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Paul Lynch

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Prophet Song (Man Booker prize 2023) Paperback – August 22, 2023

by Lynch Paul (Author)

4.3 9,861 ratings

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A fearless portrait of a society on the brink as a mother faces a terrible choice, from an internationally award-winning author

On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find the GNSB on her step. Two officers from Ireland’s newly formed secret police are here to interrogate her husband, a trade unionist.

Ireland is falling apart. The country is in the grip of a government turning towards tyranny and Eilish can only watch helplessly as the world she knew disappears. When first her husband and then her eldest son vanish, Eilish finds herself caught within the nightmare logic of a collapsing society.

How far will she go to save her family? And what – or who – is she willing to leave behind?

Exhilarating, terrifying and propulsive, Prophet Song is a work of breathtaking originality, offering a devastating vision of a country at war and a deeply human portrait of a mother’s fight to hold her family together.

Print length

310 pages
Language

English
Publisher

FABER ET FABER
Publication date

August 22, 2023
Dimensions

6.1 x 0.98 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

0861546865
ISBN-13

978-0861546862
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Get to know this book

Popular highlight
History is a silent record of people who could not leave, it is a record of those who did not have a choice, you cannot leave when you have nowhere to go and have not the means to go there, you cannot leave when your children cannot get a passport, cannot go when your feet are rooted in the earth and to leave means tearing off your feet.
225 Kindle readers highlighted this
Popular highlight
Sooner or later pain becomes too great for fear and when the people’s fear has gone the regime will have to go.
181 Kindle readers highlighted this
Popular highlight
Soon he will walk and then he will run and the hand that pulls on the hand of the mother is the hand that will pull to let go.
137 Kindle readers highlighted this

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ FABER ET FABER (August 22, 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 310 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0861546865
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0861546862
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.98 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #27,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 9,861 ratings

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Paul Lynch

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Paul Lynch is the award-winning author of the novels Beyond the Sea, Grace, The Black Snow and Red Sky in Morning. He has won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year and France’s Prix Libr’à Nous for Best Foreign Novel, among other prizes. His books have been shortlisted for numerous international awards, including France’s Prix Jean Monnet for European Literature, Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, Prix Littérature Monde and the Walter Scott Prize. He lives in Dublin. His most recent novel, Prophet Song, has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2023.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

9,861 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Customers say

Customers find the realism evocative and haunting. They also say the content has powerful moments. Opinions are mixed on the writing style, with some finding it eloquent and simple, while others find it pretentious and irritating. Readers disagree on the plot, with others finding it dystopian and jarring while others say it's unsettling. They disagree on pacing, with one finding it timely and powerful while others feel it'd be a tad slow at times.

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Content Realism Plot Writing style Pace Characterization

22 customers mention "Content"19 positive3 negative

Customers find the concept powerful, interesting, and enjoyable. They say the book has many lessons to be relearned, sorrows to be grieved, and fears to be faced. They also say it provides a window into current events and a warning for the future. Customers also appreciate the author's ability to pull them in and feel the despair and urgency.

"...The novel is not merely a cautionary tale, but a poignant exploration of individual resilience in the face of systemic oppression...." Read more

"...There are many lessons to be relearned; sorrows to be grieved; fears to be faced; and lives to be loved" Read more

"...Lynch’s hour-long talk was a triumph of hard-won wisdom and erudition, and at its conclusion, the audience rewarded him with enthusiastic and..." Read more

"...The subject matter and writing quirks ensure a challenging, thought-provoking experience." Read more

14 customers mention "Realism"11 positive3 negative

Customers find the book very realistic, heartbreaking, and lyrically written. They also appreciate the unique perspective and beautiful sentences. Readers also describe the book as apocalyptic, suspenseful, and dark.

"...He masterfully wields historical echoes and contemporary anxieties, fostering a sense of chilling plausibility within the dystopian framework...." Read more

"...The focus was on beautiful, unique sentences, instead of the raw, short, cutting reality of dictatorship and war...." Read more

"...It was also a pretty unique perspective for me. Most dystopian stories I've read are post-apocalyptic or set farther in the future...." Read more

"...The writer makes it all seem very real. In this case the setting is Ireland and I think this is its gift in a way...." Read more

65 customers mention "Plot"37 positive28 negative

Customers are mixed about the plot. Some find the dystopian novel jarring the heartstrings, while others say the premise is implausible and the chronology of events isn't particularly logical.

"...wields historical echoes and contemporary anxieties, fostering a sense of chilling plausibility within the dystopian framework...." Read more

"...The story is consistently tragic and hopeless. While it is beautiful prose it's composed as a run on with unusual sentence/ paragraph structure...." Read more

"Depressing and frightening and nonetheless worth reading...." Read more

"...However, it quickly immerses you in the narrative, intensifying the sense of loss and bewilderment...." Read more

64 customers mention "Writing style"32 positive32 negative

Customers are mixed about the writing style. Some find it eloquent and low-key, while others say it complicates the reading with strained word choices and repetition. They also mention that the lack of clear distinctions between characters can occasionally impede reading. Additionally, some find the book difficult to follow with lack of paragraphs and find it pretentious and irritating.

"...When I started, I knew that the eloquent writing, the style of writing, and the subject demanded more of my time and more of my emotional..." Read more

"...However, the lack of clear distinctions between characters can occasionally impede narrative flow...." Read more

"A phenomenal novel, notable both for its writing and timely message: fascism is a real and dangerous threat to modern democracies...." Read more

"...of Lynch's style of refusing to use paragraphs which I found simply pretentious and irritating." Read more

11 customers mention "Pace"7 positive4 negative

Customers are mixed about the pace of the book. Some find it heartwrenching, powerful, and fast-paced, while others say it's a tad slow at times.

"A phenomenal novel, notable both for its writing and timely message: fascism is a real and dangerous threat to modern democracies...." Read more

"You might struggle with this book. It’ll be boring at times, too slow at times, will feel like rambling vague prose sometimes, then it will punch..." Read more

"Very good and a timely read. What would it be like to live under a fascist regime?It was a page turner for me...." Read more

"The story is gripping and timely, and the author manages to touch on questions, issues, and catastrophic and real threats that exist and manifest..." Read more

7 customers mention "Characterization"4 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the characterization in the book. Some find the characters detailed and well-developed, while others say they lack development and are flat.

"...There is a lot of detailed setup and character development, but I was most interested in the main plot’s story arc: this woman living without her..." Read more

"...seems most inexcusable in a book like this, is the almost complete lack of character development...." Read more

"...Nonetheless, the characters are well-developed and likeable. A good read overall." Read more

"The writing is sometimes overwrought and the main character's long solipsistic monologues dull. The progression of the plot is very uneven...." Read more

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Terry L. Price

Brilliant and Extremely Timely

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024

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Lynch's dystopian masterpiece, "Prophet Song," transcends genre with its haunting prose and unflinching depiction of societal collapse. The narrative, devoid of paragraph breaks, mirrors the protagonist Eilish Stack's frantic struggle to hold her family together as Ireland descends into totalitarian chaos. This stylistic choice brilliantly amplifies the reader's immersion in the suffocating atmosphere of fear and uncertainty.

The novel is not merely a cautionary tale, but a poignant exploration of individual resilience in the face of systemic oppression. While Lynch's prose is poetic and evocative, his critique of authoritarianism remains razor-sharp. He masterfully wields historical echoes and contemporary anxieties, fostering a sense of chilling plausibility within the dystopian framework.

However, the lack of clear distinctions between characters can occasionally impede narrative flow. Additionally, the relentless bleakness, while impactful, might leave some readers yearning for glimmers of hope.

Despite these minor quibbles, "Prophet Song" remains a powerful and unsettling read. Its exploration of familial bonds, individual agency, and the fragility of democracy resonates deeply, making it a must-read for those seeking a thought-provoking and emotionally charged literary experience.

11 people found this helpful

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J. P Spencer

Depressing and horrifying but nevertheless an important book

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2024

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Depressing and frightening and nonetheless worth reading. This year's Booker prize winner, Lynch tells the story of Eilish Stack, a modern Dublin woman, wife and mother, as her world collapses when the elected government turns to totalitarianism. It not political; we never learn much about the goals of "the state." Rather it is a look at the horrors that face so many of our times: Nazi Germany, Putin's Russia, Ukraine, Gaza, Yugoslavia, etc. Still it is a fable with a warning for us all about how this collapse of the world as we know it can sneak up on you before you realize it. I found it hard to read but compelling. One complaint: I downgraded this from 5 stars because of Lynch's style of refusing to use paragraphs which I found simply pretentious and irritating.

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Woodstock

Timely, terrifying and should be required reading

Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2024

Verified Purchase

I bought this book several months ago shortly after October 7. When I started, I knew that the eloquent writing, the style of writing, and the subject demanded more of my time and more of my emotional availability than I could have afforded it then.
Please enjoy this storytelling; give yourself the time and space for it. There are many lessons to be relearned; sorrows to be grieved; fears to be faced; and lives to be loved

One person found this helpful

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amazon reader

Great book, great guy

Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2024

Verified Purchase

A phenomenal novel, notable both for its writing and timely message: fascism is a real and dangerous threat to modern democracies. In addition, the author Paul Lynch, whom this reader met at a book-signing, is warm and approachable—not at all arrogant at having won the Booker Prize—one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world.

The book-signing I attended was preceded by an hour-long interview with Lynch, who in the process gave a kind of master class in writing fiction, while also unobtrusively showing off his wide reading in fiction, past and present.

The interviewer began by asking Lynch how it was that he, Lynch, wrote a novel about America. The question drew a laugh from the audience, but Lynch responded that he had been promoting the book in India just the previous week, and a woman there had said to him, “You’ve told our story.”

At this point, Lynch reflected briefly on how hectic his life had been since winning the Booker Prize—80 interviews. He admitted that all of his recent travels had exhausted him, saying that “my internal clock is like a Dali timepiece.”

When asked whether Prophet Song was a dystopian novel, Lynch demurred. Lynch felt that dystopian novels basically deliver a message of grievance, while “fiction is about grief, not grievance.” He continued that “dystopian fiction seems a bit paper-maché,” and in general he is skeptical of political novels. He said that fiction needs rather to show complexity, and to view things, not through one lens, but rather through multiple lenses.

Lynch admitted that one can interpret Prophet Song from a political perspective, but then “a good book allows for multiple interpretations.” He said that “you are conditioned by democracy to assume that nothing will change,” but his story examines the lives of people upended by a fascist takeover. About his main character, Eilish (“aye-lish”) Stark, he said: “she has been lifted off her feet by a riptide.”

In this spirit, Lynch sees himself following in the footsteps of the great writers of the past, insofar as his task is to “see what the human condition is while telling stories about human beings.” Furthermore, he thinks that the “human condition needs to be interpreted anew by each generation.”

As for the totalitarian regime portrayed in Prophet Song and the multiple human tragedies that it causes, Lynch said that “the end of the world is always happening somewhere.” He referenced Gaza and the Ukraine. Lynch’s own story is intended to “map the effects of circumstances on the individual characters,” and “tyranny is transmitted into the psychology of the characters.” He advocates realism as “important to root the reader in the present moment,” and “to reach up and get hold of reality, and then to put it on the page.”

Lynch realizes that Prophet Song asks a lot of the reader in following the un-raveling of a family, as well as the un-raveling of a state, because “the book hurts you.” By the same token, however, Lynch described the act of writing this story as descending into the 8th or 9th level of Dante’s Inferno. Still, he hoped that the ending created empathy in the readers.

There were questions about Lynch’s dense prose style, in which long, long sentences contain description and dialogue with little of the punctuation with which these items are customarily treated. There are also no paragraphs, only sections of a few pages each. Lynch stated that he did not begin with any certain style in mind with which he would write the novel, but rather the style flowed organically from the story he was trying to tell.

Lynch described his point-of-view in the novel as 3rd-person, limited omniscient narrator, meaning that the narrator knows only as much as the character. He described his approach to fiction as trying to find an alignment between his interests or obsessions and the story he wants to tell. He said also: “I’m not a mainstream writer. I’ve always played at the edge of the court.”

Lynch’s hour-long talk was a triumph of hard-won wisdom and erudition, and at its conclusion, the audience rewarded him with enthusiastic and sustained applause.

After the interview, Lynch faced a line of autograph-seekers stretching to the back of the room. When it was my turn, he met me with friendly eye contact and personalized his inscription as I requested. Despite being among the very select few writers who ever win a Booker Prize, Paul Lynch was approachable and kind, when one might have expected the exact opposite from a world-class writer.

49 people found this helpful

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charlie McKendy

Not an easy read

Reviewed in Canada on January 12, 2024

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This book is particularly relevant given the global situation currently. There is Ukraine, Gaza, and the fractured politocal situation in the USA . Democracy is under threat. Lynch captures the fragility we face in this book. He uses Ireland as the backdrop, but it could take place in many places today. We are one step from catastrophe. The book would not have the same effect if it were written a few Years ago, but today it is frightening AND DESERVING OF THE BOOKER PRIZE.

Martha Maldonado

Entrega a tiempo y perfecto estado

Reviewed in Mexico on January 7, 2024

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Excelente servicio

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RavenPSYpub

Brilliant, extraordinary - haunting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2024

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Prophet Song is a masterful piece of writing. I read it once - and am starting again. Lynch uses language that blends the characters' thoughts and feelings with the natural world and objects around them. Poetry that gets under your skin and stays with you. I cannot recommend this book more highly.

Rui Correia

Terrific and terrifying

Reviewed in Germany on June 6, 2024

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Amazing storytelling. A real page-turner

Giuseppe

Libro da leggere

Reviewed in Italy on January 6, 2024

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La Dublino descritta da Lynch è identica ai tanti Afghanistan, Palestina, Ucraina, Sudan ecc. ecc. del mondo. Il libro disturba perché Lynch mostra la precarietà del nostro mondo, quanto sia facile per il nostro pulito e ordinato occident cadere nella barbarie. Libro straordinario scritto molto bene. Indispensabile

One person found this helpful

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