It’s the first Saturday of the month which means it’s time for another Six Degrees of Separation, hosted by Kate of Books are my Favourite and Best. The idea is that Kate chooses a book to use as a starting point and then we have to link it to six other books of our choice to form a chain. A book doesn’t have to be connected to all of the others on the list – only to the one next to it in the chain.
This month we’re starting with Orbital by Samantha Harvey. I haven’t read it and it doesn’t sound like my usual sort of book, but so many people have loved it that I’m starting to think I’ll have to at least try it. Here’s what it’s about:
A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments and test the limits of the human body. But mostly they observe. Together they watch their silent blue planet, circling it sixteen times, spinning past continents and cycling through seasons, taking in glaciers and deserts, the peaks of mountains and the swells of oceans. Endless shows of spectacular beauty witnessed in a single day.
Yet although separated from the world they cannot escape its constant pull. News reaches them of the death of a mother, and with it comes thoughts of returning home. They look on as a typhoon gathers over an island and people they love, in awe of its magnificence and fearful of its destruction.
The fragility of human life fills their conversations, their fears, their dreams. So far from earth, they have never felt more part – or protective – of it. They begin to ask, what is life without earth? What is earth without humanity?
I’ll start with a book I have read by Samantha Harvey, The Western Wind (1). This is a mystery novel set in a small English village in 1491 and taking place over a period of four days. Unusually, the story is told in reverse, beginning on the fourth day and then moving backwards in time.
Another novel written in reverse is The Night Watch by Sarah Waters (2). This is one of my favourite books by Waters and follows the stories of four people during and after World War II, introducing us to the characters in 1947 before moving back in time to 1944 and then 1941.
The word ‘watch’ also appears in the title of Watch the Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle (3). This is a novel about Penelope Devereux, 16th century noblewoman and sister of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, a favourite of Elizabeth I’s. Penelope is thought to be the inspiration for the poet Philip Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella.
The name Penelope leads me to my next book, The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (4). This is a retelling of the events of the Odyssey from the perspectives of Penelope and the twelve maids who were hanged by her son, Telemachus. The sections narrated by the maids are written in a different style every time – a poem, a ballad, a lecture and even a trial.
Cuddy by Benjamin Myers (5) is also written in a range of styles including a narrative poem and a ghost story told through diary entries. The separate sections of the book all add up to paint a picture of the life and legacy of the Anglo-Saxon monk St Cuthbert, sometimes known by the nickname Cuddy.
My final link is a simple one – another author with the name Benjamin. Well, actually Benjamin Black is a pseudonym of the Irish author John Banville. He has written a number of crime novels under the Black name, including the Quirke series about a 1950s pathologist and a standalone mystery, Prague Nights (6), set in 16th century Prague.
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And that’s my first chain of 2025! My links included Samantha Harvey books, novels with reverse timelines, the word ‘watch’, characters called Penelope, books written in mixtures of styles and authors with the name Benjamin.
In February we’ll be starting with Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.
She Reads Novels 
Nicely worked chain! I’ve been looking for a way into John Banville/Benjamin Black’s books and like the sound of Prague Nights.
I still haven’t read anything he has published as John Banville, but I did find Prague Nights interesting!
Great chain, The Night Watch sounds good.
The Night Watch is great. I’ve enjoyed all of Sarah Waters’ books but that one is possibly my favourite.
Hm… I’m not interested in reading Orbital, but The Western Wind sounds interesting. The only book I’ve read that had a reverse timeline was “I was Anastasia” by Ariel Lawhon, but it also had a forward working one as well, and they sort of meet in the middle. Amazing book, that.
I Was Anastasia sounds intriguing – thanks!
Enjoyed your chain, and I’ve even read two… Night watch and Penelopiad. I rather like reverse told stories so would be interested in the Harvey.
I can’t think of any other reverse told stories I’ve read apart from the Waters and Harvey, but it’s definitely an interesting format.
I so enjoyed The Night Watch. We must be due another novel from Waters soon?
I hope so – it’s been such a long time since her last one!
This is such a delightful game. I also follow a path I’d never have chosen myself, and, along the way, I run across titles I have not seen before that intrigue me.
I enjoy putting a chain together every month – and I always discover new books and authors through visiting other people’s chains!
What a good chain! Fun to find two pseudonym links this week! I never thought of using that [of course you have to know enough about the author to use it]
Thanks! Yes, I noticed someone else had used a pseudonym link this month too.
What an excellent chain!
Thank you!
I am glad you started your chain with The Western Wind by Harvey. I have been trying to find another book by her to read and that one sounds perfect. I did read Sarah Waters’ The Night Watch a few years ago and liked it a lot.
I am currently reading books by Benjamin Black in the Quirke mystery series, and I am enjoying those. They are different from most mysteries but they work for me. When I am done with those I will move on to more Quirke books written as John Banville.
I still haven’t read anything by Black/Banville apart from Prague Nights, but I would like to try the Quirke books, so I’m pleased to hear you’re enjoying them.
I love how different each chain becomes. You have some intriguing tatles here, Helen. And in case I haven’t said it already, Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you too, Sandra. Yes, it’s fascinating to see how all the chains go in such different directions from the same starting point!
Great chain and Happy New Year to you. I’m joining team Orbital too, although like you I had misgivings. People are raving about it.
Happy New Year! I’m still not convinced that I’ll like Orbital, but I think I’m going to at least try it.
It’s always nice to find chains where I haven’t read a single book but it’s also a joy to find some that share at least one book with me. In this case, it’s The Night Watch, great book.
Here is my list:
https://momobookblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/six-degrees-of-separation-orbital.html
I’ve enjoyed all of Sarah Waters’ books, but I think The Night Watch might be my favourite.
That was my only one by her, so far.