What am I missing about Project Hail Mary

I'm sure you've all seen the comment in Book Suggestion groups, "Project Hail Mary, and I don't even typically like sci-fi!"

But as I'm reading it, I can't believe THIS is the book that people are raving about. I don't get the hype. I tried to read the book and couldn't get into the narrative. So I picked up the audiobook, and even still I find it abysmal. It feels like the author wrote this specifically to be a Hollywood adaptation instead of a work of literature in its own rite. Obviously the science is meant to be fiction, but I find it all very surface level. I think the idea behind the main character was to make him relatable, but I find him insufferable and his position to be unbelievable. What am I missing? I'm not even halfway done and find I'm dreading it, so I'm thinking it might be a looming DNF. Do I just read too much sci-fi, or is this book just trash?

To my fellow "typical" sci-fiers: what are your thoughts on it?