Zondagavond is bekendgemaakt dat de Ierse schrijver Paul Lynch The Booker Prize 2023 wint met Prophet Song. Lynch wint 50.000 Britse ponden en ma zich voegen in een rijtje illustere winnaars van deze belangrijkste prijs in het Engelstalige taalgebied.

‘From that first knock at the door, Prophet Song forces us out of our complacency as we follow the terrifying plight of a woman seeking to protect her family in an Ireland descending into totalitarianism. We felt unsettled from the start, submerged in – and haunted by – the sustained claustrophobia of Lynch’s powerfully constructed world. He flinches from nothing, depicting the reality of state violence and displacement and offering no easy consolations. Here the sentence is stretched to its limits – Lynch pulls off feats of language that are stunning to witness. He has the heart of a poet, using repetition and recurring motifs to create a visceral reading experience. This is a triumph of emotional storytelling, bracing and brave. With great vividness, Prophet Song captures the social and political anxieties of our current moment. Readers will find it soul-shattering and true, and will not soon forget its warnings.’

Lynch deed vier jaar over het schrijven van deze roman. ‘Mijn zoon Elliot was net geboren toen ik begon te schrijven en toen ik bij het slot was kon hij al fietsen.’

Zie hier de uitreikingsceremonie.