On Orbital

Samantha Harvey’s Orbital is a touching examination of what it means to be human. Rather than a science fiction plot about astronauts in near-earth orbit, the novel is a single day aboard the International Space Station. The crew come from a diverse set of backgrounds — two Russian cosmonauts, and Japanese, American, British, and Italian astronauts — and the book follows just that one day, sixteen trips around the earth, each one showing them something different: the light falling on changing places, cloud formations coming and going, a new angle on familiar continents. The climax comes as a typhoon slams into several Southeast Asian nations; we imagine the people below struggling, suffering, and yet for our intrepid astronauts it is simply another day in the sky.

It’s a thoughtful, reflective meditation on life on earth — best described as a love letter to Gaia, to Terra. The earth is our home. A few dozen people have visited the moon, but they remained in orbit around the earth; not one person has ever gone anywhere beyond it. We dream of Mars and the stars, but the earth plays a special role in our lives, and it’s best we don’t forget it.