English language
Published July 17, 2023 by Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated.
A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments and test the limits of the human body. But mostly they observe. Together they watch their silent blue planet, circling it sixteen times, spinning past continents and cycling through seasons, taking in glaciers and deserts, the peaks of mountains and the swells of oceans. Endless shows of spectacular beauty witnessed in a single day.
Yet although separated from the world they cannot escape its constant pull. News reaches them of the death of a mother, and with it comes thoughts of returning home. They look on as a typhoon gathers over an island and people they love, in awe of its magnificence and fearful of its destruction.
The fragility of human life fills their conversations, their fears, their dreams. So far from earth, they have never felt more part - or protective - of it. …
A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments and test the limits of the human body. But mostly they observe. Together they watch their silent blue planet, circling it sixteen times, spinning past continents and cycling through seasons, taking in glaciers and deserts, the peaks of mountains and the swells of oceans. Endless shows of spectacular beauty witnessed in a single day.
Yet although separated from the world they cannot escape its constant pull. News reaches them of the death of a mother, and with it comes thoughts of returning home. They look on as a typhoon gathers over an island and people they love, in awe of its magnificence and fearful of its destruction.
The fragility of human life fills their conversations, their fears, their dreams. So far from earth, they have never felt more part - or protective - of it. They begin to ask, what is life without earth? What is earth without humanity?
A beautiful written book, and clearly a lot of research has gone into making it science based. I just found a little bit hard to wade through given that there is no real story, aside the intimate portrait of the astronauts - this is probably more a reflection of my reader skills instead of the author!
This little book pretty much blew me away, with its poetic and beautifully-written ruminations on life, space, and the Earth, featuring six astronauts/cosmonauts on the space station. There were many sections that changed or expanded my perspective on things. It definitely called to mind the Pale Blue Dot. It's not flawless - for example, there were a few times when it felt perhaps a bit too sentimental, and I'm not sure why it referred to "mankind" rather than "humankind" through most of the novel (also, an early description of the Japanese astronaut as being "not-quite definable" veered a little too close to the "inscrutable" trope, I thought). Overall, though, it was extremely well done.
This isn’t a book about anything. Nothing happens. There is no adventure and the author forgot to add the content of a story. However, there are endless descriptions of the earth from orbit. Page after page of run-on sentences, no paragraph breaks, and lists of things. Also lots of reflections on what it is to be human, what is humanity, and our role in the cosmos. Tedious stuff but an extra star for being relatively short.
Orbital is a novel that seems to go nowhere except round and round, and yet it grows into a cacophony of story during its brief and deceptive simplicity.
On the surface, it is a well researched, character-driven fiction about four astronauts and two cosmonauts orbiting the earth in a vessel for scientific observation. However, this container becomes a device for Samantha Harvey to collapse progress, poverty, climate change, ambition, grief and hope into a tiny vessel. All too often we are reminded that only a few inches of metal protect [us?] from complete doom, such is the fragility of life. Beautifully written and concise, this book was a terrific surprise.
Thanks so much to the publisher for providing an advanced reader copy for me to review.
Firstly, this book contains the exact recipe for a book that I would love. To Be Taught If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers, Providence by Max Barry, The Freeze Frame Revolution and Blindsight by Peter Watts... if it involves a few people on a spaceship together with no space and no choice but to become deeply invested in each other's lives, I'm very likely going to love it.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey was no exception. We follow one "day" cycle of 6 astronauts from different backgrounds orbiting the earth in the present day, 16 orbits total. However briefly in this quick ~200 page book, we get to spend an intimate amount of time with these astronauts: their thoughts, their duties, and their relationships, almost as if we are the seventh astronaut sharing the claustrophobic space …
Thanks so much to the publisher for providing an advanced reader copy for me to review.
Firstly, this book contains the exact recipe for a book that I would love. To Be Taught If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers, Providence by Max Barry, The Freeze Frame Revolution and Blindsight by Peter Watts... if it involves a few people on a spaceship together with no space and no choice but to become deeply invested in each other's lives, I'm very likely going to love it.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey was no exception. We follow one "day" cycle of 6 astronauts from different backgrounds orbiting the earth in the present day, 16 orbits total. However briefly in this quick ~200 page book, we get to spend an intimate amount of time with these astronauts: their thoughts, their duties, and their relationships, almost as if we are the seventh astronaut sharing the claustrophobic space of the research space station they call home. While there is little story that drives the narrative, I didn't think this setting called for that kind of structure. This was a deeply introspective examination of the human condition, aspirations, emotion, and loss. It did not need a strong story progression to be compelling and beautiful.
Also, the amount of research that went into this was extremely commendable. There are so many small details about life in orbit that was clearly informed by actual experts. The acknowledgements thank NASA and the ESA for their insights, so I have to commend the author for being diligent in creating a stunning and authentic story.
While some of the routine activities interrupted with descriptions of the orbital path and philosophizing might read as tedious to some, I found it to be necessary to flesh out the otherwise indescribable experience of an astronaut's relationship with their own humanity while being at the forefront of the terrifying precipice of human achievement. The structure did take some getting used to however, with frequent jumps from one character to another, then to no character at all between paragraphs, but it wasn't too disruptive. Regarding the overall story, I do think I would have appreciated a bit more relationship development between the characters. What was there was done so well, it had me really yearning for more, but otherwise this was an excellent read and I very much recommend it.
Thanks so much to the publisher for providing an advanced reader copy for me to review.
Firstly, this book contains the exact recipe for a book that I would love. To Be Taught If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers, Providence by Max Barry, The Freeze Frame Revolution and Blindsight by Peter Watts... if it involves a few people on a spaceship together with no space and no choice but to become deeply invested in each other's lives, I'm very likely going to love it.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey was no exception. We follow one "day" cycle of 6 astronauts from different backgrounds orbiting the earth in the present day, 16 orbits total. However briefly in this quick ~200 page book, we get to spend an intimate amount of time with these astronauts: their thoughts, their duties, and their relationships, almost as if we are the seventh astronaut sharing the claustrophobic space …
Thanks so much to the publisher for providing an advanced reader copy for me to review.
Firstly, this book contains the exact recipe for a book that I would love. To Be Taught If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers, Providence by Max Barry, The Freeze Frame Revolution and Blindsight by Peter Watts... if it involves a few people on a spaceship together with no space and no choice but to become deeply invested in each other's lives, I'm very likely going to love it.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey was no exception. We follow one "day" cycle of 6 astronauts from different backgrounds orbiting the earth in the present day, 16 orbits total. However briefly in this quick ~200 page book, we get to spend an intimate amount of time with these astronauts: their thoughts, their duties, and their relationships, almost as if we are the seventh astronaut sharing the claustrophobic space of the research space station they call home. While there is little story that drives the narrative, I didn't think this setting called for that kind of structure. This was a deeply introspective examination of the human condition, aspirations, emotion, and loss. It did not need a strong story progression to be compelling and beautiful.
Also, the amount of research that went into this was extremely commendable. There are so many small details about life in orbit that was clearly informed by actual experts. The acknowledgements thank NASA and the ESA for their insights, so I have to commend the author for being diligent in creating a stunning and authentic story.
While some of the routine activities interrupted with descriptions of the orbital path and philosophizing might read as tedious to some, I found it to be necessary to flesh out the otherwise indescribable experience of an astronaut's relationship with their own humanity while being at the forefront of the terrifying precipice of human achievement. The structure did take some getting used to however, with frequent jumps from one character to another, then to no character at all between paragraphs, but it wasn't too disruptive. Regarding the overall story, I do think I would have appreciated a bit more relationship development between the characters. What was there was done so well, it had me really yearning for more, but otherwise this was an excellent read and I very much recommend it.
