One Small Step

Despite being such a relatively short book (more a novella than a novel; 207 pages and a word count of roughly 40,000) Orbital was always destined to have a huge impact. And so it came to pass - winning, as it did, the 2024 Booker Prize. I remember saying at the time it would be a book I'd return to often. In pretty much the same way Andrew Smith's Moondust knocked me sideways, so Samatha Harvey's fifth novel, despite its brevity, is still resonating with me long after I finished reading it.

It was also the inspiration for one of my newer songs. I wrote One Small Step last September and recorded it last week (along with I'm Doing Just Fine), and I've got to say I'm blown away with the sound Phil Cooper has achieved. His remarkable production and (almost) angelic backing vocals have lifted the song in a way I couldn't imagine when I was driving down to Bristol last Monday morning singing it in the car. 

John Medd · One Small Step

Planet earth is blue and there's nothing I can do

Discovering new authors, both new and new to me, is a thrill that never goes away. My last couple of reads both fall into that category and have recently given me many hours of pure joy. As ever, I won't give away plot spoilers as I know some of you go on to read these sporadic recommendations I post from time to time. 

Tom Cox is an author whose writing I find enchanting, haunting, funny and unnerving - often at the same time. Centred around a village in the southwest of England, Villager, his 2022 novel, will pull you in - much like a centrifugal force. Told from the perspective of many of its protagonists (including the village itself), not everything is as it seems. My copy, bought seconhand on eBay, is signed (to David) and its inscription tells David and indeed his wider readership all he/they need to know - 'Don't disturb the dolls in the wall!" A terrific read.

Next up is a compact & bijou novel that we read for this month's Book Club. Orbital tells the tale of five astronauts (and one cosmonaut) who work aboard the International Space Station circumnavigating the earth some sixteen times a day (yep, clocking up sixteen sunrises and sixteen sunsets every day). It explores quite beautifully the fragility of both planet Earth and the crew's joint experiences as they float 'round their tin can, far above the world. It enthralled me, I don't mind telling you. Samantha Harvey's writing and the imagery she lays out before the reader is flawless. This is a book I shall come back to often.