Irish novelist Paul Lynch has clinched the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction with his fifth novel, “Prophet Song.”
The dystopian tale follows the harrowing journey of a woman fighting to safeguard her family amidst the collapse of Ireland into totalitarianism in the near future, eventually leading to a civil war that compels families to seek refuge outside the country.
Lynch, 46, devoted four years to crafting the novel, inspired by the protracted civil war in Syria and the apparent apathy of the West towards it.
“I aimed to delve into the contemporary chaos,” Lynch revealed to the Booker website. “The unrest in Western democracies. The crisis in Syria— the disintegration of an entire nation, its refugee crisis, and the indifference of the West… I sought to immerse the reader so profoundly that, by the conclusion of the book, they would not merely comprehend, but feel this crisis themselves.”
Choice influenced by ‘timeless’ theme of book
Chair of the judging panel, Canadian writer Esi Edugyan, hailed the book as “a triumph of emotional storytelling, bold and courageous,” wherein Lynch “accomplishes language feats that are breathtaking to behold.”
Lynch’s victory comes on the heels of recent far-right violence in Dublin, prompted by an attack outside a primary school.
Edugyan mentioned that recent events were discussed during the selection process, but they did not dictate the book’s victory. Lynch’s novel “captures the social and political anxieties of our current moment” while addressing “timeless” themes.
Edugyan further revealed that the selection of the winner was not a unanimous decision, but the six-hour meeting was characterized by a “collegial” atmosphere.
Lynch was presented with the award by last year’s winner, Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka, who had won for “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida,” a novel delving into the trauma of the civil war in his homeland.
rm/sri (Reuters, AP)
