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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
I'm a dystopia fan but this book was borning. Tried so hard to push through but really struggles. Life's too short not to DNF
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song is intimate and devastating in equal measures. The loss of innocence, the inhumanity of war, and the inherent cruelty of state violence aren’t uncommon literary themes, but Lynch’s portrait of them is particularly harrowing.
I don’t understand the one or two star ratings for this book yes we’ve all read dystopian novels before, but this I thought was very timely . I think Eilish made some odd choices but who knows what we would do given the same set of circumstances. It’s a difficult read but a worthy Booker Prize winner in my eyes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A mother, placed in an impossible situation, trying her best to hold everything together as she slowly falls apart.
This was a heartbreaking, yet powerful, read; it was also timely given the current state of the world in which I live.
This was a heartbreaking, yet powerful, read; it was also timely given the current state of the world in which I live.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Prophet Song is a devastating read. Its plot is not entirely new; comparisons could easily be drawn to Octavia Butler's Parable duology, with notes, moreso from collective memory than direct influence, of The Hunger Games and The Walking Dead, and joins recent political apocalyptic works like, but preceding, A24's Civil War. Nonetheless, the reader is haunted no lesser and Lynch shows us little mercy as bystanders, witnessing the physical and emotional torment of Eilish and her family with no ability to help them.
For readers like me in the US, Prophet Song likely feels increasingly close to home but still within some realm of the speculative, although I'm sure for Irish readers, The Troubles come to mind, less of a fear of what's to come, and more of a reminder of the recent past and the fragility of security in the present; Lynch has cited the Syrian Civil War as the source of inspiration for this song. Perhaps that is the point Lynch is making, that this type of history is one we already know and will continue to know, and we should all pay attention, for who knows when it will be our time to sing.
Would recommend taking yourself out for a nice slice of cake after you've completed the read.Also, hate to say it, but Bailey heavily sucked ass, and we all saw it coming.
Some lingering and unfinished thoughts:
For readers like me in the US, Prophet Song likely feels increasingly close to home but still within some realm of the speculative, although I'm sure for Irish readers, The Troubles come to mind, less of a fear of what's to come, and more of a reminder of the recent past and the fragility of security in the present; Lynch has cited the Syrian Civil War as the source of inspiration for this song. Perhaps that is the point Lynch is making, that this type of history is one we already know and will continue to know, and we should all pay attention, for who knows when it will be our time to sing.
Would recommend taking yourself out for a nice slice of cake after you've completed the read.
Some lingering and unfinished thoughts:
- We are given a very strong female lead in Eilish - we see the enduring strength of a woman as a mother, daughter, wife, and plainly as a woman.
- The blind cruelty and opportunism, how quickly things change when we peel back the curtains, the fear of being on the "wrong" side at the wrong time; I hope these things will remain solely within fiction for me.
- I loved the questioning throughout, in the face of hardship, of what it means to go and what it means to stay, which feels like the eternal Irish question.