The orbit

Overview of the book: a short novel with epic strength, winner of the Booker Prize for 2024. It vividly depicts a day in the life of six people, men and women traveling in space. These pioneers – coming from America, Russia, Britain, and Japan – were chosen to complete one of the last missions of the space station before ending the program, leaving their lives behind to travel at a speed exceeding seventeen thousand miles per hour. While the Earth spins beneath them, we catch a glimpse of moments from their lives on Earth through their brief communications with their families, their photos, and belongings. We see them preparing dried meals, sleeping while floating, and performing rigorous exercises to prevent their muscles from atrophying, as well as forming bonds that will prevent them from complete isolation. Most importantly, we accompany them as they watch their silent blue planet and gather information about it. Their experiences with sixteen sunrises and sunsets, and with shimmering asteroids in the galaxy, are an astonishing mix of breathtaking grandeur and unexpected emotion. "Al-Madar" is a deep and reflective novel, a poignant ode to our environment and our planet.