Irish author Paul Lynch has become the sixth Irish author to ever win the Booker Prize.
His novel Prophet Song picked up the prestigious award over the weekend.
The judging panel described the Dublin-based novel as “soul-shattering” and “a triumph”.
He follows in the footsteps of Irish authors Dame Iris Murdoch, John Banville, Roddy Doyle, Anne Enright and Anna Burns who previously picked up the award.
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Prophet Song is set in a not so distant future, where Ireland is run by a right-wing extremist government. Their totalitarianism has completely changed the face of the country with people fearing for their life.
Our protagonist Eilish Stack is a mother-of-four working as a scientist whose life is changed irrevocably when her husband is taken away by the newly formed Irish secret police.
In his speech after receiving the award, Paul said: “This was not an easy book to write. The rational part of me believed I was dooming my career by writing this novel. Though I had to write the book anyway. We do not have a choice in such matters.”
He went on to praise “all the children of this world who need our protection, yet have lived, and continue to live through the terrors depicted in this book”.
“Thank you so very much. It is with immense pleasure that I bring the Booker home to Ireland,” he stated.
Paul Lynch beat fellow Irish writer Paul Murray, who was shortlisted for The Bee Sting, which follows an Irish family facing financial and emotional troubles.
The other shortlisted authors included British author Chetna Maroo, American authors Jonathan Escoffery and Paul Harding, and Canadian author Sarah Bernstein.
You can check out all the Irish authors that were on the longlist here!
