The Martian

author: Andy Weir
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2015/10/28
date added: 2015/10/28
shelves: favorites
review:
I'm a fan of books, and I'm a fan of movies, but I'm rarely a fan of movies made out of books. I realize the two mediums are different and there are limitations. I can make allowances for that, but when the film bears little or no resemblance to the original work, it leaves me, as a reader, frustrated.

I've been wanting to read 'The Martian' by Andy Weir for a while. Friends who've read it talked it up and it was on my enormous to be read pile. When I heard that it was being made into a movie, I decided to put off reading the book to avoid the aforementioned reader's disappointment with adaptations to film.

A few days before the film was released, I decided to read a few chapters to get a feel for things. I saw the movie and I was pleasantly surprised by how right they got things in the chapters I'd read. It's a great movie, and it's based on a really great book.

Mark Watney is an astronaut who finds himself stranded on Mars. He needs to find a way to survive on limited supplies until the next mission arrives. He does this with an endless supply of humor, even as Mars continues to present him with new challenges. As someone in a field of troubleshooting, I'm very familiar with Murphy's Law. It is prevalent in this book. The willingness to suck it up, laugh about it, and work to find a solution is something I've seen in people around me. It's great to see it represented in this character. I loved the movie, but I loved the book even more.


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