Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Orbital : reading experience of a plotless book !

This is the second book of this author that I have tried and I have managed to finish the other book, The western wind , albeit painfully ! It was excruciatingly slow and I don't think I understood it fully.
Frankly speaking ,I am not sure if I like the book or not. My thoughts went through different phrases while I was reading this book ...
My thoughts at the beginning : there is no plot and I do not understand the point of of the book but it is well written and the prose is enjoyable to read . The stream of consciousness writing feels like my own thoughts.

Middle: perhaps she is deliberately writing that way to make us feel that we are trapped in space , in limbo , going nowhere, following a routine set by somebody else , confined to a smallish space, no solitude ,no relaxation and no sleep ..not even good food.

End :do I care about these people ? Not really ! How much of a same routine and same thoughts can a reader take , even when the prose is good ?

But I managed to finish it ( because it was short) ,though at present I do not have any positive thoughts about it.( I felt like I was chewing the same gum for 6 hrs straight!) I do not remember any characters except the Japanese one,( she had a good story!)
I liked some parts of the book eg about the fisherman , the mice experiment ,the medical effects on the body due to lack of gravity. ( I kept on thinking about Sunita Williams , her muscles including cardiac muscles atrophing with lack of gravity.)

Final thoughts :
Humans love stories. And humans love telling other people about their thoughts , without thinking if they are enjoying these thoughts or not.Tell me a good story , I don't care what a bunch of astronauts are thinking up there !! 


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