REVIEW: The Martian

A novel by Andy Weir

Mark Watney is pretty much the perfect man: a problem-solver with a wry sense of humor, he thinks on his feet and is cool under pressure. Unfortunately, he’s an astronaut stranded on Mars and left for dead with literally the entire Universe working against him. Fortunately, he’s Spaceman MacGyver and can build a new spaceship out of canvas, duct tape and potatoes. Ok, I exaggerate, but not by much.

There’s a lot of science in this fiction, and according to friends who are much smarter than I, it is all spot-on. It certainly seems meticulously researched and detailed and frankly, miles over my head. I did skim over some of the more technical bits, and the fact that I loved this book as much as I did in spite of failing to understand large parts of it, should tell you what a strong story it is. In short, never in my life have I understood so little of a book and yet enjoyed it so thoroughly. It will appeal to fans of science fiction and those who enjoy a thrilling survival story.

I highly recommend this as an audio book. The narrator is excellent. It’s not always easy to find audio books that my husband and I both enjoy and that keep our interest for hours; this did the trick and kept us entertained on our road trip to the mountains and back. The movie version, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon as Watney is coming out in November. Read it now, so you can tell everyone that the book was so much better.

— Andria Amaral, Main Library, Charleston, S.C.

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