“In a book of only 136 pages, the novel “In Orbit” became one of the two shortest in the history of the Booker and the first laureate whose action takes place in space”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
The jury gave the victory to Harvey unanimously. “Sometimes you come across a book and you can’t understand how this wonderful event happened,” said the head of the jury, writer and artist Edmund de Waal.
In a book of only 136 pages, the novel “In Orbit” became one of the two shortest in the history of the Booker and the first laureate whose action takes place in space. The book tells about one day in the life of six astronauts who are on the International Space Station.
“I thought of it as a cosmic pastoral – a kind of natural philosophy about the beauty of the cosmos,” said Harvey about the process of writing the book.
The award ceremony took place in London. Harvey received a statuette and 50 thousand pounds. Among the six nominees who were shortlisted for the award this year, there were five women. The last time women received the Booker was five years ago.
The Booker International Prize has been awarded since 2005 to authors whose works have been translated into English and published in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Until 2015, winners were announced once every two years, then every year.
Last year, the 46-year-old Irish writer Paul Lynch won the Booker Prize for his dystopian novel “The Song of the Prophet”.