Wed Nov 13 02:30:08 UTC 2024: ## British Writer Samantha Harvey Wins 2024 Booker Prize for “Orbital”
British author Samantha Harvey has been awarded the prestigious 2024 Booker Prize for her novel “Orbital,” a beautifully expansive tale set on the International Space Station. The judges, led by Edmund de Waal, were unanimous in their decision, recognizing the novel’s “beauty and ambition” in exploring a “wounded world.”
“Orbital” follows the lives of six astronauts, two men and four women, as they navigate a single day on the space station, witnessing 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets. The novel delves into themes of humanity and the fragility of the planet, as the astronauts reflect on the world below.
De Waal described the novel as a story about “everyone and no one,” highlighting the lyrical and acute language used by Harvey to present a fresh and strange perspective on the world. “With her language of lyricism and acuity Harvey makes our world strange and new for us,” he said.
The judges emphasized that “Orbital” transcends mere issue-driven fiction, instead inhabiting ideas and prompting a deeper reflection on the questions we choose to explore.
At 136 pages, “Orbital” is the second-shortest book to win the Booker Prize and the first set in space. The 50,000-pound ($64,000) prize was dedicated by Harvey to “everybody who does speak for and not against the Earth; for and not against the dignity of other humans, other life; and all the humans who speak for and call for and work for peace.”
Harvey, who wrote much of the novel during the COVID-19 lockdowns, initially struggled with self-doubt, questioning her authority to write about space. However, she ultimately overcame those fears and delivered a powerful and moving story that resonated with the judges and will undoubtedly resonate with readers worldwide.
First Piper 