Irish author Paul Lynch wins Booker Prize for Literature
Irish author Paul Lynch has won the prestigious British Booker Prize 2023. The 46-year-old, who lives in Dublin, received the award, worth 50,000 pounds (around 57,500 euros), for his novel "Prophet Song", as the organizers announced at the award ceremony in London on Sunday evening. The jury called Lynch's fifth novel about a tyrannical Irish government "a triumph of emotional storytelling, courageous and inspiring". He captures the social and political anxieties of our time with great vividness.
The Booker Prize is the most important British literary prize. It is awarded annually to the author of an English-language novel published in Great Britain or Ireland. Authors such as Margaret Atwood, Hilary Mantel and Salman Rushdie have previously won the Booker Prize.
In "Prophet Song", Lynch paints a dystopian vision of Ireland in the grip of totalitarianism. The protagonist is a mother of four and scientist who has to make a terrible decision after her husband is kidnapped by the newly formed secret police.
The fifth Irish author
Lynch received the award from his predecessor, Sri Lankan-born author Shehan Karunatilaka. Lynch is only the fifth Irish author to receive the award. According to the PA news agency, he said after the award ceremony: "This book was not easy to write." The rational part of him believed that he was putting his career at risk by writing this novel. "But I had to write the book anyway. We have no choice in such matters." "Prophet Song" was inspired by the war in Syria and the refugee crisis.
We're delighted to announce that the winner of the #BookerPrize2023 is Prophet Song by Paul Lynch.
Huge congratulations to @paullynchwriter. 🎉
Discover the book: https://t.co/o890YuwYOV pic.twitter.com/Z0Ab0eH3LU
— The Booker Prizes (@TheBookerPrizes) November 26, 2023
Lynch PA had already said before the award ceremony that the book was based on a sense of the liberal-democratic slide that has taken place worldwide over the last six, eight, maybe ten years. In an interview with the BBC on Monday, however, he emphasized that it was not primarily a political book. He was more interested in how his protagonists dealt with the issues of life and death. However, the feeling of grief could also be understood as a reaction to the general state of the world. "Many people who pay attention to this would probably say that we are experiencing a kind of dissolution," he said. His book explores the question of where this could lead.
Lnych was "astonished, like everyone else" by the violent riots in the Irish capital Dublin last week. At the same time, "this kind of energy is always under the surface", Lynch said at a press conference after the awards ceremony on Sunday evening. The riots should be seen as a warning, Lynch emphasized. However, he added that Ireland was a welcoming country and an "extraordinary country to live in".
Last Thursday, riots broke out in Dublin's city center, for which the police blamed far-right hooligans. Hundreds of people, some wearing masks, fought street battles with the police. Buses, police cars and a streetcar were set alight, shop windows smashed and stores looted. The rioters had taken a knife attack on children and a woman that had occurred in the afternoon as an opportunity. The background to this was rumors on social media about the nationality of the attacker.
- The victory of Paul Lynch at the Booker Prize has put Irish literature back in the spotlight, as he becomes the fifth Irish author to win this prestigious award.
- The recognition of Lynch's work with the Booker Prize for "Prophet Song" highlights the importance of literature in reflecting and responding to the social and political anxieties of our times.
Source: www.dpa.com
