British writer Samantha Harvey received the Booker Prize on Tuesday, the most prestigious in English fiction literature, thanks to her novel “Orbital”, in which she recounts the conversations and thoughts of six astronauts on the International Space Station.
Harvey, who was surprised and excited after receiving the award, admitted to feeling “overwhelmed” by the magnitude of the prize.
“What we do to the Earth, we do to ourselves. This award is dedicated to those who speak for and not against the Earth; and to those who speak on behalf of and not against the dignity of others,” he said in his acceptance speech. With her victory, Harvey becomes the first woman since 2019 to win the Booker, winning among six finalists, only one of whom was a man.
At 136 pages, “Orbital” is the second shortest book, after “Offshore”, by Penelope Fitzgerald, in 1979, to win this prize worth 50,000 pounds.
The novel explores the reflections on life on Earth of six astronauts on the International Space Station over 24 hours, during which they circled the planet 16 times.
During this period, they will have to face the death of a loved one, the arrival of a typhoon and the fragility of human life.
The president of the jury, writer and artist Edmund de Waal, explained that they were looking for a book that “had scale and resonance” and that they were “compelled to share”.
“Samantha Harvey has written a novel propelled by the beauty of 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets. “The subject is everyone and no one, as six astronauts circle the Earth and watch the weather unfold across the fragility of borders and time zones,” De Waal said.
Harvey, who was already on the list of nominees for this prize in 2009 with ‘The Wilderness’, thus becomes the nineteenth to win the Booker, out of 36 men.
The other nominees in this edition, after Irishman Paul Lynch won the prize last year with “Prophet song”, were Rachel Kushner, Anne Michaels and Percival Everett.
