she faces as a mother.

She is deeply concerned about her children’s future, particularly how technology has altered their behavior and emotional development. Her actions throughout the novel reflect a constant balancing act between trying to secure her family’s survival and confronting the moral and psychological costs of living in a technologically dominated society.

Jem Webb

Jem, May’s husband, plays a significant yet somewhat passive role in the story. A gig economy worker, Jem is not as deeply involved in the technological anxieties that plague May.

He appears to be somewhat distant, but his support for his family, especially in his own way, is evident. Despite the challenges in their marriage, including emotional distance and unresolved issues, Jem tries to contribute to the family’s financial stability.

His character is more pragmatic compared to May, which contrasts with her emotional and sometimes frantic decision-making. Jem’s role also highlights the strain on relationships in a society where survival depends heavily on adaptability, and his interaction with May reflects the subtle tensions between them as they grapple with their roles in an unstable world.

Lu and Sy

Lu and Sy, May and Jem’s children, are representative of a younger generation shaped by an over-reliance on technology. Both children are markedly affected by the omnipresence of AI, robots, and devices in their lives.

While May hopes that their retreat to the Botanical Garden will allow them to reconnect with nature and each other, her children’s behaviors during the trip illustrate the deep generational divide created by technology. They are reluctant to disconnect from their devices, and their dependence on them makes it difficult for May to achieve the familial harmony she desires.

Lu and Sy’s reactions to the changing environment around them reflect a society where children are growing up immersed in tech to the point of detachment from the physical world. Their behavior adds to May’s anxieties about the future and her struggle to protect them from the emotional consequences of living in such a high-tech, emotionally detached society.

The Hums

The hums in Hum are another key element of the story. These intelligent robots, which have replaced many human jobs, symbolize the advanced technological landscape that has contributed to the breakdown of the economy and society.

While they initially appear as a source of oppression—displacing humans from the workforce and reducing personal autonomy—the hums also play a more ambiguous role in the narrative. One particular hum becomes an unexpected ally to May when her children go missing, and this reliance on technology shifts the story’s perspective on the very systems that are supposed to be controlling society.

The hums’ actions force May to reconsider her earlier distrust of them, as the technology that once seemed threatening offers a form of salvation when faced with her family’s crisis. This twist reveals the dual nature of technology—both a tool of surveillance and control, but also one that can provide assistance when least expected.

Themes

The Strains of Motherhood and the Relentless Burdens of Contemporary Life

In Hum, motherhood emerges as a central and complex theme, one that weaves together emotional, psychological, and societal pressures in a profoundly challenging world. May’s journey as a mother is not just marked by the biological responsibilities of nurturing her children but by the broader and more existential burdens of the technological and environmental crises she faces.

As a mother, May is forced to navigate not only her own personal struggles but also those of her children, who are increasingly disconnected from nature and humanity due to the pervasive influence of technology. The novel paints a vivid picture of the emotional and physical sacrifices mothers make, especially when their roles are compounded by societal collapse.

May’s desire to provide for her family, to protect her children from the increasingly dystopian reality, and to hold on to the remnants of familial cohesion in the face of overwhelming external pressures underscores the depth of her maternal struggle. The novel does not shy away from depicting the guilt, fear, and anxiety that mothers often carry in a world that is both hostile and indifferent to their needs, emphasizing the emotional toll that modern life places on women who are trying to balance family, survival, and self-identity.

The Perils of Technological Surveillance and the Erosion of Personal Freedom

One of the most thought-provoking themes of Hum is its exploration of surveillance technology and its role in shaping personal freedom and societal control. Set in a world where surveillance is omnipresent, from facial recognition to AI cameras, the novel forces readers to reckon with the consequences of living under constant observation.

This technological panopticon strips away privacy and autonomy, reducing individuals to mere data points that can be monitored, analyzed, and controlled. May’s decision to undergo a facial-altering procedure to evade surveillance represents both an act of rebellion and an act of desperation, highlighting how personal freedom can become a commodity in a society where technology is wielded not just for convenience but for dominance.

The story interrogates the blurred lines between safety and oppression, raising uncomfortable questions about the costs of living in a hyper-surveilled world where security is prioritized at the expense of personal agency. The theme of surveillance also delves into the ways technology can manipulate individuals, making them complicit in their own oppression while simultaneously offering them tools to escape that very system—a paradoxical and tragic reflection of our modern relationship with technology.

Environmental Decay and the Destructive Forces of Capitalism in a Technologically Advanced World

In Hum, environmental collapse serves as both a backdrop and a central theme, illustrating the devastating effects of climate change and ecological destruction in a world where nature has all but disappeared. The novel presents a future where forests, wildlife, and biodiversity have been wiped out, leaving behind a barren landscape controlled by invasive technologies.

The Botanical Garden, an artificial sanctuary for nature, represents the last vestiges of a world that has been irreparably harmed by human greed and technological exploitation. This green refuge becomes a symbol of both hope and loss—a place that offers solace yet underscores the loss of something irreplaceable.

The novel critiques the capitalist systems that have prioritized profit over environmental sustainability, which have led to a world where nature exists only in controlled, curated spaces. May’s family’s retreat to this manufactured ecosystem becomes a poignant reflection on the hollow promises of consumerism, where access to nature is commodified and out of reach for the majority.

Through this lens, Hum critiques how both technological advancement and capitalism are inextricably linked to environmental destruction, offering a grim view of the future if these forces remain unchecked.

The Dual Nature of Technology Being an Enabler of Control and Catalyst for Resistance

Another key theme of Hum is the dual nature of technology—its capacity to both oppress and liberate. This tension is most evident in May’s facial surgery, which at first seems to offer a way out of the suffocating surveillance state but ultimately exposes the limitations and contradictions of using technology as a tool for personal freedom.

May’s decision to alter her face, originally a desperate attempt to reclaim some semblance of autonomy, becomes entangled with the very systems that sought to control her. This paradox highlights the complex relationship between individuals and technology, where the very forces that oppress may also provide pathways to resistance.

Throughout the narrative, technology is not simply an external force that dictates the characters’ lives; it is something that they engage with, manipulate, and, at times, become dependent on. The story forces readers to grapple with the ways in which technology can both sustain and undermine individual agency, offering a nuanced examination of the digital tools that have come to define modern existence.

As May’s journey unfolds, it becomes clear that the boundaries between freedom and control are increasingly porous, and the very systems designed to monitor and manage society can be wielded for personal empowerment, albeit with significant consequences.

The Dangers of Escapism and the Illusion of Utopian Sanctuaries in an Increasingly Isolated World

In Hum, the theme of escapism plays a critical role in exploring the psychological and emotional toll of living in a dystopian world. May’s retreat to the Botanical Garden, a place that promises respite from the chaos of everyday life, represents her desire to escape the technological and environmental burdens she faces.

However, the novel swiftly dismantles the illusion of sanctuary that these artificial refuges promise. Despite the apparent beauty of the Botanical Garden and its rare display of nature, the retreat only magnifies the fractures within May’s family and deepens her internal conflict.

The family’s addiction to technology remains a persistent issue, undermining their ability to truly disconnect from the digital world and reconnect with each other. May’s failed attempt at escaping her troubles in a controlled, utopian environment highlights the dangers of relying on such places as solutions to deep-seated problems.

The narrative critiques the idea that one can find true refuge in a world that is inherently broken, suggesting that escapism, whether through artificial environments or technological interfaces, is a temporary balm that ultimately fails to address the systemic issues plaguing society. It is within this context that the novel reflects on the ways in which people increasingly seek out isolated, controlled spaces to cope with their realities, only to find that these spaces, too, are fraught with their own sets of challenges and limitations.