BVBook Verdict
Essential Read

Orbital

by Samantha Harvey · 2023

Literary Fiction · ranked #101 in category

Winner · The Booker Prize, 2024

Six astronauts orbit Earth every ninety minutes, watching sixteen sunrises a day, as storms and fires rage below and one crew member waits for news of her dying mother. Harvey's Booker Prize-winning novella asks what it means to look at the Earth from outside it — and whether distance creates clarity or only the illusion of it.

UK: Bookshop.org US: Print on Amazon Kindle Audiobook

UK visitors: Bookshop.org supports independent bookshops. All links open a search — never a specific listing. As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop.org affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

Category
Literary Fiction
First published
2023 · 2020s
Author
Samantha Harvey
Standing
Essential Read

If you liked this

More literary fiction worth your shelf. See the full books like Orbital list. Or try our book club guide.

Beloved Toni Morrison · 1987 Editor's Choice See details →
The Stranger Albert Camus · 1942 Essential Read See details →
The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro · 1989 Essential Read See details →
Atonement Ian McEwan · 2001 Essential Read See details →
The Secret History Donna Tartt · 1992 Essential Read See details →
The Goldfinch Donna Tartt · 2014 Essential Read See details →

Ready to read it?

Get Orbital

Buy at Bookshop.org → Print on Amazon → Kindle edition Audiobook

As an Amazon Associate, Bookshop.org and CJ Affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Magzter

Between books? Read magazines too.

Book readers love Magzter — 10,000+ magazines and newspapers on any device, 50% off the annual GOLD plan.

Start Reading — 50% off Annual Plan →