Orbital by Samantha Harvy
Orbital
by Samantha Harvey
Science Fiction | Literary Fiction
207 Pages
Released December 2023
Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads
Content Warnings
Alongside classics, I really wanted to start diving into accoladed literature. Whilst I do often read some of the most popular books of the year, I rarely pick up the most highly regarded. So, what better place to start than 2024’s Book Prize Winner, Orbital?
This book takes place over the course of 24 hours as the international space station makes 16 orbits around the Earth. Inside the space station, six astronauts reflect on their time and experiences aboard the space station as, elsewhere, another group of astronauts are launched towards the moon.
This story is written in a sort of stream-of-consciousness style and by that I mean sentences that defy grammatical rules but the prose feels natural all the same. In it, we follow six astronauts aboard the ISS - Nell, Shaun, Anton, Roman, Chie and Pietro as they go about their day for the next 24 hours. Just outside, the Earth passes in splendor and chaos - new astronauts preparing to launch to the moon, the death of a family member, a horrifying typhoon. This book is less plot and more quiet introspection, which I was worried would bore me but captivated me instead.
This book was gorgeous, there’s just no other way to describe it. Each chapter endearingly describes the landscape of Earth from space as the ISS completes each orbit. The prose was positively lyrical in the way Samantha Harvey describes the planet. I could visualize the colors and textures in my mind and it felt like words bringing to life a piece of breathtaking artwork. In many ways, this story truly felt like a modern day love letter to the Earth, reminiscent of Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot quote (which is one of my favorite quotes of all time). To quote one of my favorite lines in the book, “There’s the first dumbfounding view of earth, a hunk of tourmaline, no a cantaloupe, an eye, lilac orange almond mauve white magenta bruised textured shellac-ed splendour.”
I will say, if you are not a fan of purple prose, or list-y type books, this may not be very enjoyable for you as this book describes a lot of things in that sort of fashion. Personally, this book had me feeling awed and humbled and I can see myself re-reading it for years to come.