A slender novel of epic power and the winner of the Booker Prize 2024, Orbital deftly snapshots one day in the lives of six women and men traveling through space. Selected for one of the last space station missions of its kind before the program is dismantled, these astronauts and cosmonauts—from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan—have left their lives behind to travel at a speed of over seventeen thousand miles an hour as the earth reels below. We glimpse moments of their earthly lives through brief communications with family, their photos and talismans; we watch them whip up dehydrated meals, float in gravity-free sleep, and exercise in regimented routines to prevent atrophying muscles; we witness them form bonds that will stand between them and utter solitude.…
"This novel, exploring the human experience from the unique perspective of astronauts orbiting Earth, fits Barack Obama's interest in narratives that offer broad societal reflections and a sense of shared humanity."
"I love this book! I love this book so much, I ended up writing a piece of music around it . I could hear the soundtrack very clearly in my head for the whole book, it spoke to me in lots of ways. It’s a very poetic book. Samantha Harvey creates beautiful imagery. It gets into the lives of six astronauts from different countries: Russia, Britain, America, Japan, Italy. They are all reflecting upon their own lives through the prism of looking at the Earth from above. It’s very powerful in how it gives this beautiful overview. It’s meditative in lots of ways, but gives us insight into the lives of these very different characters that is very believable and interesting. I grew up loving science fiction . I was a huge fan of Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven, Philip K Dick. So I found it interesting to read a modern science fiction book by a female writer. It was great to see this beautiful book, and I think there is a feminine quality to it that comes through, that softens the feeling of it in lots of different ways. Yes, but it also contemplates the future of space travel as well, which is fascinating given what’s happening in America, with Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Have you read Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel? It was on the longlist. I don’t want to give away too much away, but the ending is, like, on a different planet. Literally. It’s a very quick read—maybe a couple of hundred pages—and it’s very enjoyable. All the different stories tie up together really well. And, yeah, it does take you on a mad segue at the end that you will either love or hate. Anyway, it’s fascinating to have this idea of exploring space travel , and what it means for humanity, what it means for gender politics—that’s what was addressed in Headshot , but also in Orbital , in a way. I think there’s something profound in how it’s addressed."
The Best Novels of 2024: The Booker Prize Shortlist ·
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