Earth - shattering and sharing

It was a bouncing Banjo who greeted us all enthusiastically as we arrived at 1 Fox Street on 12 November 2025 for our last meeting of the year to discuss the books to round out our hare raising year.  Two-caps Barb was last to walk through the gate, and Cherilyn was the one apology, being previously committed to a musical evening rather than a convivial literary one.  

 

Colour and shape

Star jasmine was the opening sit-down/glass-of-wine conversation starter, creeping its way through gardens, fences, roof tops and pear trees – for which colour and shape is everything.  But for two-caps, were they Manchurian, Oriental, Ornamental, Bartlett (Megan’s preference) or something else?   

 

Soon, jasmine talk dwindled out and was overtaken by book discussion - launched via Orbital, the 2024 Booker winner written by Samantha Harvey - but not before an unscientific riff on how satellites circle the Earth (see below for a proper answer).  

For an author of such a contemporary book, it was a little surprising, but somehow welcome news to discover Harvey is a social media reclusive.  Author of five books, and with a degree in Philosophy from York University, Sue said her background story was challenging to find, but Cherrie's sleuthing suggested trying Radio National for some snippets - https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/bigideas/out-of-this-world-booker-prize-winning-author-samantha-harvey/105871714

  

With no narrative, no characterisation, and no chapters (structured through the 16 orbits of Earth the International Space Station makes in 24 hours 250 miles above the Earth)*, the book pushed the boundaries of the novel form of writing.  Understandably, it also pushed some readers, who decided that 136 pages were just about enough - and maybe a few too many, especially when some pages had to be re-read.   

Nell's spacewalk (don't look down!) created some discussion around how it was that the astronauts were able to leave the craft to do repairs - and perhaps this NASA image answers the query with each astronaut tethered by a wire to the ISS (just visible if you look really hard starting from the bottom right hand corner).  

Attention to the stories of the 6 international astronauts** and their extraordinary daily existence on the International Space Station – including their regular 2 hour exercise routine; waste disposal; and tasteless calorie intake - were a little relief from the imposing philosophical questions the book took us to - because it was essentially a soliloquy on planet Earth and human existence.  Some BIG questions were traversed in the 136 pages  - Are we alone: Is there a grand design: Is there a grand designer; Why do we humans think we’re so special; The wondrousness of the natural world of Earth, and the Mystery of Space.   

A number of orbits referenced climate change as the typhoon bore down on the Phillipines; other orbits referenced the importance of 'perspective' through Shaun’s postcard of Diego Valezquez’s 1656 painting, Las Meninas, and Michael Collins' 1969 image of the Luna module returning to Apollo 11, when for the first time all the world saw itself.  'We all see things differently' was the starting point here for Harvey, but she ultimately posed the question ‘do differing perspectives matter when we’re all in this together?’  (ed:  I would have liked to include Cherrie's erudite quotation from the book here about the folly of human's capacity for war and destroying everything, but a. I lost the precise words, so b. I couldn't find them).   And a final ed note: they say astronauts come back to Earth changed for the good after experiencing the wonder of space, so I'm voting to send Trump, Putin, Netanyahu and few other so called strongmen up to the ISS.

 

It was a challenging, unconventional book and very different to our next venture into the natural world.  Julie talked about Chloe Dalton's background as a high pressure advisor in UK politics before finding her little leveret when in lockdown in the country.  Expecting the book to be a journey about how the leveret led her back a more satisfying life in politics, it did anything but.    After taking advice, Dalton resisted attempts at domestication, going to great lengths to respect its 'territory' and preserve the hare's wild and natural existence.  Following the hare through its life cycle, the book in turn reflected on Dalton's capacity to think differently, and the way in which humans can respectfully interact with the natural world.  Our readers agreed it was a well paced and well written entree into eco-lit, where the leveret was the winner, while the humans showed what they are capable of if they take the time to understand the misunderstood.

Is Bugs a Bunny (top left) or Hare (bottom right)?

There was quite some discussion on the difference between rabbits and hares, with the 'M' country girls (Margy, Mog and McLassie) familiar with the different ways in which each animal inhabited the countryside (eg rabbits burrow; hares don't).  This then riffed into a discussion about McLassie's mother cooking Jugged Hare, and while its not the same recipe, here we go for the game cookers - 

Jugged hare is a traditional stew made from hare, which is first cut into pieces, marinated in red wine and spices, and then slow-cooked in a tall jug placed in a pan of water. The term "jugging" refers to this method of cooking, which is a form of stewing that can be replicated in a modern oven using a casserole dish. Historically, the hare's blood was added to the sauce to thicken and enrich it, though modern recipes may use other thickening agents like cornflour. 

Banjo started to get restless with the talk of rabbits and Jugged Hare, and so with the consensus that 'Raising Hare' wasn't hair raising but did raise awhareness about sharing the planet with other animals, the Orange/Almond cake came out with cups of tea.  Kathy opened the cake-time natter, suggesting some recent HBO shows worth watching, including 'The Pit' and 'Task' (some violence but worth it to see Mark Ruffalo says Kathy, who appears to hold a candle for the actor), but after some research from your editor, you will need to add on to your Foxtel or Amazon Prime subscription to get HBO offerings in Australia.  Conversation about cooking/eating for one or two, cooking roasts for family, daily eating habits and selling houses (all 🤞for Mog's bid reveal on Monday) rounded up the evening.    

Country flowers - with text poem by Laura

 "Your mum brought me flowers

And I love them!

You never bring me flowers

She is now my favourite person".

As we packed up our trappings and bid farewell to Banjo and the country flowers, we settled the first meeting for 2026 on Wednesday 11 March.  Venue to be decided, and book selections are

Cherilyn: Flashlight by Susan Choi (get in early because there's a 24 week wait via Libby)

Barb: choice to come before Christmas.  Maybe The Confidence Woman by Sophie Quick, or This is Happiness by Niall Williams - but definitely won't be Nobby's selection of poems by his friend

 

Afterwords:

Satellite answer: Satellites stay in fixed orbits above a country by occupying a geostationary orbit, which is a unique type of orbit around 35,786 km above the equator; here, a satellite moves at the same rotational speed as Earth, so it appears stationary over one longitude. This is how communication and weather satellites can always 'hover' above the same region, providing continuous coverage. 

 

*Megan was correct

**and why are some called Astronauts, and the Russians Cosmonauts?  Is it just a language thing?

For people interested in the ISS App where you can track its orbit, its called 'Spot the Station' by NASA.