The 2023 Booker Prize goes to ‘Prophet Song,’ a dystopian portrayal of Ireland under totalitarian rule.
Ireland’s Paul Lynch, aged 46, has secured his first win of the esteemed fiction writing prize with “Prophet Song,” a novel set in Dublin.
The story unfolds as a family grapples with the challenges of a frightening new world where familiar democratic norms begin to vanish.
Lynch revealed that the inspiration for “Prophet Song” stemmed from the Syrian war and refugee crisis.
Expressing his joy at the award ceremony in Old Billingsgate, London, Lynch stated that bringing the Booker Prize back to Ireland filled him with immense pleasure.
Born in Limerick and currently residing in Dublin, the author added that crafting the novel was a challenging endeavor.
Asked about the recent rioting and violence in Dublin earlier this week, Lynch said he was “astonished” by what happened and said, “we should see it as a warning”.
Although he acknowledged that his novel was completed 18 months ago, Lynch emphasized that he does not consider himself a “political novelist.”
He revealed plans to allocate a portion of his £50,000 prize money towards his mortgage.
“Prophet Song” is Lynch’s fifth book, and he dedicated four years to its creation. He commenced writing it shortly before the birth of his son, who learned to ride a bike by the time Lynch wrapped up the novel.
Head judge Esi Edugyan said the panel “sought a winning novel that might speak to the immediate moment while also possessing the possibility of outlasting it”.
She added: “In these troubled times, we sought a novel with a guiding vision – a book to remind us that we are more than ourselves, to remind us of all that is worth saving.”
Before the winner was announced Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe spoke about how much reading helped her while she was detained in Iran.
She said being able to read novels from the prison’s secret library “transformed” her life and the books took her “to another world”.
The other nominees were:
- The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
- Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
- This Other Eden by Paul Harding
- If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
- Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein
The Booker Prize stands as one of the foremost literary awards in the English-speaking world.
Distinguished authors who have previously claimed this accolade include Margaret Atwood, Hilary Mantel, Bernardine Evaristo, and Salman Rushdie.