Review – The Martian
I watched The Martian when it first came out in 2015 and really enjoyed the movie. When I recently brought it up in an online discussion, people started to say how I just have to read the book. Now, this is not uncommon for a movie based on a book, but I also heard good things about it, so I decided to give it a whirl.
Boy, I’m glad I did. The Martian by Andy Weir is a fantastic read, everyone should definitely Read it! What surprised me the most is that despite having seen the movie and remembering it quite well, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. The major events in the two pieces are basically the same and even though I knew whether the lone astronaut would be able to farm potatoes on Mars or whether NASA would be able to launch the resupply probe successfully, I was still filled with anticipation and trepidation while reading.
It is hard for me to figure out how the author managed to do it, but I think part of the trick is that rather than trying to elicit the anticipatory emotion in the reader by obstructing information, the reader experiences the same emotions as the characters by having all of the same information as them. And sure, we’re not astrophysicist or botanists, but the explanations are so accessible that we understand the main forces at play.
Of course, the dry humor and the format of the journal/log helps facilitate this connection between the characters and the reader.
So, even if you’ve watched the movie, you should still read this book!
