BOOK REVIEW: Orbital by Samantha Harvey

One of the most memorable books I’ve read in the past few years was The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey. And yet, it has taken me this long to read another of Harvey’s books.

Orbital is a fairly short contemporary literary novel that, like The Western Wind, is uniquely structured by time. And the writing is beautiful. 

Have you ever wondered what life would be like on the International Space Station? What you would see? What would occupy your thoughts? How you would feel? Well, I never have. And now I don’t have to. Because Samantha Harvey explores this in such rich detail, readers might as well be up there orbiting.

Orbital follows four astronauts and two cosmonauts on the space station over the course of one 24-hour day, which corresponds to 16 orbits around the earth. We get to see the work they do, the leisure they enjoy, and their views of the world they pass over. And we get very intimate looks into their psyches. Why did they choose this career? Who do they miss at home? What do they think about as they gaze down at the earth or out into space?

It’s a meditative novel, focused on character and setting. And will leave you thinking of the world in a whole new way.