2023 Booker Longlist: Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

Our final book on the longlist is Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. Lynch is an internationally acclaimed Irish novelist who has published five novels, winning several awards in the process. Prophet Song is his fifth novel.

Synopsis from Booker Prize website: On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find the GNSB on her doorstep. Two officers from Ireland’s newly formed secret police want to speak with her husband.

Things are falling apart. Ireland is in the grip of a government that is taking a turn towards tyranny. And as the blood-dimmed tide is loosed, Eilish finds herself caught within the nightmare logic of a collapsing society – assailed by unpredictable forces beyond her control and forced to do whatever it takes to keep her family together.

You can purchase a copy of the book here

Keep reading to find out how our panellists rated this book.

BookWorm’s Thoughts:  Normally dystopian fiction is in my comfort zone. I can see that the world being built could come to pass, but I am happy in the knowledge it won’t be in my lifetime. With this story the dystopian future is too close to home. I can see it occurring while I am alive so I spent the whole of this book on edge and uncomfortable. This made for an unsettling read, and unlike a lot of the longlist this is one I will remember.

Writing quality: 4/5
Originality: 3/5
Character development: 3/4
Plot development: 3/4
Overall enjoyment: 2/2
Total: 15/20

Tracy’s Thoughts: This started out with so much promise. The idea of a newly elected government regime with totalitarian leanings sadly isn’t fiction in many countries. Even more liberal countries are seeing strange developments right now. So this dystopian novel rings more true than comfortable.

Then it just got…old. Eilish’s choices and wishy-washy-ness could have been edited down by at least fifty pages, thereby keeping the pace faster.

I also take issue with the author’s characterization of a woman (a biochemist, no less) as indecisive without her husband, masking it as responsibility for her family.

I did like this story’s premise. Every time I set it down I was thinking about how I would react in those circumstances. And the writing was very good- the setting was clear, it almost felt like a movie set. I just wish the author had found a different perspective.

Writing quality: 3.5/5
Originality: 3/5
Character development: 2/4
Plot development: 2.5/4
Overall enjoyment: 1/2
Total: 12/20

Jen’s thoughts: Well this was officially the most depressing, bleak book on the list this year. The book is beautifully written and I can see it easily earning a spot on the shortlist. The style won’t be for every reader, long sprawling sentences that evoke a feeling of claustrophobia but that add to the atmosphere of the book. In some ways the style reminded me of a more readable Study for Obedience (although the two books are vastly different). At times reading it felt oppressive and hopeless and I had to set it aside because it weighed heavily on me. It’s a dystopian style novel that blends the imaginary (what if Ireland were to be taken over by fascist extremists?) with the realistic (the realism for many people across the world who have lived through civil war). What I loved about it was the writing style, sense of atmosphere, political content, and ability of the author to create empathy and understanding for the every day people in this potential war state.

What I didn’t like about the novel was the ways in which the protagonist was portrayed. At one point, I found myself thinking “this feels like a man writing the emotional experience of a woman.” I can’t quite pinpoint why, but Eilish’s reactions and thought processes felt somewhat inauthentic and fell flat at times.

Overall, this was a solid book and I think an important one for people to read. It should make the shortlist but then again the judges and I are at odd this year.

Writing quality: 5/5
Originality: 4/5
Character development: 2/4
Plot development: 3/4
Overall enjoyment: 1/2
Total: 15/20

Have you read this one? Let us know what you thought.

Our panel’s final rankings

1. All the Little Bird Hearts: 18
2. Pearl: 17.75
3. The House of Doors: 16.5
4. Bee Sting: 16.25
5. A Spell of Good Things: 15.38
6. The Prophet Song: 14
7. Study for Obedience: 14
8. Old God’s Time: 13.2
9. The Other Eden: 12.8
10. In Ascension: 12.5
11. Western Lane: 12.5
12. How to Build a Boat: 12.38