What an optimistic voice and perspective!

Book:  The Martian*	Series:  Stand-Alone
Author:  Andy Weir	Rating:
Age Rating: PG-13	Age Rating Comments:  Language

My original review for this book on Goodreads was simple and to the point:

 

Entertaining and humorous. The voice and delivery of the story was excellent. Some of the technical stuff, I found myself skimming more as the book went on. All-in-all, good read!

I abide by that review, but since I’ve started writing and writing this blog, I feel that this one deserves a spot her on my humble corner of the interwebs. I’m typically not a reader of science fiction for the science part of the book.  In fact, when Mr. Weir dove deep into the mechanics and the scientific jargon, my eyes glazed over.  All that being said, this book was fascinating to me.

Despite the fact that my copy of the book pictures the movie on the cover, I did read the book prior to watching the film.  That’s my personal policy too–with a single exception (Fellowship of the Ring, which I watched three times trying to understand what I was missing. Then I dove into Tolkien’s world and devoured everything I could get my hands on.)  So, you can imagine my delight when I was a little more than half-way through The Martian and I ran across a quote like this:

“What the fuck is ‘Project Elrond’?” ~page 235~

This quote wasn’t from the main character: Mark Watney, but from one of the team gathered to try to rescue him.  Yet, I still laughed out loud–a sensation I experienced repeatedly while reading this book.  The humor injected throughout really pulled me through the book.

Perspective and Point of View

As most of my readers probably know, I’m also an author.  If you don’t (ahem, shameless plug… check out my website here:  https://susanstradiotto.com). Something that likely crosses the mind of most authors sometime early in their writing careers is point of view.  In this book, Mr. Weir has done a number of intriguing things.  The main character, Mark Watney, mostly speaks in the second-person throughout the book.  He’s writing in a log as he’s the only person alive on Mars.  His voice itself is something of a unique perspective and an enthralling read.  Not many authors can pull off second person writing in novel form. I think it has more to do with reader patience than writer ability.  There are others, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Sevastopol in December by Leo Tolstoy come to mind, but Atwood and Tolstoy may not be the first choice for reads in contemporary times.  But if you wish to venture into second person, they are experts at the game.  Furthermore, if you’re interested in writing in 2nd person, I highly recommend reading this book.

Second person uses the construct of the narrator talking directly to the audience.  In academic writing or professional writing, it takes the form of instruction.  However, in fiction writing, it can simply be a conversation between the person telling the story and the reader.  In The Martian, much of Watney’s journaling through his log entries could be construed as first person.  However, upon further analysis and examination, there are clear instances where he reaches out to “you” the audience.

“You can imagine how disappointed I was when I discovered the MAV was gone.” ~page 4~

His entire journal entries are speaking to the audience, namely whomever would pick up his logs, but as it sits in novel form, it becomes the reader.  Other areas of the novel are strictly in Third Person Omniscient.

Further exploration of this topic likely requires a full post.  For now, I’ll return to the regularly scheduled topic: A book review of The Martian.

The Story Elements & Messages

As I mentioned before, I’m not engaged in the science of the story.  I look for character driven plots, and through the science, the characters and the story really stood out for me.

Optimism and Persistence

This part strikes me every time I think about this work.  Mark Watney was optimistic throughout.  He couldn’t have been in a much worse position, yet he persisted.

“Mars keeps trying to kill me.” ~forgive me, I am unable to find the page, but I know it’s a direct quote.~

This quote sums up the theme that drove this character.  True, he fell back on many years of training to work toward survival, but the fact remains that he persisted! In my opinion, this is a message that anyone reading this book should take to heart.  In fact, I forced my son (who is often a nay-sayer and easily gives up) to read this book mostly for the message.  Whatever you’re facing, chances are that a little determination will go a long way in making your situation better.  This read is a classic example of how that philosophy manifested within a character during a severe situation.

The Hook and Plot

These elements are obvious from the time you read the book’s blurb or listen to any talk about this book.  An astronaut is stranded on Mars.  The journey is about what he does and how he manages to deal with the situation.

Character

Naturally, we (as readers) come very close to the main character as we are reading his log entries–his feelings and emotions exposed in a candid manner.  He has no idea if they will ever be heard, so he says what he thinks then devises his plan to get himself out of his predicament.  He has a voice that put me right in his shoes, taught me new things, and made me laugh.  What else can someone ask for in a main character.

Another interesting tidbit as I consider what types of books I’ve truly enjoyed over the years is that I find I like stories where nature or life itself is the antagonist. The Long Walk was an amazing read, but the true antagonist in the book was the winter in northern Russia and the desert they crossed to reach Tibet.  Unbroken where the antagonist could be identified as World War II, but really it was every situation that Louis Zamperini faced.  In the beginning it was his competitiveness as a child that landed him in trouble, and as the story progressed, it was conquering races, then being stranded on the ocean.  Finally, the antagonist became the Japanese in the POW camps.  In The Martian, the antagonist is clearly Mars and the distance home.  Nature and life experiences are powerful antagonists in and of themselves, because they call to the possibility and reality within each and every human.

The Science

I’ll close this by circling back to the science involved in the story. While it’s not my favorite part, it holds so much value and really makes this an enduring story. I hold strong beliefs that literature is a key part of education–even for those who are so driven toward STEM fields. Along with well-researched and the solid foundation, works like this teach people about the meaning behind their work.  And in the end, as a human being, we all look for meaning in what we do.  This novel gives the best of both worlds.  If I were to construct a curriculum around it, I could easily weave in almost all aspects of a well-rounded education.  Consider the following applications:

• History:  What in recent history has contributed to where Mark Watney is in this story?
• Language Arts:  Character development, Point of View, Voice, other story elements…
• Science: How feasible are the theories Mark Watney uses in the book?
• Logic, Reasoning, Rhetoric: How sound are his arguments? Evaluation of his problem solving strategies.
• Math: Based in science, but how much of what Watney does uses Geometry and Algebra to solve his problems?

Overall, excellent and versatile work of fiction and highly recommended.  Do keep in mind that 4 of my stars means I thoroughly enjoyed the work.  This one would push five, but I reserve those for things where I cannot find any challenges in the reading.

Cheers to all and keep turning the pages!

 

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*A note about the book link:  I’ve recently made it a policy to link to Indiebound where available.  As an Indie Author, I understand the struggle that goes into promoting a small business.  Though it may be cheaper or more convenient in the big box stores, buying local is the best way to support your community!