Orbital

Our unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition. It reflects Harvey’s extraordinary intensity of attention to the precious and precarious world we share -- Edmund de Waal, Chair of the 2024 Booker Prize judges
In this slender novel, Harvey seems to have encompassed all of humanity… It is an extraordinary achievement * Observer *
Gorgeously poetic… I was knocked out. It’s also surprisingly funny… One of the most original novels I’ve read this year * Sunday Times, *Books of the Year* *
Harvey beautifully evokes the wonder and fragility of our planet and its inhabitants. An uplifting book, in every sense * Guardian, *Books of the Year* *
In Samantha Harvey’s Orbital, six astronauts circle the world 16 times. Gliding through Harvey’s technicolour prose is an equally frictionless experience * Financial Times, *Books of the Year* *
Orbital is the rarest of things, a book that satisfies both my lifelong obsession with space travel and my hunger for sentences and paragraphs that demand to be read and reread… My goodness this novel is beautiful * New Statesman, *Books of the Year* *
Eerily beautiful * Spectator, *Books of the Year* *
One of our most consistently surprising novelists rips up the rulebook again… A boldly imaginative meditation on time and the nature of existence * Daily Mail, *Books of the Year* *
Orbital is entirely original, a serenely beautiful and intelligent creation * Mail on Sunday, *Books of the Year* *
This genius novel… Asks big questions about humanity and the fragility of our lives… Ashort yet exquisite read * i *
In outer space the author hits on the pure swirlingness that her previous works seem to aspire to. The characters’ thoughts mix and flow with the colours and light… Sumptuously written * Times Literary Supplement *
A slender, gleaming novel… Weaving a line of philosophical enquiry through her luminous prose has become something of a trademark for Samantha Harvey * Spectator *
Very beautiful and very special * New Scientist *
One of the most original novels I’ve read in a long time. It’s bold, it’s scintillating and it’s gloriously imaginative… [it] puts humanity into a brave new perspective * The Times *
A slim, profound study of intimate human fears set against epic vistas of swirling weather patterns and rolling continents * Guardian *
Samantha Harvey is one of Britain’s most fascinating writers and this novel is characterized by her sense of awe * Evening Standard *
Stunning… The beauty of the prose engages the reader fully… An uplifting book * Sunday Times *
In contrast to the bleak apocalyptic tone of much contemporary climate fiction, Orbital’s luminous descriptions remind us of the beauty at stake when humanity plays fast and loose with our single, and singular, blue marble * Financial Times *
Harvey’s impressively researched, poetic novel carries a powerful ecological message. Above all, thought, it’s a brilliantly imaginative account of life with the vastness of the cosmos just outside your window * Mail on Sunday *
Mesmerising… Harvey blends prose of poetic beauty with a clarion call to take responsibility for where we live… Orbital deserves to propel Harvey to far greater recognition * i *
A gorgeous novel… An intensely charged reading experience, sustained by the sensory thrill of Harvey’s imaginative attention to detail * Daily Mail *
I loved this short novel, which explores the inner-lives of astronauts as they orbit a troubled, unstable planet. There’s little in the way of plot but the writing is so exquisite, the sense of awe and beauty so well-achieved that I tore through it in a single sitting -- David Nicholls
Orbital is as beautiful as it is profound -- Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven
Beautiful in every aspect -- Sarah Moss, author of Summerwater
One of the most beautiful novels I have read in a very long time -- Mark Haddon, author of The Porpoise
This is such a beautiful book you have to adjust your readerly heart to take it all in... It is an awe-inspiring and humbling love letter to Earth and those who reckon with the gift of it -- Max Porter, author of Shy
Six astronauts on a space station are working, sleeping, and watching the world go by. They think about typhoons, algal blooms, seascapes, cities at night, Velázquez, frog calls, fried eggs, family. Orbital is a lush description of the gorgeous earth, and a broad-minded, level-headed, affectionate take on what goes on down here -- Daisy Hildyard, author of Emergency