What do you think life on Mars is like? I am not talking about humans living on Mars, but the natives of Mars themselves. 😛 When you were learning about the planets in the Solar System and Mars for the first time, did you wonder how a being can survive there? Loved Mars Hated the Food provides answers to all your Mars-related curiosities in the most hilarious manner! As part of the first manned mission to Mars, chef, Dix, is meeting up with Martians to survive! Let’s take a quick look at the synopsis.
Dix Jenner, a self-proclaimed slacker, is the first chef to live—and maybe die—on Mars. After an explosion kills his colony companions and leaves him with nothing but his spacesuit, his time on the faraway planet is about to expire… until he’s rescued by friendly Martians Bleeker and Seepa, who smuggle him into their vast underground civilization.Â
Despite an unfamiliar world of telepathy, strange class dynamics, and really bad food, Dix sets out to make his mark. After opening a cafe—who knew Martians loved espresso?—he starts to notice that responsibility can feel good. Not only that, but he’s got a new romance, and for the first time he actually cares.
Unfortunately, his success attracts the attention of the corrupt and narcissistic Martian Grand Leader. Forced to run to avoid being imprisoned, Dix gets lucky: a NASA rescue mission lands on Mars. But seeing it brings back the dark secret he’s been keeping from himself about the colony’s explosion, and now Dix must choose between returning to Earth or spending the rest of his life in a cell on the dusty red planet where he belongs.
The Short Take
Loved Mars Hated the Food is a humorous novel by Willie Handler about a chef who is sent to Mars and, due to an unforeseen incident, befriends Martians. When Dix finds his human colony destroyed, Martians Bleeker and Seepa come to his rescue. What follows is Dix’s integration into the Martian culture, initiating a way of life that is very different from what he would have had on the rocky red surface of the planet.
While getting educated in the Martian ways, Dix has the opportunity to explain life on Earth to the very curious (scientists) Bleeker and Seepa. Dix uses his skills as a chef and his problem-solving mind that would do anything to eat good food, to keep himself fed and introduce the Martians to his beloved caffine.
There is humor in every chapter and situation but this book is deeper than that. This satirical novel exposes the way we live on Earth, the commercialization and addictions we have, while at the same time, educating the reader in what the living beings on Mars might look like and think of us strange beings. It is a thoughtful read where Dix finds a place for himself on a planet that isn’t his home, tackling the bigger question of what home is.
Themes for Thought
There are three main lines of thoughts that I want to mention about this book.
On the parallel between Martians and Humans
Says the Martian to Dix, being completely upfront about the advantages that taking him in offers to Martian science. I bet our scientists think it, but would never say out aloud. And as clear as Bleeper is about his and Seepa’s intentions to take Dix in and have him live with them, he is thoughtless in other ways… Sounds like humans?
Though there is a social hierarchy and deception in the society, Willie depicts Martians as brutally honest. One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Dix is talking about coffee and wonders out loud why Starbucks has not made it to Mars yet. Todd, the last robot remaining from the mission, is present at that point and explains, “Starbucks is a popular chain on Earth where customers have their names misspelled pn cups that contain overpriced coffee.” There are many such moments in the book where through the Martians, Willie offers a brutal perspective to life on Earth.
On who is an alien
Related to the above is the idea of perception. When the rescue group from Earth lands on Mars and Dix meets up with them, the way his peers and NASA talk about the Martians makes him realize the absurdity of the situation – that humans have landed on Mars and still think Martians are aliens when actually humans are the aliens to the planet!
This is an important lesson because there are always multiple ways of looking at things and Willie, thought this encounter, brings up the idea that we get so stuck in our ways of thinking and terminology, that we forget the context. We forget the present that we are in, where it may no longer match the words that we were using earlier.
On acceptance
Sometimes, we find who are meant to be through the most unexpected ways. We just have to be open to take the opportunity.
Who does not want to be accepted in the society? Who wants to feel like they are a lonely soul who no one likes or cares about? Dix was a slacker for a reason. Ultimately, when he had the chance to shine and take responsibility, he took the leap and became who he was meant to be. In some ways, Loved Mars Hated the Food is about a man making his dream of opening a restaurant come true. It is in the most unlikely of manners but here he is, giving espresso shots to Martians, and running a successful business.
Overall, this was a fun book and offered a unique perspective to space travel. I had a great time reading it and I suspect you will like it too. I am thankful to the author for providing me a review copy of the book. It was fantastic!
** Loved Mars Hated the Food is available in stores so get a copy and let me know what you think! I am sure it will tickle your insides. **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
Stay tuned for my interview with Willie, out tomorrow!
Cover image: Photo by Nicolas Lobos on Unsplash
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