Has anyone read Orbital?

[JadedVeryJaded]

I couldn’t find a thread about this. I’m about a fifth of the way through and enjoying it but not bowled over. I keep having to re-read sentences. Worth persevering?

I read it over Christmas.

Even though it's short it did take me longer to read than I expected. Probably because there's not an obvious plot. There's not really a forward drive.

But I really enjoyed it - more than I thought I would. I was probably in the right mood and didn't really have any expectations of it. I just felt relaxed and happy to read it; almost as if it was read beautifully to me although I read the physical book. I enjoyed the characters for what they were and I was interested in the things I learned. I enjoyed the thoughts it provoked in me. It didn't feel like it was making a huge point about climate change or anything, which is where it might have gone,

However, hearing from other people who've read it it does seem a marmite book. So I can't say "ooh stick with it, wait for the twist" or whatever. I think it's probably a book I'd find hard to predict if people would enjoy it or not.

Sorry that this is a bit of a rambling reply ☺️

Yep and I didn't enjoy it. Just a long list of countries they're able to see.

I found it pointless.

I enjoyed it as I thought the writing was beautiful but had to take it in small bursts. I'd expected to be able to gallop through but really couldn't.

Yes. But if you’re not enjoying it now, nothing changes. Just see it as a collectively-narrated narrative poem?

I really couldn’t get into it. Kept seeing people online saying how good it was but it just felt like a chore to read and I the subject matter wasn’t my usual sort of thing. I ditched it half way through.

I think these are my thoughts at this point too. I can only manage a few pages each time because the writing is very “rich” and densely descriptive hence needing to re-read sentences. It’s like eating a small piece of incredibly rich chocolate cake, I need to put down my fork after every couple of tiny mouthfuls!!

I’m going to keep going with it now that I know I am not the only one taking it in small bursts.

I thought it was pants !

Fair enough! Care to say why?

I remember thinking it was perhaps reflecting the utter boredom that the people on the ISS must have felt. The lists of countries and things, the amount of time they spent inside their own heads, completely confused by day and time. For a short book it took me a surprisingly long time to read. I didn’t dislike it, but it didn’t wow me. My mum read it after me and she loved it, but she is a big fan of that style of book. It reminded her of Gilead (Marilynne Robinson) which had a similar contemplative feel.
I kept thinking there would be a twist but no, there wasn’t. If you don’t enjoy the first few chapters it probably won’t get any better for you, imo.

It was 1 of 135 I read last year so I'm hazy but I remember thinking it was Emperor's New Clothes, lots of critical acclaim for something fundamentally insubstantial

I really enjoyed it! As a PP said, it’s more like reading a poem than a novel. The long lists of countries worked for me as way of emphasising the feeling of going round and round the earth, seeing different vistas below. I also liked the thought provoking ideas.

I managed to read it in a few sittings-once I twigged there was no plot and no storyline I settled into it.

Great descriptions & interesting from living on the ISS pov but some parts were slightly tedious - l'd persevere but then struggle to not finish a book even if I dislike it.

Gosh, I think it’s the reverse of insubstantial—it takes on issues at the most planetary scale!

I was disappointed with it. My main complaints were:

• As a PP said, that there was far too much about what you could see out of the window. I don't need a list of Siberia, Mongolia, the Himalayas, etc, when there's a bloody map at the front that shows what each circumnavigation was flying over;
• With the whole book only covering 24 hours you didn't get to know or care about any of the characters (in fact I can't remember anyone's name and I only read it a month ago);
• And finally, this book might be interesting to a reader who knows nothing about life aboard the ISS, but if you've seen footage or read the accounts of astro/cosmonauts then you know as much as the author does, since she hasn't been there herself and has based her book on the accounts of those who have, which are already in the public sphere. So basically, I learned nothing from her book that I didn't already know!

Yes. I liked it! I thought it was good. I liked how it played on the reader's sense of perspective. I felt the astronauts' sense of importance (their mission) and their insignificance (frail human beings) at the same time. It made me feel a bit dizzy, a bit odd. I definitely could never be an astronaut. I also had to read it slowly. It could not be rushed. I enclose my review in the screenshots below.

I see what you mean but it's not a piece of non fiction; it's something else. So presumably the "something else" was what you had a problem with; it didn't do anything for you. Which is fair enough.

To me was a prose poem. Listing the countries below then wasn't just about telling you where they were. But the fact that that is what you took from it says it failed as a piece of writing for you, in my opinion.

I bought it for my husband for Christmas, and he wasn’t bowled over, said it lacked narrative. I read it last week and I can see what the op means, it’s actually quite hard to whizz through it as it’s not especially gripping. The descriptions are what’s important, the minutiae of life and how it is to live alongside others. The space station is a microcosm of life on earth, there were descriptions of love, death, family, food- all the things that make us human.
So I did like it, I also liked that it was short!

It was ok ,I would have preferred it if she'd added more depth and narrative to the 6 characters. I think that would have made it a better book.

I’m half way through it and really enjoying it but like a previous poster I also loved Gilead

I was so excited to read this having heard the author speak about it. I hoped for insights into what it means to be human, the fragility and beauty of life, the futility of lots of human endeavour etc etc. Sadly I was disappointed….. I was frustrated by the lack of plot/direction, the superficial characters, the obvious commentary, none of which I felt was fresh. At least it was short.

I didn't finish it. I kept waiting for it to get going a bit more but it was quite repetitive. I skim read a few pages from about halfway to the end to check nothing else was going to happen. I read the ending. I could appreciate the use of language but personally I like my books to have a plot. I'm interested in what life is like on the ISS but I can get that from listening to an interview with Tim Peake!

I usually finish books but this one was taking ages and I felt it was blocking me from reading what I really wanted to.

I got it on audiobook and lost interest with a chapter or so to go.

However, slowed down to about 90% speed, it's absolutely perfect for falling asleep to! It's a bit droney and very sedate. Pretty descriptions to imagine while you doze off. It's like a sleep app. Recommend it for this purpose.

Yes , it was a four star book for me.
Interesting and well written imo

It is beautifully written. But isn't really a story I don't think. More a lyrical, reflective, multi perspective account of life on a space station. I didn't enjoy it like a novel but enjoyed the quality of the writing.

I loved it. It was beautiful, thought-provoking and reflective. I agree with a PP that it’s the very opposite of insubstantial - it’s one of the shortest books I’ve read recently and one of the most substantial.