WRITING THAT’S OUT OF THIS WORLD
Thanks to Covid-19, many of us are dreaming of an escape from Earth at present – and Samantha Cristoforetti’s absorbing tale of becoming an astronaut and venturing into space offers just that.
The book begins with Cristoforetti strapped into ‘a ball of fire in dizzying descent towards the planet’, returning from the 200 days she spent at the International Space Station from late 2014.
But this is as much a chronicle of the journey to becoming an astronaut as it is of any thrilling jaunts heavenwards, and after the introduction the narrative jumps back six years, to when she’s a 32-year-old military pilot in her native Italy waiting to hear whether she’s been accepted to train as an astronaut with the European Space Agency.
She makes it through and embarks on a five-year training period spanning Houston, Japan and Russia. From underwater spacewalk simulations to adjusting a male-sized spacesuit to fit her female frame, Cristoforetti details every inch of the preparation required for a mission, and soon you’re feeling her anticipation as your own.
When departure day arrives, her declaration that ‘I don’t know what to do with my happiness’ smacks of genuine euphoria rather than hyperbole.
Such instances of emotional candour are rare. Her description of lift-off focuses on physical sensations – ‘It feels like my body is sinking into the rocket’ – rather than the psychological experience of doing something potentially deadly.
But her pragmatism probably makes her a good astronaut – and she’s a gifted writer too, capturing the majesty of life in space where she sees the Northern Lights as ‘a green tongue of flame snaking along the horizon’, along with its absurdity, from astronaut nappies to weightless haircuts.
An enthralling book.