@2024 Book Chatter | Book Chatter

Orbital
By Samantha Harvey
Grove Press, 9780802163622, October 2024, 224 pp.

The Short of It:

Slightly odd in the telling, but riveting nonetheless.

The Rest of It:

Orbital just won the Booker Prize and was getting a ton of buzz so when my library had it available, I snatched it up.

This is another slim book that packs a punch. At just over 200 pages, there is so much here. The story covers six men and women as they travel through space. These astronauts are from all around the world, Russia, Japan, Italy, the US. The story covers one day of their lives, but in space, one day equates to 16 sunrises and sunsets as they literally fall through space.

Harvey spends time with each person. We get a little of their backstory, their random thoughts and how they are faring from being so far away from their loved ones. Would they do it again? Yes, and no. They absolutely feels blessed to be a part of the program but at the same time, being in space takes its toll.

There is humor but there are also some deep thoughts about life back home. It has been said that this book is a love letter to earth. I would agree. Their perception of the big blue planet is sweet and sometimes a bit heartbreaking. As they gaze upon that beautiful sight, they can’t help but wonder what lies ahead for their beautiful home.

As far as stories go, it’s not terribly plot driven. It’s more of an observation and if you like that sort of thing, that day in the life, fly on the wall perspective, then you will be fascinated as I was.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

I Cheerfully Refuse
By Leif Enger
Grove Press, 9780802162939, April 2024. 336 pp.

The Short of It:

Some books just stop you in your tracks. This is one of them.

The Rest of It:

Rainy and Lark live just off of Lake Superior. Their marriage is pretty wholesome. She is a lover of books and runs a small bookshop. Rainy is a little rough and tumble in appearance but a musician and a romantic at heart. The two are happy, and live a simple existence.

Their lives take a nasty turn after taking in a boarder. Kellen is a strange one. Young, but existing on what is essentially laughing gas. He keeps strange hours and is on the secretive side. The world is slowly changing and Lark and Rainy continue to ponder where this young man fits in.

Then, the unspeakable happens. Their lives are turned completely upside down, Kellen the boarder is gone, and a horrible tragedy is left behind. Did Kellen do this? Did someone else?

Completely bereft, Rainy prepares his small boat and hits the open water to find that elusive thing. Happiness? Peace? But the world is not the same. Towns are overrun by thugs and bullies. Abandoned towns are left with these odd statues taking up residence. What is going on? Some people are fending for themselves, weapons in hand. Others use the downward spiral of the world as an opportunity to take advantage of the weak.

Rainy is at a complete loss until he accidentally runs into a young girl by the name of Sol who needs his help. Sol is like Pippi from Pippi Longstocking! Full of spunk and with a natural tendency to survive. She is the breath of air that Rainy needed and the two form an unbreakable bond.

This story is full of adventure on the high water. Enger puts the reader right on the boat. The sailing terminology, the cold spray when the weather takes a turn, their hunger as they figure out how two can eat with supplies that were hardly enough for one. There are bad guys, a form of “treasure” that makes Rainy and Sol a target, and then there is beautiful music and lovely words from the one book that Lark cherished, a book titled I Cheerfully Refuse.

What a wonderful book!! I cannot sing its praises enough. I laughed and cried. Literally. You will be choked up. It’s slightly dystopian but mostly adventure with plenty of hijinks. Rainy and Sol will forever live in my mind.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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