Orbital
A Novel (Booker Prize Winner)
(Author) Samantha HarveyWINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024 Winner of the 2024 Hawthornden Prize Shortlisted for the 2024 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction Shortlisted for the 2024 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction A singular new novel from Betty Trask Prize-winner Samantha Harvey, Orbital is an eloquent meditation on space and life on our planet through the eyes of six astronauts circling the earth in 24 hours "Ravishingly beautiful." -- Joshua Ferris, New York Times A slender novel of epic power and the winner of the Booker Prize 2024, Orbital deftly snapshots one day in the lives of six women and men traveling through space. Selected for one of the last space station missions of its kind before the program is dismantled, these astronauts and cosmonauts--from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan--have left their lives behind to travel at a speed of over seventeen thousand miles an hour as the earth reels below. We glimpse moments of their earthly lives through brief communications with family, their photos and talismans; we watch them whip up dehydrated meals, float in gravity-free sleep, and exercise in regimented routines to prevent atrophying muscles; we witness them form bonds that will stand between them and utter solitude. Most of all, we are with them as they behold and record their silent blue planet. Their experiences of sixteen sunrises and sunsets and the bright, blinking constellations of the galaxy are at once breathtakingly awesome and surprisingly intimate. Profound and contemplative, Orbital is a moving elegy to our environment and planet.
Samantha Harvey
Samantha Harvey is a British novelist and academic known for her introspective and emotionally resonant writing style. She has authored several critically acclaimed works, including "The Wilderness," "All Is Song," and "Dear Thief." Harvey's novels often explore themes of memory, loss, and identity with a keen focus on the intricacies of human relationships. Her works have been praised for their lyrical prose and deep psychological insight. Harvey's impact on the literary genre lies in her ability to create complex and nuanced characters that resonate with readers on a profound level. Her most famous work, "The Wilderness," was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Man Booker Prize, solidifying Harvey's reputation as a leading voice in contemporary literature.
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