Review of Andy Weir’s THE MARTIAN

THE MARTIAN

As a reader it’s hard for me to conclusively measure my own attention span. I’m not sure what keeps me interested until I become very obviously uninterested. That’s when I sit back, look straight ahead with a blank stare, and think to myself, “Wait what did I just read?”

Before reading The Martian, a surprisingly realistic science fiction novel, and spoiling my authentic reaction to it by first reading the book reviews (much like what you are doing right now might I add), I was nervous that the lack of a love interest and the rather inactive plot may wear out my attention span.

Well, because I am only human, I was completely wrong. The Martian introduces us to Mark Watney, a brilliant botanist whose first walk on Mars may, inevitably be, his last living steps. We are thrown into a crew of astronauts who seem to have a typical banter-but-love relationship with one another. They are all experiencing the same life changing event at the same time, bringing them closer than we could imagine. As a reader, the relaxed and often sarcastic voice established early on very clearly mirrors Mark Watney's personality throughout the novel. Even with this life or death daily struggle, he seems remarkably "all there." The perspective change from first, being Mark, and third, being NASA, creates a story that doesn't need much plot change to take us on a journey.  

Like all good things, this honeymoon phase of space travel is rudely interrupted by a storm. Prior to the physical signs, technology did not detect the severity of the storm. It ends up uprooting their entire camp leaving, our beloved botanist Mark Watney, behind. The crew is heartbroken, feeling as if they have lost a family member they could have saved. To the rest of the world this American hero is pronounced dead; until he isn’t.

Mark survives the storm and for the rest of this novel we take on the journey with him, as if we are also pursuing this struggle of survival on the uninhabited planet of Mars. Watney tries to grow his own food, on a planet with no water or oxygen, ration said food, for close to 600 days, and then, hopefully somehow, someone, will come to his rescue.

Even with the odds against him, he seems to be sarcastically optimistic, stating, "If the oxygenator breaks down, I'll suffocate. If the water reclaimer breaks down, I'll die of thirst. If the hab breaches, I'll just kind of implode. If none of those things happen, I'll eventually run out of food and starve to death. So, yeah. I'm fucked." Even though Mark knows to the naked eye he is "fucked," he still prevails. Death is not an option, even though it seems to be the only conclusion.

This novel is polished and tight, giving us enough information to capture our interest, while also leaving enough mystery to peak it.

I won’t give everything away, but if you are looking for a novel that doesn’t need a love interest to succeed, The Martian is for you. Now that I'm thinking about it however, as a reader, falling in love with Mark seemed almost inevitable. So maybe there is a love interest after all.

(To the class: I was having trouble uploading and just now noticed this is the second Martian Review. Hopefully you like mine too! The other one was very well done!)