A Stellar Winner: Orbital by Samantha Harvey, Booker Prize 2024

WINNER of the 2024 Booker Prize, Samantha Harvey’s Orbital is a slender yet profoundly powerful novel that takes readers on a 24-hour journey through space and time. Winner of multiple accolades, including the Hawthornden Prize and shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction, Orbital is a contemplative masterpiece that intertwines the vastness of space with the intimacy of human life.

A Story Among the Stars

Set on one of the last missions aboard an aging space station, Orbital introduces us to six astronauts and cosmonauts from across the globe—America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan—each grappling with their connections to Earth while soaring 17,000 miles per hour above it. As they witness 16 sunrises and sunsets within a single day, readers are invited into their worlds through fleeting moments of communication with loved ones, treasured keepsakes, and the rituals that anchor them in the weightlessness of space.

Through Harvey’s evocative prose, we glimpse these astronauts' lives both in orbit and on Earth. The novel moves seamlessly between their weightless routines—floating sleep, dehydrated meals, and exercises to combat muscle atrophy—and their reflections on family, loss, and the planet they left behind.

A Meditation on Humanity and the Environment

While Orbital is a tale of astronauts, it is also an elegy to Earth. Through the awe-inspiring beauty of the planet viewed from space, the novel emphasizes the fragility of our environment and the urgent need to protect it. Harvey’s writing captures the contrast between the boundless cosmos and the delicate blue orb below, reminding readers of the interconnectedness of all life.

Why Orbital Is Unmissable

• Profound Themes: Tackles existential questions about life, connection, and the environment.
• Masterful Writing: Harvey’s poetic prose paints vivid, breathtaking scenes while delving deep into the human psyche.
• A Global Perspective: The diverse crew members offer a mosaic of experiences and cultures, making the story universally relatable.

Praise for Orbital

“Ravishingly beautiful.” — Joshua Ferris, New York Times
“A novel that lingers like starlight—illuminating, humbling, unforgettable.” — Booker Prize Judges

A Modern Masterpiece

Orbital is a novel that combines the grand scale of the universe with the delicate intricacies of human existence. Profound, moving, and contemplative, it stands as a timeless tribute to the beauty of our planet and the connections that bind us together.

Find Orbital at White Rain Book House, and let Samantha Harvey’s stunning prose take you on a journey that is as vast as the stars and as intimate as a heartbeat.