By Muhammad Nadeem
SRINAGAR: Samantha Harvey’s latest novel, Orbital , has won the 2024 Booker Prize, making it the second-shortest book to claim the accolade at 136 pages and the first set in space. Orbital, Harvey’s fifth novel, transports readers 250 miles above Earth, detailing a day in the lives of six international astronauts on a space station.
Written during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Orbital nearly did not see the light of day. Harvey, reflecting on the novel’s journey, recently shared in a BBC radio interview how her initial doubts as an author without firsthand space experience almost stalled the project. “I thought, ‘Well, I have never been to space. I could never go to space. There are humans who have been to space who write very lucidly about it. Who am I to do this?’” she said.
Orbital is a meditative work blending poetic prose with philosophical inquiries, using a unique narrative approach. It captures the astronauts’ interactions as they orbit Earth, a vantage point that transforms borders and nationalities into mere patches of geography. The novel’s structure employs fragmented, often speculative perspectives—including those of an alien, a robot, and a prehistoric sailor—woven together by an almost lyrical narrative voice. Critics have praised Harvey’s ability to depict both the isolation and unity of humanity, using the space station as a metaphor for harmonious coexistence against Earth’s divisions.
Throughout Orbital, Harvey contrasts two iconic images: Diego Velázquez’s 1656 painting Las Meninas and astronaut Michael Collins’s 1969 photograph of the lunar module returning from the moon. In juxtaposing the bustling, intricate world of the royal Spanish court with the desolate, awe-inspiring vastness of space, Harvey captures a sense of cosmic humility. Velázquez’s painting centers on the Spanish royals and their entourage, while Collins’s photograph encompasses all of humanity yet reflects none of its individuals—a perspective as impersonal as space itself. This contrast echoes in Orbital, where characters feel they are part of something larger, unified by the shared solitude of the space station and the view of Earth’s fragility.
The novel’s structure is largely plotless; it is, as Harvey describes, a “day-in-the-life” narrative. The astronauts, each embodying a different aspect of the crew—heart, hands, conscience—are consummate professionals without the conflicts often dramatized in space-set stories. Instead, Harvey’s novel focuses on existential musings, from the mysteries of life and God to the purpose of progress, evoking a sense of wonder that “trounces despair.”
The book’s cover, a vivid illustration of planets and moons, reinforces this sense of cosmic beauty. Harvey’s prose does not dwell on humanity’s earthly struggles but presents a utopian unity as the astronauts meld with the spaceship, symbolizing a collective experience that transcends national identities and personal histories.
The 2024 Booker Prize jury, chaired by artist and author Edmund de Waal, selected Orbital from 156 entries. De Waal described the novel as one that “moves us, has capaciousness and resonance, and makes our world strange and new.” He praised Harvey’s skill in inviting readers to view the planet from a fresh perspective, restoring “some of life’s original magic.” The judging panel, which included novelist Sara Collins, author Yiyun Li, Guardian fiction editor Justine Jordan, and musician Nitin Sawhney, read every entry in full.
This year’s shortlist reflects a wide thematic range, from Kushner’s Creation Lake to van der Wouden’s The Safekeep. Harvey’s win marks a significant moment in Booker history, as the first time a space-themed novel has been awarded the prize.
Last year’s Booker went to Irish writer Paul Lynch for Prophet Song, and other recent winners include Shehan Karunatilaka, Damon Galgut, and Douglas Stuart. Harvey’s achievement as a female author also breaks a five-year drought for women in the Booker’s top slot; the last female winner was in 2019 with Bernardine Evaristo and Margaret Atwood’s joint win.
For readers, Orbital presents an opportunity to experience Earth anew—from a space where problems seem smaller and connections more profound, reminding us of our shared fragility and the transcendent beauty of our world.
