2023 book by Paul Lynch
Prophet Song is a 2023 dystopian novel[2] by Irish author Paul Lynch, published by Oneworld. The novel depicts the struggles of the Stack family, including Eilish Stack, a mother of four who is trying to save her family as the Republic of Ireland slips into totalitarianism. The narrative is told unconventionally, with no paragraph breaks.
The book won the 2023 Booker Prize.[3][4]
Background
Lynch stated that one of the main inspirations for the book was the Syrian Civil War, the ensuing refugee crisis, and the West's indifference to the plight of refugees.[5][6] Lynch has also cited the German author Hermann Hesse's work as an inspiration to write his first dystopian novel.[7]
Synopsis
In a near-future Republic of Ireland, in the wake of a teachers' union strike, the right-wing National Alliance party seizes control of the government. The National Alliance gives the Irish national police (the Garda Síochána) and the judiciary far-reaching powers. The regime also establishes a new secret police force, the Garda National Services Bureau. The new government quickly repeals civil liberties; peaceful protests are broken up, and Irish citizens are arrested without cause and tortured.
Larry Stack, a teacher and trade union leader, is arrested and held without charge while attending a rally. His wife, Eilish, who is a scientist, is left to care for their four children and her father, who has dementia. Eilish petitions for her husband's release. The state soon descends into civil war, and Irish citizens who are suspected of being part of the resistance are arrested or killed. Eilish struggles to keep her family together during the civil war; she contemplates fleeing the country with her family, possibly joining her sister Áine in Canada.
Reception
Some critics felt the narrative without paragraph breaks added to the plot's urgency. Aimée Walsh of The Observer stated that the novel's style lent it a "breathless, claustrophobic atmosphere", with Walsh concluding that "Lynch's message is crystal clear: lives the world over are experiencing upheaval, violence, persecution. Prophet Song is a literary manifesto for empathy for those in need and a brilliant, haunting novel that should be placed into the hands of policymakers everywhere."[8]
Writing for The Financial Times, Lucy Popescu stated that the lack of paragraph breaks gave the novel a sense of urgency. She stated that the novel gave a new perspective and empathy to those suffering in the migrant crisis, stating: "Lynch describes the unremitting horrors of war, but his fiction also directly challenges the negative rhetoric surrounding refugees by articulating and illuminating their trauma."[9]
Writing for The Guardian, Melissa Harrison lauded Lynch's depiction of the main character, stating: "Lynch's depiction of Eilish is nuanced and sympathetic, and in the fiercely embodied quality of her love for her children, entirely successful." Harrison further stated that "the manner in which civil society breaks apart is lingeringly and brutally drawn", with the narrative having insightful parallels to similar crises in recent history.[10]
Not all reviews were positive however, with the UK Daily Telegraph's Cal Revely-Calder describing the novel as "the weak link in a strong shortlist – and the real winner [Sarah Bernstein's Study for Obedience] was overlooked".[11] Writing for The New York Times, author Benjamin Markovits explained that due to the political crisis that led to the descent into chaos never being explained, it is hard to sympathize with the Irish citizens who aligned with the National Alliance Party, with Markovits stating: "But without some moral ambiguity, there's a danger that a novel like this can turn into an instance of preaching to the choir: We know who the baddies are, and it's not us. We're not complicit in whatever has gone wrong in this society." Regarding the novel's prose, Markovits stated that despite the novel containing "many, many lines and passages of great beauty and power", however there were also instances when "Lynch doesn't quite trust the situation he has put his characters in to carry the emotional weight, and the metaphors start to get in the way."[12]
Booker Prize
The novel won the 2023 Booker Prize, with the chair of the judging panel, Esi Edugyan, stating that the work was a "triumph of emotional storytelling, bracing and brave".[4] Regarding the novel's depiction of war and the subsequent migrant crisis, Edugyan stated that the book "captures the social and political anxieties of our current moment."[4] Lynch is the sixth Irish writer to win a Booker Prize.[13]
