|
Post by hellocookie on Jan 4, 2015 21:05:54 GMT -5
The first ever Missfits Book Club is happening on January 26, 2015. The first book up for discussion is The Martian by Andy Weir. Come discuss the book before we do our official hangout and we'll make sure to include these thread talks in the show. This board permits spoilers, so just go to town. You can buy The Martian here.
|
|
|
Post by Bisp702 on Jan 17, 2015 10:39:30 GMT -5
So they save him. .that's it we don't get to hear about the welcome back tour or anything kind of a weak payoff for sitting through a while freaking science class
|
|
|
Post by kidkeith on Jan 19, 2015 9:54:10 GMT -5
So I finished the book. I've been thinking about if I liked it or not and I guess I came to the conclusion that it doesn't really matter. This book is a very intelligent and scientifically accurate (not that I would know) depiction of what it would be like to be a gifted astronaut trapped on mars. If you like quick reads than I think you will like this book. It is a page turner. For me, I like books that change my paradigm at least for a little while. This book didn't do that for me. I fully appreciate it for what it is but at the end of the day there really isn't much to talk about. When trying to talk about it I feel like that Farley sketch "Like, hey remember when he flipped the rover? That was cool..." In the end, cool book, fast read, nice story, not for me (not that that matters at all).
|
|
|
Post by megamaramon on Jan 20, 2015 20:11:17 GMT -5
Finished last weekend! Ok, a few things. Initial impression - would recommend to other readers. As a fan of science fiction, I felt this book is a good introduction to the genre while still being accessible. However, it gets bogged down in technical stuff from time to time. While I understand the reasoning behind including all of the descriptions, I would have loved more psychological thoughts/feelings/etc. mark was just way too...optimistic? I understand the need to look on the bright side, but there are cognitive patterns to sever isolation that would have just been great to read. Did y'all see this: www.cinemablend.com/m/new/Martian-Has-Quietly-Put-Together-Home-Run-List-Cast-67872.htmlI'm excited for the movie, and I hope it's just as stressful as the book was. Kristen Wiig, Donald Glover, and Sean Bean in one movie?! Apparently everyone favorite hot mess - Sebastian Stan - will also be in it. What are y'all's thoughts on a movie adaptation of this book? What will be lost in translation?
|
|
|
Post by megamaramon on Jan 20, 2015 20:15:18 GMT -5
Also, found these amazing discussion questions. Feel free to respond to any that seem interesting to you. I'm going to mull a few over and respond in this thread. We may be drawing from these questions in our live hangout, so your thoughts a responses will be brought up during the discussion.
Discussion Questions 1. How did The Martian challenge your expectations of what the novel would be? What did you find most surprising about it?
2. What makes us root for a character to live in a survival story? In what ways do you identify with Mark? How does the author get you to care about him?
3. Do you believe the crew did the right thing in abandoning the search for Mark? Was there an alternative choice?
4. Did you find the science and technology behind Mark's problem-solving accessible? How did that information add to the realism of the story?
5. What are some of the ways the author established his credibility with scientific detail? Which of Mark's solutions did you find most amazing and yet believable?
5. What is your visual picture of the surface of Mars, based on the descriptions in the book? Have you seen photographs of the planet?
7. Who knew potatoes, duct tape, and seventies reruns were the key to space survival? How does each of these items represent aspects of Mark's character that help him survive?
8. How is Mark's sense of humor as much a survival skill as his knowledge of botany? Do you have a favorite funny line of his?
9. To what extent does Mark's log serve as his companion? Do you think it's implicit in the narrative that maintaining a log keeps him sane?
10. The author provides almost no back story regarding Mark's life on Earth. Why do you think he made this choice? What do you imagine Mark's past life was like?
11. There's no mention of Mark having a romantic relationship on Earth. Do you think that makes it easier or harder to endure his isolation? How would the story be different if he was in love with someone back home?
12. Were there points in the novel when you became convinced Mark couldn't survive? What were they, and what made those situations seem so dire?
13. The first time the narrative switched from Mark's log entries to third-person authorial narrative back on Earth, were you surprised? How does alternating between Mark's point of view and the situation on Earth enhance the story?
14. Did you believe the commitment of those on Earth to rescuing one astronaut? What convinced you most?
15. To what extent do you think guilt played a part in the crew's choice to go back to Mark? To what extent loyalty? How would you explain the difference?
16. How does the author handle the passage of time in the book? Did he transition smoothly from a day-to-day account to a span of one and a half years? How does he use the passage of time to build suspense?
17. Unlike other castaways, Mark can approximately predict the timing of his potential rescue. How does that knowledge help him? How could it work against him?
18. When Mark leaves the Hab and ventures out in the rover, did you feel a loss of security for him? In addition to time, the author uses distance to build suspense. Discuss how.
19. Where would you place The Martian in the canon of classic space exploration films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Apollo 13, and Gravity? What does it have in common with these stories? How is it different?
20. A survival story has to resonate on a universal level to be effective, whether it's set on a desert island or another planet. How important are challenges in keeping life vital? To what extent are our everyday lives about problem-solving and maintaining hope? (Questions issued by the publisher.)
|
|
|
Post by sailormarvel on Jan 22, 2015 5:40:26 GMT -5
Hello all, I don't know if I am in the minority but I absolutely loved this book. I don't know if it is because I read it when I was going through a tricky phase, but this book really lifted me out of that funk.
I loved it that they rescued him. It was so unexpected to me. for the whole book I anticipated Mark dying, so I was so incredibly pleased and surprised that he didn't die. I am always relieved when I read stories that have a happy ending, because so much these days feels grim for the sake of being grim. So that was a nice change.
I agree with Mara in that it would have been interesting to read about the psychological issues regarding severe isolation. But I was also completely won over and charmed by Mark and his absolute commitment to surviving *and* remaining positive in the bleakest of situations.
This is going to be a repeat read for me, and I've recommended it to several people already. Loved it loved it loved it.
Definitely one of my favourite books now.
|
|
|
Post by megamaramon on Jan 25, 2015 0:07:19 GMT -5
2. What makes us root for a character to live in a survival story? In what ways do you identify with Mark? How does the author get you to care about him? -- For this book, it was interesting to see how much everyone in the world was rooting for him to survive. It's great to see it from that perspective; you, a person on earth, have this desire for one man to beat the odds. Right off the bat, Weir shows us a character who goes into survival mode right after being left behind. There was no moments of utter despair, no existential crises. Dying on Mars never seemed to be a real option. As the readers, we're here to figure out how he did it. 5. What are some of the ways the author established his credibility with scientific detail? Which of Mark's solutions did you find most amazing and yet believable? -- This is interesting to me. When I read any science fiction, I pretty much accept the science presented as real. I did read that the accuracy is notable (here's just one article citing the technical accuracy of The Martian: www.cnn.com/2014/03/15/opinion/weir-stranded-on-mars/). Credibility certainly is established after the book through articles like this. Credibility within the novel, from this reader's perspective, is amazing. Everything sounds legit. Most amazing and believable? GROWING POTATOES ON MARS. 10. The author provides almost no back story regarding Mark's life on Earth. Why do you think he made this choice? What do you imagine Mark's past life was like? -- This part was frustrating for me. Am I to believe that Mark's life completely revolves around this Mars mission? He mentions his parents occasionally, but nothing else. No romantic partner? No grad school buddies? You better believe I'd be thinking about my friends and family if I were stuck on Mars. Then again, maybe Mark's on this mission because he really has no social life and a dysfunctional relationship with his folks. My guess, stylistically, is that Weir wanted to focus on the survival story rather than the past life. The stress and plot was getting Mark back to earth, not the journey getting up to that point. 13. The first time the narrative switched from Mark's log entries to third-person authorial narrative back on Earth, were you surprised? How does alternating between Mark's point of view and the situation on Earth enhance the story? -- I LOVED when this happened! It added a whole new layer to the story, especially with the trouble in communication Mark and NASA had. It's like in those scary movies where you yell at the characters to do something different. It was great seeing more about what all goes into a space mission and just how frustrating it could be to have something go wrong. It was even better to see the crew and their reactions after leaving Mars. Check out some of the questions and leave some thoughts! We'll be covering these in the hangout on Sunday night at 6:30 ET.
|
|
ocrush
Fearless Defender
Posts: 11
|
Post by ocrush on Jan 25, 2015 16:00:06 GMT -5
Hello book readers, So, I joined the forums specifically to join the Missfits bookclub discussion, yay.
I gave The Martian a 3 out of 5 star review, which for me means i didn't love but I certainly didn't hate it. It was very well written, and all the sciency tech stuff was very real feeling. I totally believed it could all happen and I felt like I was smarter after reading it, lol. The thing that made the book suffer to me, as far as story telling goes is my lack of emotional investment in Mark. I knew nothing about him really, he is just a happy go lucky wise cracking genius who is stuck on mars. I need more melodrama in the stories I read. Example, the part when Johanssen tells her father she would survive by eaten her dead crew mates if she had to (one of which she was romantically involved with), now that is a nice touch and I eat stuff like that up. haha. Also, with science fiction, Im used to the story being used as an allegory for some sort of social commentary either personal or political, I seemed to have missed it in this story. I can't help to compare this book to the movie Gravity which I loved and thought was a gorgeous story (without being too spoilery) of a womans fight to survive space as metaphor for her struggle to over come past personal tragedies and choose life.
I read that this is the authors first book, wow. What great potential, Im defiantly curious to see what his next book will be like.
|
|
|
Post by sailormarvel on Jan 25, 2015 18:39:36 GMT -5
Hello all! Ok, so I seem to be the only one so far who truly loved this book. And I still agree with the above criticism. I wish Mark had some sort of personal life back on earth and some romance (I LOVE ROMANCE) but even so, I was fully invested in his story. I was so gripped by his complete commitment to being alive! It is a true 'triumph of the human spirit' type of book, and it left me feeling optimist and hopeful. Maybe it is just the frame of mind I was when I read it, but I really appreciated the fact that there was no darkness in the book. And I guess this is my answer to Q1 above: what surprised me the most about this book was that he survived, and that everyone on Earth got together to save this one person. I was expecting it to be a grim book, but it was full of humour and hope.
And in regards to Q15, it wasn't guilt that drove the crew back. It was loyalty.
As ocrush says above, the book made me think of Gravity. And I like Gravity more. Gravity has a very special place in my heart and I cried throughout most of it. I didn't cry when reading The Martian, but it still resonated with me.
|
|