Have you ever looked up at the night sky and felt impossibly small? Samantha Harvey’s “Orbital” takes that feeling and amplifies it a thousandfold, sending us hurtling through space alongside six astronauts aboard the International Space Station. It’s a breathtaking journey that’ll leave you dizzy with wonder and aching with a renewed love for our fragile blue marble.
Samantha Harvey, known for her introspective literary fiction like “The Western Wind” and “The Shapeless Unease,” has crafted something truly special here. “Orbital” defies easy categorization – it’s part philosophical meditation, part poetic love letter to Earth, with just enough hard sci-fi edges to keep space nerds satisfied. And let me tell you, it’s no wonder this book has landed on the Booker Prize 2024 longlist. It’s the kind of read that burrows into your soul and sets up camp.
Spinning Through Space and Time
The plot, such as it is, follows our six astronauts—Nell, Shaun, Pietro, Roman, Anton, and Chie—as they go about their daily routines aboard the ISS. They conduct experiments, maintain equipment, and gaze in awe at the ever-changing vista of Earth below. But really, the planet itself is the main character here. We cycle through sixteen orbits, each offering a new perspective on our world and humanity’s place in it.
Harvey’s prose is nothing short of mesmerizing. She has this uncanny ability to zoom in on the tiniest details of life aboard the station—the way a drop of water behaves in zero gravity, the eerie silence of a spacewalk—and then suddenly pull back to give us these sweeping, heart-stopping views of continents and oceans sliding by. It’s like she’s playing with a cosmic camera, constantly adjusting the focus to keep us off-balance in the most delightful way.
A Crew of Complex Characters
Now, I’ll admit, at first I was a bit worried about keeping track of six different astronauts. But Harvey does a masterful job of bringing each one to life. They’re not just highly trained professionals – they’re deeply human, with all the messy emotions and contradictions that entails.
There’s Nell, the former meteorologist who finds herself homesick for the very weather patterns she now observes from above. Shaun, the devout Christian grappling with what his faith means in the face of the universe’s vastness. Pietro, whose thoughts keep drifting to the family he left behind on Earth. Roman and Anton, the Russian cosmonauts carrying the weight of their nation’s space legacy. And Chie, mourning her mother’s death from an impossible distance.
In Orbital, Samantha Harvey weaves their stories together with such skill that by the end, you feel like you’ve known these people for years. Their fears, their dreams, their little quirks—it all comes together to create this beautifully complex portrait of humanity, suspended in the void.
Earth: A Character in Its Own Right
But let’s talk about that view, shall we? Because good lord, the way Harvey describes our planet is enough to make you weep. She captures every nuance of light and color, from the “creamy light off the ocean so exquisite” to the “apricot desert of Takla Makan traced about with the faint confluencing and parting lines of creek beds.” It’s like she’s painting with words, and each brushstroke is more beautiful than the last.
What really got me, though, was how she uses these descriptions to drive home the fragility of our world. We see the scars of deforestation, the sprawl of cities, the aftermath of natural disasters. There’s this gut-punch of a moment when the crew watches a massive typhoon form and slam into the Philippines, utterly helpless to do anything but observe. It’s a powerful reminder of how vulnerable we really are, despite all our technological advances.
The Poetry of Science
Now, I’m no scientist, but I found myself utterly fascinated by the technical aspects of life aboard the ISS. Harvey clearly did her homework, and she has this knack for making complex concepts accessible without dumbing them down. The way she describes the mechanics of orbiting Earth—this constant freefall that creates the illusion of weightlessness—is just a chef’s kiss.
But what I really loved was how she uses these scientific details as jumping-off points for deeper philosophical musings. There’s this beautiful passage about how the astronauts’ perception of time gets warped in space, experiencing sixteen sunrises and sunsets in a single Earth day. It becomes this meditation on the nature of reality and how our understanding of the world is shaped by our perspective.
A Mirror to Humanity
At its core, Orbital by Samantha Harvey is a deeply humanist novel. By removing her characters from Earth, Harvey gives us this unique lens through which to examine what it means to be human. The astronauts grapple with big questions—mortality, faith, and purpose—but they also deal with mundane frustrations like missing fresh food or craving a hot shower.
There’s a particularly poignant thread running through the book about motherhood and family. Chie’s grief for her mother, observed from such an impossible distance, is heartbreaking. And Pietro’s longing for his wife and children becomes this ache that seems to stretch across the cosmos.
Harvey doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of human nature, either. We see hints of international tensions, reminders of war and environmental destruction. But there’s also this profound sense of unity that comes from seeing Earth as a single, borderless entity. It’s a perspective that feels especially relevant in our current fractured world.
A Literary Spacewalk
Let’s talk style for a moment, because hoo boy, Harvey’s writing is something else. Her sentences have this lyrical, almost hypnotic quality that perfectly captures the dreamlike state of floating in space. She’ll give you these long, flowing passages that sweep you along like a cosmic current, and then hit you with short, staccato observations that jolt you back to reality.
I found myself constantly torn between wanting to race ahead to see what happened next and wanting to linger over every perfectly crafted phrase. It’s the kind of writing that demands to be savored, like a fine wine or a spectacular sunset.
And can we talk about that structure? Sixteen orbits, each offering a new perspective on Earth and our characters. It’s brilliantly conceived, giving the novel this sense of constant motion that mirrors the ISS itself. Harvey uses this framework to play with time in fascinating ways, jumping back and forth between past and present, memory and reality.
A Gentle Touchdown
Now, I’ll be honest – if you’re coming to “Orbital” expecting a plot-driven space thriller, you might be disappointed. This isn’t “The Martian” or “Gravity.” The external conflicts here are subtle, more existential than physical. But that’s exactly what makes it so powerful.
The ending (don’t worry, no spoilers here) left me with this bittersweet ache in my chest. It’s not neat or tidy, but it feels deeply true to the story Harvey has crafted. I found myself staring up at the night sky afterward, seeing it with entirely new eyes.
A New Perspective on an Old Genre
Orbital by Samantha Harvey isn’t the first book to use space as a lens for examining humanity, but it feels utterly fresh and necessary. It sits somewhere between the philosophical sci-fi of Arthur C. Clarke and the lyrical observations of Annie Dillard’s nature writing. Fans of Mary Robinette Kowal’s “Lady Astronaut” series might appreciate the focus on the human side of space exploration, while readers who loved Emily St. John Mandel’s “Station Eleven” will find similar themes of art and humanity in the face of vastness.
What sets “Orbital” apart is Samantha Harvey’s incredible prose and her laser focus on Earth itself as a character. This isn’t a book about conquering space or surviving alien encounters. It’s about rediscovering our own world and our place in it.
A Book That Will Stay With You
Look, I’m not going to pretend “Orbital” is a breezy beach read. It asks big questions and doesn’t always provide easy answers. But trust me, it’s worth the mental effort. This is the kind of book that expands your mind and opens your heart.
Days after finishing it, I’m still catching myself staring out windows, marveling at clouds and horizons in a way I haven’t since childhood. And isn’t that what great literature is supposed to do? Shake us out of our comfortable patterns and make us see the world anew?
So do yourself a favor. Pick up Orbital by Samantha Harvey, strap in, and prepare for liftoff. Just don’t be surprised if you come back to Earth a slightly different person than when you left. And hey, with that Booker Prize nomination, you can bet this book is going to be sparking conversations for a long time to come. Why not get ahead of the curve and experience it for yourself?
