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Orbital
- Narrated by: Sarah Naudi
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
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Orbital
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
**SHORTLISTED FOR BOOKER PRIZE 2024**
Six astronauts rotate in their spacecraft contemplating the world below
A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments and test the limits of the human body. But mostly they observe. Together they watch their silent blue planet, circling it sixteen times, spinning past continents and cycling through seasons, taking in glaciers and deserts, the peaks of mountains and the swells of oceans. Endless shows of spectacular beauty witnessed in a single day.
Yet although separated from the world they cannot escape its constant pull. News reaches them of the death of a mother, and with it comes thoughts of returning home. They look on as a typhoon gathers over an island and people they love, in awe of its magnificence and fearful of its destruction.
The fragility of human life fills their conversations, their fears, their dreams. So far from earth, they have never felt more part - or protective - of it. They begin to ask, what is life without earth? What is earth without humanity?
'Beautiful in every aspect'
SARAH MOSS, author of Summerwater
'One of the most beautiful novels I have read in a very long time'
MARK HADDON, author of The Porpoise
'One of the UK's most exquisite stylists'
GUARDIAN
‘Awe-inspiring’
Max Porter
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Critic reviews
'Six astronauts on a space station are working, sleeping, and watching the world go by. They think about typhoons, algal blooms, seascapes, cities at night, Velázquez, frog calls, fried eggs, family. Orbital is a lush description of the gorgeous earth, and a broad-minded, level-headed, affectionate take on what goes on down here.' (Daisy Hildyard, author of Emergency)
What listeners say about Orbital
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matilda Wold Dahl
- 03-11-24
Well deserving of it’s spot on the booker price shortlist
Philosophical about space and life on earth. The writing feels powerful. Love the way the chapters were split up.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Marc
- 13-09-24
A Beautiful Meditation on Life.
This was a beautifully narrated meditation on life seen from the vantage point of space, looking back at our small fragile planet.
I found myself swept away in my own reverie, sometimes missing the details whilst being conveyed on something that was greater than the sum of it's parts.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dr Red
- 15-08-24
A beautiful exploration of humanity… from the space station
Gorgeous, satisfying prose and lucid, intelligent writing. Although the action is curtailed and confined, the ideas are unfettered and the collective concerns of the astronauts/cosmonauts encircle the earth with their craft.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Craig Martin Jones
- 07-08-24
Space poetry
This was a beautiful listen.
I enjoyed the back stories for the characters, but wanted to more.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Reviewing Things Hey
- 20-06-24
poetic style, hard sci-fi, good background for work, clear narration
ignore other negative reviews above average in every stake, listen to the sample, it's a good story for work, detailed, but no important story elements are missed if you get distracted for a minute, I could listen to this many times over
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Eve
- 21-10-24
Simply magnificent
This is so different to everything else out there, it’s beautiful and awe inspiring. I will read this over and over.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-10-24
Redundant
From the start to the end, the author recycles the same mantra over and over. The Earth and it's problems seems big when you're on it and insignificant when you're not. This isn't as impactful or as enlightening as what I think the author was trying to convey. It's a simple message told simply.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- chris
- 22-09-24
A PROFOUND NOVEL.
A slender novel of epic power, Orbital deftly snapshots one day in the lives of six women and men hurtling through space—not towards the moon or the vast unknown, but around our planet. 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.
This is a rich, beautiful and lyrical novel. I listened to it over a two day period and I am about to listen to it again. This is not a conventional novel as regards to plot, it is more of a profound meditation on our place in the expanse of the universe. That is not to say that it is preachy or dull, on the contrary it is a work that will stay in your imagination for a long time after you have listened. Sarah Naudi's performance is faultless and the subtle accent led characterisations are captured well. I cannot praise this novel enough.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Avid Reader
- 19-10-24
Sorry - I just found it boring
I'm delighted that others enjoyed this book and it shows just how the diversity of literature matches the diversity of tastes. I just didn't get it. At times, it seemed poetic, at times thoughtful. There was no plot and that doesn't automatically make it terrible, but there was nothing to hold it together for me otherwise. I finished it because it was relatively short and by the time I wanted to quite, I felt it unfair to ask for a refund. I love all the elements that it seems to be aiming for - sci-fi, poetry, contemplation, humanity...but it just didn't work for me. If you listen to the preview, don't assume - as I did - that it will 'warm up'. It's the same style throughout and rather repetitive at times. If you love the preview, perhaps it's worth a try for you.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Roger Smith
- 04-03-24
An interesting book spoilt by poor narration
This is a brave attempt to combine literature, science, philosophy in a lyrical novel. Sadly the narrator just couldn't do it justice. She was obviously not understanding some of what she read, her diction was poor, and her timing erratic. To be fair, this book isn't the easiest read, but so many Audible narrators could have done a better job.
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1 person found this helpful