Orbital, by Samantha Harvey, the only British author shortlisted this year, has won the 2024 Man Booker Prize, Britain's most prestigious fiction prize.
Harvey's story, about six fictional astronauts on the International Space Station, was chosen by artist and author Edmond de Waal, who chaired the jury, to decide on the “On the Right Day,” which considered a shortlist of six. ” and was “unanimously” chosen as the winner. “Our unanimity on Orbital is that Recognizing its beauty and ambition. It reflects Harvey's extraordinary focus on the precious and precarious world we share. ”
“I didn't expect that,” Harvey said in his acceptance speech. “I was told that swearing is not allowed in speeches, so that's the end of my speech. I just said one curse word 150 times.”
She went on to call her victory “for the planet, not against it, for the dignity of other human beings and other life forms, and for speaking out, calling, and working for peace.” Dedicated to all those who do.
Orbital, published in November last year and now available in paperback, was the best-selling book on the shortlist until the winners were announced, selling 29,000 copies in the UK this year. The book follows the protagonists over the course of a day as they experience 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets, and is described by the Guardian as “a finely crafted meditation on the earth, beauty and human aspirations”. In a book review, Alexandra Harris writes:
At 136 pages, Orbital is the second shortest book in history to win the award. It's four pages longer than Penelope Fitzgerald's 1979 winner Offshore. Asked whether the committee's choice was a vote in favor of shorter books, de Waal said: “Absolutely not,” adding that Orbital was “suitable for what length books are.” That's what we're trying to achieve. ”
Mr. Harvey said that the reason he almost gave up on writing “Orbital'' was because of the following thoughts. Then I lost my nerve and thought I didn't have the authority to write this book. ”
Orbital, which reimagines The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of enslaved Jim, is listed as a favorite by bookmaker William Hill to win alongside Percival Everett's James. Ta. James was the favorite to win at Ladbrokes, with critics agreeing that he was most likely to win the award. Everett is the only man on the finalist list, and this year marks the first time in the award's 55-year history that there are five women on the finalist list. Ms Harvey, who won the £50,000 prize on Tuesday night, became the first woman to win the award in five years. When asked what he would use his winnings for, Harvey said he needed a new bike.
Harvey was previously shortlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize for his debut novel The Wilderness. “Orbital'' is her fifth film, following “All Is Song,'' “Dear Thief,'' and “The Western Wind.'' She also wrote a memoir about her insomnia, The Shapeless Unease, which was published in 2020.
Along with Harvey and Everett, the finalists were Rachel Kushner for Creation Lake, Ann Michaels for Held, Yael van der Woden for The Safe Keep, and Charlotte for Stone Yard Devotional. It was wood.
In addition to De Waal, this year's judges also included novelists Sarah Collins and Yiyun Li, Guardian novel editor Justin Jordan, and musician Nitin Sawhney. . “As judges, we were determined to find books that moved us, books that we wanted to share, books that were inclusive and resonant,” De Waal said. “We wanted it all.”
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“Orbital is our book,” he added. “When six astronauts on the International Space Station orbit the Earth, crossing the fragility of borders and time zones, observing weather trends, their subject is everyone and no one. Harvey makes our world strange and new with its lyrical and incisive language.”
The winners were selected from 156 books published between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024. To be eligible, books must be originally written in English by an author of any nationality and published in the UK or Ireland. Prior to 2014, only books by authors from the British Commonwealth, Ireland and Zimbabwe were eligible.
Comedian Robert Webb, one of last year's judges, called the challenge of reading every book submitted “impossible” and said, “If you've read as many as you can, and you've finished the good but unpublished parts, I'll put the other books aside,” he added. read. However, Mr de Waal said this year's jury had “read all the reviews thoroughly”.
Last year, Irish author Paul Lynch won the award for his dystopian novel Songs of the Prophets. Other recent winners include Shehan Karunatilaka, Damon Galgat and Douglas Stewart. The last time a woman was announced as a winner was in 2019, when Bernardine Evaristo and Margaret Atwood were named co-winners.
