A lovely work of space-based literary fiction. We follow the musing of six astronauts (well two are cosmonauts) in the international space station for sixteen orbits - 24 hours. We switch between the wide spectrum of nationalities and back stories, learning just enough to become invested before switching to the next viewpoint.
The writing is genuinely beautiful, florid descriptions of the earth in both its human and natural states. There is no big storyline or disaster, just a normal day for people doing an extraordinary thing. It's the moments of wonder and philosophising between the mundane activities that make this different - It's a bit like listening to multi-national versions of Carl Sagan. There are sentences grand in scope that try to cover the vastness of creation with the fleeting importance of our own, frustratingly distracted world.
There are clear political and environmental threads, the author seems disappointed by aspects of humanity (justified to a degree!) and pairs it with an even grander space mission that departs during the day. Possibly questioning our continued push along a path with much achievement but little wisdom.
"progress is not a thing but a feeling, a feeling of adventure, an expansion that starts in the belly and works to the chest, and often ends in the head where it tends to go wrong"
I saw some reviews call it a long tour of Google earth with fancy words - haha. The descriptive sections can feel like this after a while - for sure a good thing that it is short. It is an original and pretty little book, but it won't suit everyone.
"They hang in their sleeping bags. A hand-span away beyond a skin of metal the universe unfolds in simple eternities."