Book Review: “The Martian” By Andy Weir

Usually, I try very hard to choose holiday reading that complements my destination.  Andy Weir’s “The Martian” doesn’t quite fit that criteria!

For example, I read “A Room With A View” years ago in Florence, and “Ring Of Bright Water” on a previous stay on Skye.

But Weir’s book turned out to be not nearly as incongruous as it first sounded for a week in the Hebrides!

This title was the latest pick for my book club.

In my opinion, it’s a thriller set in space sooner than science fiction. And it’s a cracking page turner of a thriller. It has plenty of twists and turns and a really engaging main character (though if you’re easily offended by occasional bad language, this isn’t the book for you).

I enjoyed it tremendously.

Perfectly appropriate for Skye

And why was it so unexpectedly appropriate for reading on Skye? Well, with a bit of imagination, those wild landscapes of Scotland’s islands don’t seem that distant from Martian deserts.

And being in such a remote place chimed, in a very small way, with the utter desolation Mark feels at being all alone on Mars.

Also, the over reliance on one crop – potatoes – and the devastation that ensues when the crop fails, is another point of commonality in Skye’s past and Mark’s present.

Martian potatoes, you’re wondering – what’s that all about? Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out.

All of which proves that, sometimes, you find inspiration in the unlikeliest of places!

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