British writer Harvey wins Booker Prize for space story Orbital

Published November 14, 2024 Updated November 14, 2024 08:59am
Samantha Harvey, the first woman to win Booker Prize since 2019.—Courtesy Ealing Times
Samantha Harvey, the first woman to win Booker Prize since 2019.—Courtesy Ealing Times

LONDON: Britain’s Samantha Harvey won the 2024 Booker Prize for her novel Orbital, a story about a single day aboard the International Space Station which she wrote during Covid-19 lockdowns.

The novel, Harvey’s fifth, was the top selling book on the shortlist of six finalists and has sold more copies than the past three Booker Prize winners combined, as readers lapped up her depiction of earth’s beauty as seen from space. Judges of the prize, now in its 55th year, praised her writing for the “intensity of attention to the precious and precarious world”.

Past winners of the prestigious Booker, which is open to works of fiction written in English, include Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Yann Martel.

Harvey said she wrote the novel while stuck at home during the pandemic watching footage of the earth in low orbit on her screen. She likened the experience of her six characters “trapped in a tin can” to that of lockdown.

Set over 24 hours, the astronauts and cosmonauts of her 136 page-story witness sixteen sunrises and sixteen sunsets as they circle the globe. “Everyone and no one is the subject,” said Edmund de Waal, chair of the 2024 judges. “With her language of lyricism and acuity Harvey makes our world strange and new for us.” Harvey walks away with a 50,000 pound prize which she told the BBC she would spend on a new bike.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

China security ties
Updated 14 Nov, 2024

China security ties

If China's security concerns aren't addressed satisfactorily, it may affect bilateral ties. CT cooperation should be pursued instead of having foreign forces here.
Steep price
14 Nov, 2024

Steep price

THE Hindu Kush-Himalayan region is in big trouble. A new study unveiled at the ongoing COP29 reveals that if high...
A high-cost plan
14 Nov, 2024

A high-cost plan

THE government has approved an expensive plan for FBR in the hope of tackling its deep-seated inefficiencies. The...
United stance
Updated 13 Nov, 2024

United stance

It would've been better if the OIC-Arab League summit had announced practical measures to punish Israel.
Unscheduled visit
13 Nov, 2024

Unscheduled visit

Unusual IMF visit shows the lender will closely watch implementation of programme goals to prevent it from derailing.
Bara’s businesswomen
13 Nov, 2024

Bara’s businesswomen

Bara’s brave women have proven that with the right support, societal barriers can be overcome.