Just Lauren

Gene and I finished reading a book called The Martian, a couple of days ago. It was a book that Gene had heard of and thought would be good to read together aloud.

Boy was he right.

That book got to me.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m more emotional after my grandfather’s death, if Gene was just a fantastic reader, or if the book is just that damn good (which it might be), but dang was it amazing. I cried at least every other time we read the book. I am not joking, it was an emotional roller coaster that kept going the entire time. Andy Weir, the author, is a great (and evil) writer.

The entire book is about one man who is stranded on Mars and what he does in order to try to survive. It’s a technical book, there’s a lot of math and science in it, but not enough that it drove me away. I accepted that I wouldn’t always know what the character was talking about and that made it readable for me. And even though I’ve never been on Mars and know almost nothing about it and I’m not a scientist, I related to the main character, Mark Watney, instantly. I mean, we can all imagine to some extent what it would be like to be the only person on a planet that does not support life.

I don’t want to say anymore about the plot because I believe everyone should read this book. I mean it. It’s not that long and it’s an easy enough read. I want to know if anyone else cried as much as me. I do have to say though, the life that Gene put into these characters when he read the book (I only read aloud twice) was impressive. If this book isn’t in an audio format, I think Gene should be the one to read it because my gosh was he good.

Andy Weir, your words took my heart, ripped it up over and over again, and still, I love your writing. This world needs more of your thoughts.