Reviews with content warning for Excrement - The Martian: Classroom Edition

Sweet Eru, this book was *good*. I was a little wary going in since, you know, reading about an astronaut stranded on Mars and living in a confined space wasn't exactly the type of escapist literature I was craving, but I had a good feeling about it, and Andy Weir flew by my expectations. This is a story of hope. Defiant hope despite the odds. Yes, the hero can't go out - at least not without the proper suit. Yes, he faces death on an almost daily basis while being away from his friends and family. But there is so much hope, with a dash of humour, that I felt energised rather than anxious. I even laughed out loud at one of his jokes, and let me tell you it had been a long time I hadn't laughed out loud while reading. Mark Watney isn't perfect. He's human. And while some characters have internalized sexism, the book in itself isn't sexist in my opinion - looking at you The Grace of Kings. If you're in need of a pick-me-up, let me suggest this story of a man doing his best not to die.

Content Warnings

readingbetweenthenotes's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

dottiewankenobi's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am not a big science person, and space terrifies me, but I could read this book and understand it just fine. When I got scared, it wasn't because of space but because of the events of the book.

The Martian SUCKS. YOU. IN. I couldn't put it down. I read it in class and got yelled at for reading it. I didn't care, I wanted to finish my chapter.

I can't put in words how much I love this book. The cussing is only a small part of that lol.

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re-read Apr 2022. still just as good as before. I also saved some lines from the book that I felt were thesis statements so they are below:

"A steady, obnoxious beeping that eventually roused me from a deep and profound desire to just fucking die." / "As I groggily came to, I wondered why I wasn't more dead." (both page 4)
"So I'm 250 liters short of my 250-liter goal. Bleh. I'm going to bed." (page 20)
"[...], but I have some ideas. Really bad ideas, but they're ideas." (page 22)
"The answer is: I don't know. I suppose I'll think of something. Or die." (page 27)
"I've grown accustomed to hearing the alarms blare at all times." (page 34)
"Astronauts are inherently insane. And really noble." (page 62)
"I guess you could call it a 'failure,' but I prefer the term 'learning experience.'" (page 72)
"It's a problem that rarely comes up on Earth, but hey. Mars." (page 110)
"To them, equipment failure is terrifying. To me, it's 'Tuesday'." (page 152)
"Things didn't go exactly as planned, but I'm not dead, so it's a win." (page 167)
"He could only watch and hope." (page 184) / "The world was holding its breath." (page 185)
"I'm not giving up. Just planning for every outcome. It's what I do." (page 192)
"Life is amazingly tenacious. They [the bacteria] don't want to die any more than I do." (page 224)
"That's my bullshit rationalization and I'm sticking with it." (page 236)
"Are we just watching a tragedy play out?" (page 287)
"I'm not talking about faith in God, I'm talking about faith in Mark Watney. Look at all the shit Mars has thrown at him and he's still alive. He'll survive this. I don't know how, but he will. He's a clever son of a bitch." (page 292)
"I had an EVA and things aren't too bad. Mind you, they're not good." (page 313)
"Something had to give, and it wasn't going to be me." (page 316)
"I've done a little of everything here, because I'm the only one around to do it." (page 341)