The British author Samantha Harvey was awarded yesterday with the prestigious booker prize 2024 thanks to his novel ‘Orbital’, a work that addresses the lives of six astronauts aboard the International Space Station. This book, described as “beautiful and ambitious” by the jury president, Edmund de Waalwas unanimously chosen as the winner among six finalists. According to de Waal, who is also an artist and writer, “we all agree in recognizing the beauty and ambition of ‘Orbital’, which “reflects Harvey’s extraordinary attention to the precious and precarious world we share.”
With only 136 pages, ‘Orbital’ is the second shortest novel in the history of the award, surpassed only by ‘Offshore’, by Penelope Fitzgerald, which won in 1979. The work, published in November 2023, has sold 29,000 copies in the United Kingdom this year, becoming the most successful title on the shortlist. The story takes place on a single day inside the International Space Station, where the characters experience 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets while orbiting the Earth. Harvey uses this context to offer a deeply elaborate reflection on the beauty of the planet, the aspirations of people and, in general, the fragility of human existence.
«Spatial pastoral»
In his speech, Harvey dedicated the award “to all the people who speak out and work for the Earth and peace.” The author confessed to having faced doubts during the writing process, saying she “wondered why anyone would want to listen to a woman at her desk in Wiltshire writing about space when there are people who have actually been there.” However, her innovative vision led to the creation of a work that she describes as a “spatial pastoral”, a fusion between writing about nature and the immensity of the cosmos.
The jury, headed by De Waalincluded novelist Sara Collins; editor Justine Jordan; the writer Yiyun Li and musician Nitin Sawhney. According to the president, “we were looking for a book that moved us, that had resonance and that we would want to share.” In addition to ‘Orbital’, the finalists were ‘James’, by Percival Everett, a reimagining of ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ from the perspective of the enslaved Jim; ‘Creation Lake’, by Rachel Kushner; ‘Held’ by Anne Michaels; ‘The Safekeep’ by Yael van der Wouden and ‘Stone Yard Devotion’ by Charlotte Wood.
First woman since 2010
This recognition makes Harvey the first woman to win the award since 2019. In this edition, five of the six finalists were women, marking a milestone in the 55-year history of the award. ‘Orbital’ was written during the Covid lockdowns, which, according to Harvey, allowed him to connect the experience of his characters “trapped in a metal can” with the feeling of isolation that marked much of the world.
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