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Hannah Greendale (Hello, Bookworm)'s Reviews > Orbital
Orbital
by
by
Hannah Greendale (Hello, Bookworm)'s review
bookshelves: adult, fiction, novella, literary-fiction, best-of-the-year, science-fiction, contemporary, booker-prize-nominee
Nov 13, 2023
bookshelves: adult, fiction, novella, literary-fiction, best-of-the-year, science-fiction, contemporary, booker-prize-nominee
A starlit elegy to planet earth. 🌎
Want to see my Top Reads of 2023 on BookTube? Come find me at Hello, Bookworm.📚🐛
"Sometimes they look at the earth and could be tempted to roll back all they know to be true, and to believe instead that it sits, this planet, at the centre of everything."
Small but mighty! A stunning meditation on our wondrous planet earth.
This book gives account of just one day in the lives of six astronauts who are orbiting the earth. Samantha Harvey allows us glimpses of their daily lives as well as quiet, reflective moments on their personal lives. But the greatest moments this book has to offer come in the form of lyrical descriptions of the view outside the astronauts' window.
Orbital is not a book to rush through. It's one that demands to be read slowly, consumed in small bites. Even then, it will be over soon, but its wondrous offerings will be savored long after.
Want to see my Top Reads of 2023 on BookTube? Come find me at Hello, Bookworm.📚🐛
"Sometimes they look at the earth and could be tempted to roll back all they know to be true, and to believe instead that it sits, this planet, at the centre of everything."
Small but mighty! A stunning meditation on our wondrous planet earth.
This book gives account of just one day in the lives of six astronauts who are orbiting the earth. Samantha Harvey allows us glimpses of their daily lives as well as quiet, reflective moments on their personal lives. But the greatest moments this book has to offer come in the form of lyrical descriptions of the view outside the astronauts' window.
Orbital is not a book to rush through. It's one that demands to be read slowly, consumed in small bites. Even then, it will be over soon, but its wondrous offerings will be savored long after.
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Reading Progress
November 11, 2023
–
Started Reading
November 11, 2023
– Shelved
November 11, 2023
– Shelved as:
adult
November 11, 2023
– Shelved as:
fiction
November 11, 2023
– Shelved as:
novella
November 12, 2023
–
61.11%
""But all the same the disc and its recordings will wander, trapped for eternity, around the Milky Way. In five billion years when the earth is long dead, it'll be a love song that outlives spent suns. The sound signature of a love-flooded brain, passing through the Oort Cloud, through solar systems, past hurtling meteorites, into the gravitational pull of stars that don't yet exist.""
page
88
November 13, 2023
– Shelved as:
literary-fiction
November 13, 2023
–
Finished Reading
January 8, 2024
– Shelved as:
best-of-the-year
July 30, 2024
– Shelved as:
science-fiction
July 30, 2024
– Shelved as:
contemporary
July 30, 2024
– Shelved as:
booker-prize-nominee
Comments Showing 1-10 of 10 (10 new)
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message 1:
by
Robert
(new)
Jan 13, 2024 08:46PM
This is on our nomination list for the 2024 BookTube Prize, but I suspect that so few people know of it, it might not make the field of 48.
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Robert wrote: "This is on our nomination list for the 2024 BookTube Prize, but I suspect that so few people know of it, it might not make the field of 48." Oh, it'll be such a shame if it doesn't make the list, but if it's any consolation, I think there's a good chance we'll see this book hit some other prize lists this year.
A most unusual and enjoyable book read through unique circumstances. One of 5 finalists for the 2024 Booker, this was the only one I was able to get in audiobook from Libby as it was not expected to win. And lo and behold...SURPRISE! It is excellent in its content and uniqueness. Albeit it took me a while to acclimate my 81 year old hearing aide assisted hearing to the reader's accent.
I read the 5 finalists for the Booker prize and picked this one before the judges did. It was extraordinary.
I like it too! I just finished and I’m not allowed to comment because comments are shut off. What the heck? Are people trolling the book? It’s ironic that people can’t be civil even in the realm of arts and literature.
They have to be so reactionary and instead of just reviewing the book they have cram in all their personal world view baggage.
I gave it 4 stars.
I think it’s beautiful and melancholy. It’s like a big long epitaph for earth.
It is a strange book.
Apparently it really set some people off!
Ed wrote: "A most unusual and enjoyable book read through unique circumstances. One of 5 finalists for the 2024 Booker, this was the only one I was able to get in audiobook from Libby as it was not expected t..." I'm late to the party in hearing that this book won the Booker. That's fantastic! A well deserved win, in my opinion. I'm delighted you enjoyed it too.
Carol wrote: "I read the 5 finalists for the Booker prize and picked this one before the judges did. It was extraordinary." That's wonderful! I'm so glad it resonated with you.
Ingrid wrote: "I like it too! I just finished and I’m not allowed to comment because comments are shut off. What the heck? Are people trolling the book? It’s ironic that people can’t be civil even in the realm o..." Oh wow, I hadn't looked at the reviews in a while. I had no idea people held such strong opinions about the book and its author (though I can understand their disdain for Russia, given all that's unfolded in recent years). I agree that it's a strange book, an epitaph for Earth (and a beautiful one at that).
I’m fascinated by all the people who say they hated it. I just loved this book and can’t stop gushing about it. It was such an incredible way to tune out all the chaos and BS in the world, to remember that we are insignificant, and the earth will go on long after we are gone. Best of 2024!!!!
Liz wrote: "I’m fascinated by all the people who say they hated it. I just loved this book and can’t stop gushing about it. It was such an incredible way to tune out all the chaos and BS in the world, to remem..." Beautifully said. I couldn't agree more!
