The Martian by Andy Weir

This was an enjoyable novel.  Nothing literary about it, just a great summer read in the vein of Swiss Family Robinson, Robinson Crusoe or the film Cast Away.  The main character--Mark Watney--has a great personality and sense of humor, making him easy to root for.  Highly intelligent, he solves problem after problem (after problem) with creativity and ingenuity, showing a tremendous will to survive against all odds.  Parts of the book stretch belief, like the public's continued interest in the marooned astronaut for many months and the lengths both the U.S. and Chinese governments go to in their rescue attempts.  Weir does his level best to explain these away, however.


The Martian, to quote Bart Simpson, is "like The Swiss Family Robinson, only with more cursing.  Damn, hell, ass cursing!"  This was an aspect of the novel that bothered me.  Okay, before you think of me as a prude, let me say that such elements--when used appropriately in a text--do not bother me.  I've read and enjoyed Anderson's Feed, Grossman's The Magicians, Halpern's Sh*t My Dad Says, and Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad (see the adjacent entry), so swearing as a concept does not bother me.  My objection is the appropriateness of it.  It just struck me as excessive and unnecessary in The Martian.  It didn't really serve a narrative purpose, develop character, illustrate some aspect of the society, or advance the theme in some way (the other books I mentioned generally do this).  I kept asking, Why is everyone swearing so much?  And it wasn't just Watney.  It was pretty much every character in the book.  Which brings me to Major Point Number Two.


The characters were generally flat with little to distinguish them, especially regarding their speech patterns.  I said at the top of the post that this isn't Literature.  It's a Summer Read.  Fine.  I still think the characters should be developed (at least some of them), have somewhat recognizable speech cadences, and grow (at least the main character).  It seemed as if all the characters were smart-asses who liked to swear.  None was really round or fully-developed, including Watney.  Also, Watney did not grow, change, or develop as a character.  He was pretty much the same at the end of the novel as at the beginning.  This is not a character-driven novel; it is governed wholly by plot.


*Mild spoiler coming...*  But the novel was a cool ride, for all those problems.  I had a hard time believing the final rescue sequence, starting from when he took off from Mars until he was brought aboard the rescue craft.  So many problems occurred that I started saying, "Enough already!  Just get the guy off the freakin' planet!"  Whatever.  It was still cool.  The science was interesting, and Weir made sure to explain everything as necessary, walking the line between glossing the concepts and burdening the reader with excessive detail.  The language was technical on occasion, but I was always able to follow the ideas, and the jargon both enhanced the author's credibility and helped maintain my own suspension of disbelief.  It's a fun book to read, and I recommend it for planes, weekend trips, and beach excursions.