Book Notes: "The Martian", by Andy Weir

On the day I started this book (and got completely hooked, honestly, from the first page), I tried to describe it to my husband.

And my description led him to ask, "So, it's kind of like Robinson Crusoe, but in space?"

And I agreed, Yeah, it kind of is.

But with urgency.


I picked this up on Howard Taylor's recommendation, and I was not disappointed.

"The Martian" is a story about an astronaut who is abandoned on Mars, and has to try to figure out how to survive.

It was all an accident. His fellow crewmates on the mission thought he was dead (reasonably, as it turns out) and left him behind when they bugged out.

It's set in the near-future, which adds to the fun, because all the technology described is stuff you can easily relate to.

I loved watching how he faced his obstacles, and creatively found ways around them. My husband pointed out (he ended up reading it too), that it's fascinating to see what ends up being a problem and what isn't. For instance, you think that water would be a problem, but it isn't. Food now? That's a problem.

I also loved the sense of humor. Most of the story is shown through the astronaut's log entries, and they're often hilarious. Sometimes, it's gallows humor. But that's appropriate to the circumstances.

I have to give a small caution for some language, mostly slightly crude and mostly appropriate to the situation the main character's in.

But on the whole, I highly recommend this book. It's hard science fiction, but it never forgets the importance of character and story.

I really enjoyed it.


Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

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