A review by danaaliyalevinson
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I will be thinking about this book for a long long time.

An audacious story about the rise of fascism and descent into civil war in Ireland told not through the eyes of those in power, but through the quotidien life of the Stack family.

The book did an incredible job of portraying the escalation into war through the lens of everyday choices, capturing so well the constant question of when is the point of no return? When is leaving no longer an option?

The way the author first set up normal life and then took the reader on the ride of a slow drip of conflict escalating into a food, with such emotionality, and with such attachment to character, was incredible. And as the war spiraled out of control, I couldn't help but think of Kfar Aza, and Gaza City, and Damascus, and Mariupol, and everywhere war touches, intruding upon and often destroying the lives of those who just want to live in peace, safety, and dignity.

And this was clearly an intentional choice, keeping the contours of the conflict hazy, and in effect it could be about anywhere, which allows the book to serve as both prophecy and warning. And while at first I found the fact that it didn’t use any paragraph breaks or quotation marks to be difficult, by the time I got to the second half of the book, its effectiveness as a literary device became clear, making the reader feel as if they are in the same panicked stream of consciousness as the characters, bringing us into their emotional state.

It is no wonder this book won the Booker. A truly triumphant work of fiction.
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