A review by thestoryprofessor
Orbital by Samantha Harvey

informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

I can see why Booker through a prize at this novel (the prose is beautiful and the idea of "space pastoral" is interesting and unique), but I’m annoyed. When an author inserts their thoughts, opinions, and rumination within the context of the story, it rips up the world of the play and the tone of the piece. I don’t think it is particularly brilliant; such inserts read as pretentious and arrogant. It’s self-seriousness that takes away from an otherwise beautiful and quiet story.

This isn’t storytelling; the characters and “plot” (the novella is marketed as having a plot but it does not) are barely rendered at all so that the author’s own rumination on life, religion, and existence can have a platform, and all of it reads like an undergrad philosophy course. Even the "space pastoral" elements are repetitive, pointless, and just fluffy, pretty similes.