Orbital

Harvey spent her childhood in Ditton, England, before moving frequently after her parents’ divorce, living in places like York, Sheffield, and Japan. She studied philosophy at the University of York and the University of Sheffield, drawn to questions about time and existence that would later shape her fiction. Before turning to writing, she worked in environmental conservation and documentary filmmaking. She earned an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University in 2005, followed by a PhD in the same field. Her first novel, The Wilderness (2009), explored memory loss through the perspective of a man with Alzheimer’s. It was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. She followed it with All Is Song (2012) and Dear Thief (2014), both of which examined identity and human connection. In The Western Wind (2018), she set a murder mystery in a medieval village, writing the story in reverse chronological order. Just a few years later, with Orbital (2022), Harvey shifted her focus to space, depicting six astronauts observing Earth from above. In addition to publishing novels, Harvey teaches creative writing at Bath Spa University.

Orbital is deeply informed by real-world space exploration, particularly long-duration missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Since the early 2000s, astronauts have spent months in orbit, facing physical challenges such as muscle atrophy, vision impairment, and disrupted circadian rhythms—all of which are reflected in the novel’s depiction of life in microgravity. The psychological effects of prolonged spaceflight, including isolation and detachment from Earth, have been well documented in astronaut accounts, such as those of Scott Kelly and Chris Hadfield. The novel also engages with the increasing impact of climate change. The typhoon that the astronauts observe mirrors the real-world rise in extreme weather events due to global warming, as warming oceans contribute to more intense storms. Additionally, Orbital arrives at a time when renewed interest in space exploration is reshaping human ambitions, with NASA’s Artemis program and private companies like SpaceX planning missions to the Moon and Mars, marking a new era of space travel.

Orbital shares common ground with works that explore isolation, time, and the human experience in extreme environments. It has been compared to Solaris by Stanislaw Lem, which also examines the psychological effects of space travel, though Orbital is more grounded in realism. Structurally, it echoes Virginia Woolf’s The Waves, with its fluid shifts in perspective and emphasis on interiority over traditional plot. The novel also aligns with The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, particularly in its depiction of how distance alters human perception and connection. In nonfiction, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield and Packing for Mars by Mary Roach provide insights into the realities of space travel, mirroring the technical details in Orbital. The novel’s concern with Earth’s fragility and climate change also recalls Richard Powers’s The Overstory and the speculative environmental concerns of J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned World, though Harvey’s focus remains intimate, emphasizing the personal over the apocalyptic.