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theteaisaddictive 's review for:
Prophet Song
by Paul Lynch
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well that was depressing.
Pithy one-liner aside, I loved the uniqueness of the writing style. Reminded me a lot of the passages in Sunset Song when the narrator describes the goings-on of the community; it whirls you full-force into the immediacy of Eilish’s world and doesn’t give you a moment to breathe before the next thing happens. Everything from the 250 page-mark onwards was just a rapidly escalating nightmare, and I mean that as a compliment. It was, perhaps, too much to ask that we got any kind of resolution to Eilish and the remaining children’s journeys, but I guess that’s par for the course.
Of course, here is the big criticism; this analogy is so obvious as to be rendered almost meaningless. Eilish’s story is very deliberately one that thousands of migrants seeking asylum to the UK share. Why bother to reimagine it as the story of a white Irish woman? To make us, the readers, think about how It Could Never Happen Here? To ask us to empathise with someone familiar to us, because it’s too much to ask us to empathise with someone unfamiliar? I struggle to see why this story was even set in Ireland — there’s no surrounding political commentary as the (unnamed) fascist party is already in power at the start of the novel. None of this is helped by the refusal to give us a timeline of events — the closest we get is the baby, Ben, who starts the story as an infant whose mother is returning to work from maternity leave, and leaves it babbling a few words. And of course the question on the blurb — how far would you go to save your family? — is answered in the most damning and darkly hilarious of ways. It is beyond frustrating when your main character starts as a relatable everywoman caught in an unexpected nightmare, swiftly becomes a character who refuses to take action in a vain attempt to maintain her own status quo, and progresses into a character the plot happens TO, rather than having any further impact on her own life. Realistic? Yeah, maybe. Satisfying to read? Hell no.
Bumped up an extra star rating as I liked the prose so much.
Pithy one-liner aside, I loved the uniqueness of the writing style. Reminded me a lot of the passages in Sunset Song when the narrator describes the goings-on of the community; it whirls you full-force into the immediacy of Eilish’s world and doesn’t give you a moment to breathe before the next thing happens. Everything from the 250 page-mark onwards was just a rapidly escalating nightmare, and I mean that as a compliment. It was, perhaps, too much to ask that we got any kind of resolution to Eilish and the remaining children’s journeys, but I guess that’s par for the course.
Of course, here is the big criticism; this analogy is so obvious as to be rendered almost meaningless. Eilish’s story is very deliberately one that thousands of migrants seeking asylum to the UK share. Why bother to reimagine it as the story of a white Irish woman? To make us, the readers, think about how It Could Never Happen Here? To ask us to empathise with someone familiar to us, because it’s too much to ask us to empathise with someone unfamiliar? I struggle to see why this story was even set in Ireland — there’s no surrounding political commentary as the (unnamed) fascist party is already in power at the start of the novel. None of this is helped by the refusal to give us a timeline of events — the closest we get is the baby, Ben, who starts the story as an infant whose mother is returning to work from maternity leave, and leaves it babbling a few words. And of course the question on the blurb — how far would you go to save your family? — is answered in the most damning and darkly hilarious of ways. It is beyond frustrating when your main character starts as a relatable everywoman caught in an unexpected nightmare, swiftly becomes a character who refuses to take action in a vain attempt to maintain her own status quo, and progresses into a character the plot happens TO, rather than having any further impact on her own life. Realistic? Yeah, maybe. Satisfying to read? Hell no.
Bumped up an extra star rating as I liked the prose so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Dementia, Trafficking, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault
After around the halfway point guns, shelling, and air strikes become a major part of the book. A child’s dead body is described in detail, strongly implying the child was tortured to death . The MC’s father has dementia and distressing memory issues which are described in detail on multiple occasions.