Samantha Harvey: Orbital

Hi everyone

I just finished Samantha Harvey's Orbital, the book that won her (among others) the 2024 Booker Prize.
I read this on my e-reader.

"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. Most of all, we are with them as they behold and record their silent blue planet. Their experiences of sixteen sunrises and sunsets and the bright, blinking constellations of the galaxy are at once breathtakingly awesome and surprisingly intimate."

This book was not my cup of tea at all. If it had been longer, I’m sure I would’ve given up on it. I struggled to read more than 10 minutes at a time.

The problem wasn’t that nothing much happens; I can enjoy character-driven novels where the focus is on atmosphere, thoughts, and observations. But Orbital isn’t that. Instead, it feels like an endless list of geographical features (lakes, cities, mountains, rivers) seen from space. When it’s not cataloging Earth’s landscape, it’s filled with repetitive musings about life, God, and home. This is not a novel, this is an essay or a school lesson and not a particularly good one either. 
The potential here is huge: six people from different cultures, confined in a space station, with all the tension, bonding, and psychological depth that could come from that. But nothing happens. There’s no conflict, no real character development, no exploration of their relationships or the toll of isolation. 
The characters all blend together; there’s no distinction between them, no unique voices or perspectives. They might as well be the same person repeated six times.
The writing style didn’t help either. The prose is too flowery, too grandiose, like it’s trying so hard to be Grand Literature, sound intellectual or to impress a prize committee. Instead of feeling profound, it comes across as pretentious and empty.  

All in all, Orbital had so much promise, but it failed to deliver for me. 

Have you read Orbital? Did it work for you, or did you feel the same way? I’d love to hear your thoughts; especially if you disagreed with me! 

Happy reading!
Helena