I think everyone has heard of this book by Andy Weir by now. The synopsis didn’t do much to interest me, but people kept buying it and then they made it into a movie with Matt Damon and a whole bunch of other actors I love. When the trailer was released, I finally had to admit I wanted to read the book. My brother and then my dad read it and they both thoroughly enjoyed it so I decided to give it a try.
It was every bit as much fun as they said it was. The premise is a team on a mission to Mars abort the mission due to a dust storm with super strong winds. They leave Mark Whatney behind, thinking he’s dead, but he’s not. He wakes up after the storm to find the space shuttle and his entire crew gone. He still has some supplies, but he’s completely incapable of communicating with NASA, and even if he could, there’s no way they could send someone to rescue him before he runs out of food (turns out it takes a really long time to plan and set up a mission to Mars).
So Mark is pretty much on his own. On a hostile planet.
Fortunately, he’s extremely resourceful.
Trying to survive on Mars on your own for (at least) four years is an extremely daunting task. Mark tackles it one problem at a time. He figures out how to make enough food to last him for months. Not enough for four years, but it’s a start and he figures he’ll worry about the rest when it comes. Each problem he faces is a lesson in patience, resourcefulness, and humor.
Even when he’s fighting for his life, Mark has an excellent sense of humor and he kept me laughing all the way through the book. I would never have expected a sci-fi book in which the main character is stranded on a foreign planet to be funny, but it was hysterical. Mark has a talent for making the best out of every situation, and even when his plans get completely derailed he manages to joke about it, but that’s not to say he doesn’t grasp the seriousness of his situation.
One of the characters working at NASA explains that Mark was chosen for the team partly because of his unfailing sense of humor. Astronaut training involves a lot of stress, but they noticed Mark dealt with the stress by cracking jokes and keeping everyone laughing. He maintains that ability throughout the book. Yes, he has the occasional meltdown where he just wants to give up, but then he mentally picks himself up, shakes himself off, and assesses the situation to see what he can do about it. While making the reader laugh.
What I found so remarkable about Weir’s writing was his ability to build characters you can relate to. Their jobs and positions define them to an extent, but it’s not all they are. They’re also people with families and hobbies and interests outside of space travel. Even the side characters get to show their real selves to the reader for a few minutes. It was so unexpected, and yet entirely realistic, that it made the book that much more enjoyable for me. I was no longer just rooting for Mark. I was rooting for the whole crew of Ares 3.
What about you guys? What did you read this week? Anything you weren’t expecting to enjoy as much as you did?