The Booker Prize 2024

Orbital by Samantha Harvey has been announced as the winner of The Booker Prize 2024. The Booker Prize is the world’s most influential prize in the English speaking world for a single work of fiction. The six books shortlisted this year were selected by the judging panel from over 150 works - the winner was announced on the 12th November. Borrow the winning and five shortlisted titles from DCU Library today - see more details about the books and check their availability below.
The cover image for the book Orbital by Samantha Harvey which shows a view of earth surrounded by colourful blobs

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Orbital by Samantha Harvey

Orbital gives a snapshot of one day in the lives of six women and men hurtling through space. The astronauts have left their lives behind to travel at a speed of over seventeen thousand miles an hour as the earth reels below. We glimpse moments of their earthly lives as well as their experiences with each other in space. The novel is a meditation on space and an elegy to our humanity, environment, and planet.

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The cover image for the book Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner which shows a woman lying on her back on the ground

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Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner 

Creation Lake is a novel about 'Sadie' who is a ruthless secret agent sent to spy on a subversive group of activists in France. She becomes entranced by a mysterious figure named Bruno who communicates only by email. The novel is a page-turner which will appeal to fans of noir fiction.

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The book cover for Held by Anne Michaels which shows a woman with a scarf tied around her head

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Held by Anne Michaels

John tries to rebuild his life after World War 1 but he is haunted by ghosts whose messages he cannot understand. What follows is a story that spans four generations, moments of connection and consequence igniting and re-igniting as the century unfolds. 

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The cover image for the book James by Percival Everett which shows a man with a bundle on his back walking through water

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James by Percival Everett 

James is a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view. While many of the central events of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.

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The cover image for the book stone yard devotional by Charlotte Wood showing a door in a room opening out into a dilapidated house

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Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood 

A woman abandons her city life and marriage to return to the place of her childhood. She begins a reclusive, monastic life with a small religious community where she is haunted by thoughts of her mother, whose early death she can't forget. Three disturbing visitations interrupt her secluded life and force her to face some deep questions. 

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The cover image for the book The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden showing a door opening out into the interior of a house

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The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

An exhilarating, twisted tale of desire, suspicion, and obsession between two women staying in the same house in the Dutch countryside during the summer of 1961. This novel is a powerful exploration of the legacy of WWII and the darker parts of our collective past.

Check availability in Cregan Library and O'Reilly Library or as an ebook