The Martian

Posted On September 22, 2015

The Martian

by Andy Weir

Pages: 387
Genre: Science Fiction

The Martian almost lost me twice while reading it. Once I read an excerpt of one of the beginning chapters after I read a rave review. I could not see the allure of it. I know there are raves that it is scientifically accurate, but it still has to be entertaining. I was bored reading about how Mark Watney was figuring out how to make his food last. The situation he was in was not boring, since he had been stranded on Mars after his crew had to escape during a storm and thought he was dead. He knew he would most certainly die if he didn’t find a way to make all the food the crew left behind last for over a year before the next scheduled mission to the planet happened since he had no way to contact NASA to let him know he was alive. It was an exciting set-up, but what I read made me feel like I was reading a textbook.

 

The second time I almost gave up was two friends had finished it right before the movie was coming out and were raving about it saying they were holding their breath while reading the last few chapters. I knew I had to give it another shot. When I picked it up at Powell’s the cashier had just finished reading it herself. She mentioned that she found Watney really funny and very humbling saying, “He kept mentioning how he was only average among his crew, but he was an astronaut! Give yourself some credit!” I started reading it and then had to force myself to keep reading it. What was everyone seeing in this book that I was missing?

Then I finally reached chapter six and everything changed. The structure of the novel shifted. It had slowly been going in one direction, but finally something else was happening. I had also warmed up to Watney and his sense of humor. At first, I found his humor too corny and was rolling my eyes when he claimed to be the best botanist on the planet. As I came to know the character, I liked his sense of humor more. It was needed since he was in a seriously dire situation throughout the entire book and without that sense of humor, I don’t know if he would have survived. Even when he has plans, things go wrong or some crazy wind storm comes through. I did find myself holding my breath through certain parts of the book and raced to finish it.

I’m glad I finally did finish. Overall, it isn’t a very long book, but I did struggle with those first few chapters. I’m glad I pushed through to see what all the fuss was about since I really enjoyed it.

Rating: A-