Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by juwaria
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
I am not going to lie, when I first picked this book up I assumed I would find it boring. I mean, reading about astronauts in an orbiting space station that had no science fiction elements. Surely it’ll be boring?! I even embarrassingly wondered why it had won the Booker Prize this year.
However, I am so glad I decided to read it because it is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. The prose and the analogies were just *chefs kiss*. I had to actually google to see if the author was a retired astronaut writing this because the way the writing transported you into space…left me absolutely shook and speechless.
I feel like it’s the book we need to read right now, amidst all the political strife and climate change. It enables you to think about the bigger picture outside of the mundanity of life but also enables you to appreciate how your little life fits into a bigger picture.
‘The planet is shaped by the sheer amazing force of human want, which has changed everything, the forests, the poles, the reservoirs, the glaciers, the rivers, the seas, the mountains, the coastlines, the skies, a planet contoured and landscaped by want.’ - Orbit 7
The book does not have a plot, it’s more a character study or dare I say a human study? A review from the guardian said that the ‘characters introspection and mediation on humanity was the strength of the novel’.
I wholly agree with that, the author weaved the characters personal experiences and ideologies into their musings. This helped give the characters depth and nuances which is difficult to do in such a short novel, that doesn’t really have a plot per say. It made them relatable and helped you realise that as humans no matter what cog we are moving on in the grand scheme of life we worry and muse about the same things.
‘Our lives here are inexpressibly trivial and momentous at once, it seems he’s about to wake up and say. Both repetitive and unprecedented. We matter greatly and not at all. To reach some pinnacle of human achievement only to discover that your achievements are next to nothing and that to understand this is the greatest achievement of any life, which itself is nothing, and also much more than everything. Some metal separates us from the void; death is so close. Life is everywhere, everywhere.’ - Orbit 14 descending
However, I am so glad I decided to read it because it is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. The prose and the analogies were just *chefs kiss*. I had to actually google to see if the author was a retired astronaut writing this because the way the writing transported you into space…left me absolutely shook and speechless.
I feel like it’s the book we need to read right now, amidst all the political strife and climate change. It enables you to think about the bigger picture outside of the mundanity of life but also enables you to appreciate how your little life fits into a bigger picture.
‘The planet is shaped by the sheer amazing force of human want, which has changed everything, the forests, the poles, the reservoirs, the glaciers, the rivers, the seas, the mountains, the coastlines, the skies, a planet contoured and landscaped by want.’ - Orbit 7
The book does not have a plot, it’s more a character study or dare I say a human study? A review from the guardian said that the ‘characters introspection and mediation on humanity was the strength of the novel’.
I wholly agree with that, the author weaved the characters personal experiences and ideologies into their musings. This helped give the characters depth and nuances which is difficult to do in such a short novel, that doesn’t really have a plot per say. It made them relatable and helped you realise that as humans no matter what cog we are moving on in the grand scheme of life we worry and muse about the same things.
‘Our lives here are inexpressibly trivial and momentous at once, it seems he’s about to wake up and say. Both repetitive and unprecedented. We matter greatly and not at all. To reach some pinnacle of human achievement only to discover that your achievements are next to nothing and that to understand this is the greatest achievement of any life, which itself is nothing, and also much more than everything. Some metal separates us from the void; death is so close. Life is everywhere, everywhere.’ - Orbit 14 descending