Samantha Harvey's 6 favorite books that redefine how we see the world
The Booker Prize-winning author recommends works by Marilynne Robinson, George Eliot, and more

When you make a purchase using links on our site, The Week may earn a commission. All reviews are written independently by our editorial team.
Samantha Harvey's most recent novel, "Orbital," was last year's winner of the Booker Prize. Now available in paperback, the novel tracks the experience of a team of astronauts on the International Space Station across a 24-hour span.
'The Siege of Krishnapur' by J.G. Farrell (1973)
Farrell fictionally constructs, explores, and deconstructs the 1857 siege of Lucknow in this brilliant, funny, moving novel. He rinses the British imperialists for their arrogance and stupidity, but nobody is spared his satire. One of the best books of the 20th century, no argument. Buy it here.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'Home' by Marilynne Robinson (2008)
My first novel ended up on the Orange Prize shortlist many years ago. When I read through the shortlist, I got to Home and I thought, Oh well, there goes my chance of a win. Home did win, of course. It's a masterpiece, an exquisite, attentive, intricately balanced novel, with the dialogue and dramatic intensity of a stage play. Buy it here.
'Mountains of the Moon' by I.J. Kay (2012)
This novel will one day be considered a classic. It's a gritty but tender tale of a damaged life, with prose that's deft, quick, and spirited, a plot that pulls like a freight train, and one of the best child narrators you'll ever encounter. Buy it here.
'All That Man Is' by David Szalay (2016)
This novel consists of nine portraits of masculinity, each a different man in a different decade of life. The effect is virtuosic, almost operatic. To write with such aliveness to a character, and to do it nine times, is genius. Anybody who reads about the French teenager holidaying in Cyprus will be gifted with mental imagery they will never again dispel. Buy it here.
'The Mill on the Floss' by George Eliot (1860)
I could just as easily have chosen Silas Marner, but had to whittle it down. I've heard people say that Eliot's writing lacks humor, and this I can't understand; The Mill on the Floss is scored with wit and with a sly understanding of life's absurdities. Buy it here.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
'Overview' by Benjamin Grant (2016)
This book of satellite imagery of Earth had its genesis in Grant's Instagram project The Daily Overview. Except for the last chapter, "Where We Are Not," the book focuses on imagery of humankind's impact on the planet: permafrost melt, lithium mines, shipping containers. Strange, lovely, troubling. The book asks us to wake up to ourselves as a species. Buy it here.
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
-
'The arts are not just expressions of creativity'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
June 26 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons include a White House misspelling, a heatwave in the northern hemisphere, and a ticking clock for climate change
-
The mystery of France's 'needle attacks' on women
In the Spotlight Nearly 150 women reported being spiked with needles at France's open-air music festival
-
Lovestuck: a 'warm-hearted' musical with a 'powerhouse score'
The Week Recommends Team behind the hit podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno have created a hilarious show about a disastrous viral Tinder date
-
Outrageous: glossy Mitford family drama is full of 'fun, fashion and froth'
The Week Recommends Adaptation of Mary Lovell's biography examines the scandalous lives of the aristocratic sisters
-
F1: The Movie – a fun but formulaic 'corporate tie-in'
Talking Point Brad Pitt stars as a washed up racing driver returning three decades after a near-fatal crash
-
Lost Boys: a 'sobering' journey to the heart of the manosphere
The Week Recommends James Bloodworth examines the 'cranks and hucksters' making money through 'masculine discontent'
-
6 productivity-ready homes with great offices
Feature Featuring an office with a gas fireplace in Oregon and a shared workspace with wraparound windows in Massachusetts
-
Critics' choice: Carrying the flag
Feature The best barbecue in town, Bradley Cooper's cheesesteak restaurant, and more
-
Film review: Materialists
Feature Two suitors seek to win over a jaded matchmaker
-
Music reviews: Haim, Addison Rae, and Annahstasia
Feature "I Quit," "Addison," and "Tether"